Kaya Cigdem, Stegmaier Thomas, Gresser Götz T
Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung, Körschtalstraße 26, 73770 Denkendorf, Germany.
Materials (Basel). 2023 Jul 6;16(13):4849. doi: 10.3390/ma16134849.
Natural fibers do not have a long life in soil; therefore, they cannot replace synthetic textiles in many applications. However, in order to solve ever-increasing global environmental problems due to microplastics, more and more natural polymers must be used, creating a need for research into the sustainable life extension of natural fibers. Lignin is, along with cellulose, a main component of wood, and is produced in large quantities as waste during paper production. With appropriate processing, lignin can be exploited/used as a textile auxiliary to combine the strength-enhancing properties of textiles made from natural fibers with the protective properties of a lignin coating. However, there is not yet sufficient research on how to integrate lignin into textile applications. For this purpose, in this study, we have investigated whether thermoplastic lignin can be processed as a surface protective coating. We tested lignin as a yarn coating to extend the service life of cellulosic textiles. Cotton yarns have been coated with lignin in variations of coating mass, characterized and investigated by means of soil burial tests. As the soil burial tests conducted in climate chamber and outdoor field environments showed, the lifespan of textiles made from natural fibers can be significantly extended with a lignin coating. Long-term resilience has been demonstrated in standard burial tests. In the outdoor tests, the lignin coating was still fully intact, even after about 160 days of burial. The textile materials coated in this way enable sustainable applications, especially for geotextiles. They have an adjustable, sufficiently long service life; however, they are still biodegradable, and can therefore replace some applications, such as vegetating trench/brook slopes, with synthetic materials. Lignin-coated textiles have the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint, reduce not only the dependence on petroleum-based products but also the amount of microplastics entering the environment. Further research can be conducted to improve lignin compounding in terms of other interesting properties for specific textile applications. Process optimization could increase the protective effect and further extend the life of useful textiles in soil.
天然纤维在土壤中的使用寿命不长；因此，在许多应用中它们无法替代合成纺织品。然而，为了解决因微塑料导致的日益严重的全球环境问题，必须使用越来越多的天然聚合物，这就产生了对天然纤维可持续延长使用寿命进行研究的需求。木质素与纤维素一样，是木材的主要成分，并且在造纸过程中会大量产生废弃物。经过适当加工，木质素可以用作纺织助剂，将天然纤维制成的纺织品的增强强度特性与木质素涂层的保护特性结合起来。然而，关于如何将木质素整合到纺织应用中的研究还不够充分。为此，在本研究中，我们研究了热塑性木质素是否可以加工成表面保护涂层。我们测试了将木质素作为纱线涂层来延长纤维素纺织品的使用寿命。用不同涂层质量的木质素对棉纱进行了涂层处理，并通过土壤掩埋试验对其进行了表征和研究。正如在气候室和户外田间环境中进行的土壤掩埋试验所示，用木质素涂层可以显著延长天然纤维制成的纺织品的使用寿命。在标准掩埋试验中已证明具有长期弹性。在户外试验中，即使经过约160天的掩埋，木质素涂层仍然完全完好无损。以这种方式涂层的纺织材料能够实现可持续应用，特别是对于土工布。它们具有可调节的、足够长的使用寿命；然而，它们仍然是可生物降解的，因此可以用合成材料替代一些应用，如植被化沟渠/溪岸斜坡。木质素涂层纺织品有潜力显著减少碳足迹，不仅减少对石油基产品的依赖，还减少进入环境的微塑料量。可以进行进一步的研究，以改善木质素在特定纺织应用的其他有趣特性方面的复合。工艺优化可以提高保护效果，并进一步延长有用纺织品在土壤中的寿命。
