Reuse of Textile Waste to Production of the Fibrous Antibacterial Membrane with Filtration Potential

Wasted synthetic fabrics are a type of textile waste source; the reuse of them brings environmental protection and turns waste into a valuable material. In this work, the used nylon (polyamide) stockings were transmuted into a fine fibrous membrane via an electrospinning process. In addition, the safety antibacterial agent, monoacylglycerol (MAG), was incorporated into a recycled fibrous membrane. The results revealed that the neat, recycled polyamide (rPA) fibers with a hydrophobic surface could be converted into hydrophilic fibers by blending various amounts of MAG with rPA solution prior to electrospinning. The filtration efficiency and air/water vapor permeability of the two types of produced membranes, neat rPA, and rPA/MAG, were tested. Their filtration efficiency (E100) was more than 92% and 96%, respectively. The membranes were classified according to Standard EN1822, and therefore, the membranes rPA and rPA/MAG were assigned to the classes E10 and E11, respectively. The air permeability was not affected by the addition of MAG, and water vapor permeability was slightly enhanced. Based on the obtained data, prepared rPA/MAG fibrous membranes can be evaluated as antifouling against both tested bacterial strains and antimicrobial against S. aureus.

Investigation on the Preparation of Rice Straw-Derived Cellulose Acetate and Its Spinnability for Electrospinning

Rice straw-derived cellulose (RSC) with purity of 92 wt.% was successfully extracted from rice straw by a novel and facile strategy, which integrated the C2H5OH/H2O autocatalytic process, dilute alkali treatment and H2O2 bleaching process. Influencing factors of the cellulose extraction were systematically examined, such as ethanol concentration, alkali concentration, H2O2 bleaching process and so on; the optimal extraction conditions of cellulose was determined. A series of rice straw-derived cellulose acetate (RSCA) with different degree of substitution (DS) were prepared by the acetylation reaction; the effects of Ac2O/cellulose ratio, reaction temperature and reaction time on the acetylation reaction were investigated. Results of FTIR and XRD analysis demonstrated that highly purified RSC and RSCA were prepared comparing with the commercial cellulose and cellulose acetate. Solubility analysis of RSCA with different DS indicated as-prepared RSCA with DS of 2.82 possessed the best solubleness, which was suitable for electrospinning. Moreover, the flexible RSCA fibrous membrane was easily fabricated by a facile electrospinning method. Our proposed method provided a strategy for realizing the high-value utilization of waste rice straw resource, as prepared RSC and RSCA can be used as chemical raw material, and electrospun RSCA fibrous membrane has various applications in medical materials, food packaging, water purification and so on.