Upcycling post-consumer household textiles into a biodegradable thermoplastic

ABSTRACT: This study demonstrates the biological valorization of post-consumer cotton-based towels, a significant household textile waste stream, into poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) P(3HB), a biodegradable and biocompatible thermoplastic. The textile waste was mechanically defibrillated, and pre-treated by freezing in NaOH/urea, rendering the cellulose fibers more accessible to saccharification, which was achieved by hydrolysis with Cellic (R) CTec3 cellulase. The resulting hydrolysate, with a glucose concentration of 102.3 g/L, was used to supply glucose as the carbon source for the batch bioreactor cultivation of the bacterium Burkholderia thailandensis E264. With an initial glucose concentration of 40 g/L, a maximum P(3HB) production of 9.17 +/- 1.01 g/L was observed after 53 h of cultivation, corresponding to an overall volumetric productivity of 0.165 g/(L h) and a product yield of 0.218 g/g. The P(3HB) exhibited an average molecular weight of 497 kDa and a polydispersity index of 2.6, with melting and thermal degradation temperatures of 170 and 291 degrees C, respectively, crystallinity index of 78.8%. Importantly, its tensile properties (Young's Modulus of 563 +/- 62 MPa and tensile strength of 27 +/- 2 MPa) were comparable to P(3HB) produced by other bacteria, including commercial products. The findings of this study demonstrate the feasibility of upcycling cotton-based household waste into a value-added sustainable and biodegradable material with properties matching those of commercial thermoplastics.

Palavras-chave

Polyhydroxyalkanoates Thermoplastic Cotton textile waste Enzymatic hydrolysis Waste valorization

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.9/6490

Citação

Rodrigues, T., Matias, J., Moura, P., Abreu, M., Gírio, F., Braga, A., Dias, J., Rovisco, A., Fortunato, E., Torres, C., Reis, M., Marques, S., Freitas, F., & Silva, C. (2026). Upcycling post-consumer household textiles into a biodegradable thermoplastic. In: Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 2026, vol. 50, article e02262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2026.e02262