Evaluating Contaminant Effects and Blend Ratios on the Alkaline Hydrolysis of PET Textile Streams

Published

September 5, 2025

Author(s)

McKenzie Coughlin, Thomas Forbes, Zois Tsinas, Amanda Forster, Charlotte Wentz, Maxwell Mevorah, allison carranza, Amy Engelbrecht-Wiggans

Abstract

The increasing amounts of discarded textiles represent a potentially valuable resource that could be reclaimed, for example, by chemical techniques. This work underscores the significance of advancing chemical recycling techniques for multi-component fabrics under mild reaction conditions. We present a method for nondestructive recovery of cotton, elastane, and nylon from polyester, also known as polyethylene terephthalate, textile blends through alkaline hydrolysis, supported with a phase-transfer catalyst. Consistent reaction conditions were maintained while evaluating various pre-consumer blends to assess their impact on the depolymerization of polyester component into terephthalic acid (TPA). The average TPA yield (by mass) was 93.9 % ± 2.8 % for pre-consumer materials and 89.5 % ± 3.1 % for post-consumer materials. This work also explored the reuse potential of cotton recovered from the polycotton textile blends and examined any alterations in tensile strength post-hydrolysis. The average cotton recovery post-reaction (by mass) was 95.9 % ± 0.8 %. Extensive material characterization for all components of the textile blends was conducted. This research paves the way for a deeper understanding of the potential contamination by small molecules of TPA yielded and the quality of unreacted fibers within this mild alkaline chemical process.

Citation

Journal of Photopolymer Science and Technology

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1021/acssusresmgt.5c00302

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Keywords

Chemical recycling, textiles, polyethylene terephthalate, depolymerization, cotton, elastomeric fibers, blended textiles, contaminants, garments

Citation

Coughlin, M. , Forbes, T. , Tsinas, Z. , Forster, A. , Wentz, C. , Mevorah, M. , carranza, A. and Engelbrecht-Wiggans, A. (2025), Evaluating Contaminant Effects and Blend Ratios on the Alkaline Hydrolysis of PET Textile Streams, Journal of Photopolymer Science and Technology, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/acssusresmgt.5c00302, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=959691 (Accessed December 9, 2025)