Cellulose Nanocrystals from Postconsumer Cotton and Blended Fabrics: A Study on Their Properties, Chemical Composition, and Process Efficiency

From manufacturing to disposal, the textile industry faces multiple challenges achieve sustainability and reduce its environmental impact. This work investigates properties composition of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted from clothing waste made cotton fibers. We isolated CNCs cotton, polyester/cotton, acrylic/cotton fabrics through acid hydrolysis with sulfuric acid. A yield 51–62 wt % (cotton basis) was obtained, nearly all polyester acrylic fibers contained in initial were recovered a convenient shape that could allow easier recycling. selected showed high purity, similar structural, physical, chemical characteristics, their comparable those virgin sources, although surface chemistry elemental slightly differed. The components evaluated nontarget chromatographic-mass spectrometric screening strategy. Both recycled textiles hundreds compounds common postconsumer textiles, including some health concerns. However, our findings show concentrations are negligible. Our results provide insights into associated use for extraction nanoparticles, potential applications nanomaterials.