Biodegradability study on cotton and polyester fabrics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the biodegradability of fabrics in laboratory and large scale composting environments. Cotton jersey fabrics with three levels of finishing treatments (scoured and bleached, softener added and resin added) and a polyester jersey fabric were tested. Under controlled laboratory conditions, the carbon dioxide produced was monitored and integrated to determine the biodegradation rate by ASTM D 5988-03 method in natural soil, and the weight losses were measured after biodegradation in enzyme solutions. The same set of fabrics was buried in the Cornell University Composting Facility for 3 months. The weight losses and the fabric morphology after biodegradation were used to assess and compare the biodegradability with the results obtained under laboratory conditions. The polyester fabric showed a slight initial degradation, but the fabric remained intact under both laboratory conditions and the compost environment. The cotton fabric with softener had an accelerated degradation rate, while the cotton fabric with resin showed a relatively slow degradation rate. All cotton samples were more significantly degraded in the compost environment than under the laboratory conditions and confirmed to be 'compostable'.