Reusing textile waste as reinforcements in composites

ABSTRACT Polyester (PET) has wide applications in textile industries as textile fiber and its share continues to grow. Substantial quantities of cotton/polyester blend fabrics are disposed every year due to technical challenges, which pose a big environmental and waste‐dumping problem. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of discarded cotton/PET fabrics as raw materials for composites. If their inherent reinforcement properties can be used in composites, an ecological footprint issue can be solved. In this study, we investigate three concepts for reuse of cotton/PET fabrics for composites: compression molding above the T m of PETs, use of a matrix derived from renewable soybean oil, use of thermoplastic copolyester/polyester bi‐component fibers as matrix. All three concepts have been explored to make them available for wider applications. The effects of processing parameters such as compression temperature, time and pressure are considered in all three cases. The third concept gives the most appealing properties, which combine good tensile properties with toughness; more than four times better tensile strength than the first concept; and 2.2 times better than the second concept. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131 , 40687.