I-Corps: Recycling system for converting cellulosic and polyester components of textile waste into recycled thread

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The broader/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a textile recycling system that sorts and recycles discarded textile waste into new, reusable thread. More than 93 million tons of textile waste are generated annually, but 1% of this waste is recycled for new textile production. This waste occurs due to the recycling industry’s inability to inexpensively sort textile waste for efficient recycling, resulting in textile recycling being prohibitively expensive. The proposed system automates the sorting of textile waste by material, before entering a chemical treatment that converts cellulosic and polyester components of the waste into 100% recycled thread. The proposed technology may allow for over 93% of all global textile waste to be recycled into thread that would be 50% cheaper than virgin cotton. The recycled thread may then be sold to existing textile manufacturers for weaving, embroidery, etc. In addition, the proposed process may facilitate access to local, low-cost raw materials for textile production, enabling the possibility of localized textile production in designated, economically disadvantaged zones. The proposed recycling technology may have a significant impact in reducing the textile industry’s environmental footprint, by reducing textile landfill waste as well as the use of water, land, and pesticides that are used to make textiles.This I-Corps project is based on the development of an integrated recycling system that uses robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically sort textile waste and a chemical recycling process to convert sorted textile waste into new, reusable thread. The input to the proposed recycling system is bulk, post-consumer textiles sourced from existing textile collection companies. The proposed recycling system sorts the textile waste by material and color using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and image processing, leveraging AI to improve the accuracy of sorting. The textile then goes through a chemical pretreatment that chemically separates the polyester and cellulose fibers (cellulose being the main component of cotton and other plant-based textiles). This pretreatment process is tuned according to the material and color percentages, which is designed to achieve the highest material yield from the chemical process. The final step involves regenerating the new recycled thread that may be sold to existing textile manufacturers while providing a sustainable solution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.