Descripción del proyecto
CURRENT RECYCLING RATES FOR TEXTILE WASTES IN EUROPE ARE DRAMATICALLY LOW, ESPECIALLY FOR POST-CONSUMER RESIDUES. RECENT STUDIES REPORT THAT ONLY 8 % OF THE CLOTHING WASTES ARE REUSED, 10 % ARE RECYCLED, AND THE REST ARE LANDFILLED (57 %) OR INCINERATED (25 %). COTTON IS THE MOST USED NATURAL FIBRE IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY. ITS PRODUCTION INVOLVES LARGE USE OF RAW MATERIALS AND PRODUCES SEVERE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. NEVERTHELESS, COTTON TEXTILE WASTE IS ALMOST COMPOSED OF PURE CELLULOSE, AND THUS, IT MUST BE CONSIDERED AS A VALUABLE RESOURCE TO VALORISE, AVOIDING ITS DECOMPOSITION IN LANDFILLS OR ITS COMBUSTION. THIS IDEA IS IN LINE WITH SEVERAL NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN POLICIES, LIKE THE FUTURE SPANISH LAW FOR RESIDUES AND CONTAMINATED SOILS (UNDER PARLIAMENT PROCESS) WHICH ARE ALREADY REDEFINING WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. ACCORDING TO THE DRAFT FOR THIS NEW LAW, SELECTIVE RECOVERING OF TEXTILE WASTES WILL BE MANDATORY FROM 2025, OPENING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR SELECTIVE VALORISATION. WITHIN THIS CONTEXT, DEVELOPING NEW PROCESSES TO VALORIZE TEXTILE WASTES BECOMES A PRIORITY FOR THE ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION OF OUR PRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. TWINCLER PROJECT AIMS TO OBTAIN HIGHLY VALUABLE PRODUCTS (CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS CNCS AND 5-HYDROXYMETHYL FURFURAL HMF) FROM THE VALORISATION OF COTTON TEXTILE WASTES, IMPROVING THE OVERALL PROCESS FEASIBILITY FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY MARKETS. TO ACHIEVE THAT, THIS PROJECT PROPOSES THE USE OF DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENTS (DES) AS SUSTAINABLE TREATING MEDIA (AVOIDING CONVENTIONAL ACIDS OR OXIDANTS) FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF COTTON WASTES INTO CNCS AND HMF, THE VALIDATION OF THE OBTAINED NANOMATERIALS AS BIOPOLYMERS REINFORCEMENT, AND THE ASSESSMENT OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE OVERALL PROCESS.DES ARE NEOTERIC SOLVENTS WHICH HAVE SHOWN EXCELLENT PROPERTIES FOR A DEEP INTERACTION WITH NATURAL POLYMERS LIKE CELLULOSE, AND THEIR MODIFICATION AND CHEMICAL VALORIZATION TO IMPORTANT BIO-BASED PRODUCTS, INCLUDING MATERIALS AND CHEMICALS. DESPITE THE BENEFITS OF DES AS HYDROLYTIC MEDIA, VERY FEW WORKS HAVE BEEN REPORTED USING THIS TECHNOLOGY TO VALORISE COTTON RESIDUES, EXISTING IMPORTANT GAPS FOR ITS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT THAT TWINCLER WILL CONTRIBUTE TO FILL: DES REGENERATION AND THE RECOVERING OF THE HYDROLYSIS DERIVED BY PRODUCTS (GLUCOSE AND HMF).DEPOLYMERIZATION OF CELLULOSE AMORPHOUS REGIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED USING THE ACID DES, YIELDING 5-HMF, ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE BIOMASS-DERIVED PLATFORM MOLECULES. HMF WILL BE RECOVERED USING A SECONDARY DES-IMMISCIBLE SOLVENT TO CONDUCT ITS SIMULTANEOUS EXTRACTION INSOFAR AS IT IS PRODUCED, PRESERVING IT FROM FURTHER TRANSFORMATIONS. ESIDUOS TEXTILES DE ALGODON\MATERIALES COMPUESTOS\BIOPOLIMEROS\MATERIALES DE REFUERZO\NANOFIBRAS\NANOCRISTALES DE CELULOSA\NANOCELULOSAS\5-HIDROXIMETILFURFURAL\DISOLVENTES EUTECTICOS PROFUNDOS