Sorting and processing strategies for used textiles for the production of recyclable fractions

StraTex develops and experimentally implements suitable, economically viable, and holistic strategies for the collection, processing, and automated sorting of mixed non-reusable textiles in order to increase the proportion of marketable fractions for high-quality material recycling (fiber-to-fiber where possible).

Project duration
07.06.2024 - 06.06.2027

Project number
FO999917957

Initial situation/motivation: Textiles are part of our everyday lives, but “fast fashion” promotes the (over)consumption of textiles and thus also the production of textiles on a massive scale due to low prices. In recent decades, the textile industry has become the fourth most environmentally damaging industry in the EU. The garments currently on the market are not even worn half as long as they were 15 years ago, resulting in high amounts of textile waste (13.4 kg/person per year), which will continue to rise for various reasons (including saturation of the second-hand market and export restrictions). 

Contents and objectives: StraTex pursues the overarching goal of developing and experimentally implementing suitable, economically viable, and holistic strategies for the collection, processing, and automated sorting of mixed non-reusable textiles and to implement them experimentally in order to increase the proportion of marketable fractions for high-quality material recycling (fiber-to-fiber where possible) and to contribute to a more sustainable use of textiles and to sustainability goals.

Methodological approach: StraTex begins with comprehensive research into the needs and requirements of the textile recycling industry. This is because the feasibility, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of chemical, physical, or (thermo-)mechanical recycling processes depend heavily on the purity of the input material. The recycling industry defines the material compositions to be achieved and the type and maximum number of contaminants that are tolerated in the recycling process. However, the challenges of textile recycling are considerable. Among other things, textiles often have several layers, a wide variety of fabric blends, or applications (e.g., functional or decorative accessories). Within the framework of StraTex, textiles collected in completely different ways are treated at three different processing levels (whole textiles, shredded textiles, and defibered textiles) and, by combining different processing and sorting technologies, fractions with predefined properties in terms of composition and impurities are created. Particular attention is paid to different and, in some cases, new sensor technologies. The influence of textile finishing on detection by means of sensor-based sorting is also taken into account.

The demonstration will take place within the framework of several use cases that cover the challenges in the textile sector in different ways.

Expected results: A catalog of measures for future textile collection will be developed so that collection is coordinated as closely as possible with subsequent sorting, processing, and recycling.

Automated textile sorting and processing technologies for textiles will be further developed and solutions for the challenges in textile sorting and processing will be developed.

Holistic strategies that enable fiber-to-fiber recycling will be developed.