RECYCLING MICROPLASTIC WASTE IN FAST FASHION INDUSTRY
RESEARCH REPORT
MS4101 SUSTAINABILITY ASPECT IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
by
Muhammad Rifqi Audry Mulyadi 13119216
Safira Dastalenta 13119229
Syafa Fahira Rasyid 13119230
Firah 13119248
Muhammad Akbar Noor Diza 13119254
Bryan Irawan 13119256
Lecturer:
Dr. Ir. Toto Hardianto - 0007066003
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDY PROGRAM
FACULTY OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI BANDUNG
2022
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CONTENT
CONTENT ... 2
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ... 3
1.1 Background ... 3
1.2 Problem Statement ... 4
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 5
2.1 Research Objectives ... 5
2.2 Research Question ... 5
2.3 Research Methodologies ... 5
CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE STUDY ... 6
3.1 Types of Microplastic Produced from Washing Fast Fashion Clothing ... 6
3.2 Microplastic Production from Washing Fast Fashion Clothing ... 8
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND SOLUTION ... 13
4.1 Past Solutions ... 13
4.2 Proposed Solution ... 14
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ... 17
5.1 Conclusion ... 17
5.2 Suggestion ... 17
WORKS CITED PAGE ... 18
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The term Fast Fashion is not unpopular these days with the age of social media where people are always trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends. It is used to describe clothing design that moves quickly from the catwalk and mass producing them to make the price relatively cheaper than the original design. The Fast Fashion industry itself is one of the most growing industries in the world right now. In 2020, the fast fashion market was valued at 1,000.3 million USD and is projected to reach 1,412.5 million USD by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 4.4% from 2021 to 2028. The reason behind the popularity of fast fashion is that fast fashion offers something cheaper, speedier manufacturing and shipping methods, an increase in consumers' appetite for up-to-the-minute styles, and the increase in consumer purchasing power, especially among young people, to indulge in these instant-gratification desires.
The most common question being asked about the fast fashion industry is “How come they sell things at such cheap prices?” or “How can they produce a such massive amount of clothing within one year?” The answer is that they have manufacturing plants across the globe in less developing countries so that they can pay less for the labour and most of their clothes are made of cheap fabrics. Focusing on fabrics as the main material of clothing, the fast fashion industry mostly used polyester as their fabric because polyester has a lot of advantages. The benefits of using polyester besides its low price are that polyester offers good strength, wrinkle resistance, resistance to stretching and shrinking, etc.. Still, those advantages don’t guarantee that the fabric didn’t have any flaws.
Polyester which is made from synthetic fabric can release microfibers which are a type of microplastic when we wash polyester-made clothing. The wastewater then goes to sewage treatment facilities. Approximately 0.19 million tonnes of microfibers enter the environment annually from the production and normal use of synthetic textiles. Meanwhile, our wastewater treatment plants can only capture approximately 40% of these fibres and the rest flow into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Microplastics travel through soil, water, and even air to all regions of the globe and are thought to comprise up to 35% of primary microplastics in the marine environment. The contamination of microplastic is not as visible as any contaminant at the sea
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because the size of microplastic is less than 5 mm and most of it is already piled up on the sea floor.
Currently, several solutions have been applied to dismiss harmful microplastics that shed from the clothes we wear. In the domestic scale, citizens are suggested to wash clothes more efficiently and use microplastic filters to keep microplastics from getting into wastewater.
However, these solutions still have its flaws in terms of applicability, and effectiveness in diminishing more plastic pollutants. These problems and areas that lack will be explored further in this paper.
Microplastic contamination is a problem that we need to face right now to save our environment especially the sea and every living creature life in it. Therefore, in this paper, we will use the mechanical approach to solve the microplastic contamination problem which already happens globally, and chose Indonesia as our main object for the paper.
1.2 Problem Statement
The microplastic that is filtered out of synthetic fabric clothing after washing needs to be further processed since, even after being filtered, it still ends up as trash in the environment.
The 2030 United Nations (UN) Agenda, which comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) meant to motivate and guide efforts to address the basic sustainability concerns that humanity and the planet face, supports the urgency of this issue. The airborne microplastic fiber pieces endanger life on land (SDG 15), the marine environment (SDG 14), and clean water and sanitation (SDG 6).
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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1 Research Objectives
The objectives of the research are:
1. To know what process that produces the highest micro fabric waste, and find the alternative solutions to prevent or reduce it based from the mechanical engineering principle.
2. To find the appropriate method for the utilization of micro fabric waste.
2.2 Research Question
1. What types of microplastics are primarily found in fast-fashion clothing?
2. How does the age of fast fashion clothing influence the production of microplastics?
3. How many microplastics produce in a certain period?
4. How is the microplastic recycling process that already exists?
5. What suitable recycling process can be applied to households in Indonesia?
2.3 Research Methodologies
This research will use secondary and primary source of data found online. In the second stage of this research, the authors collected the existing solutions and choose a method that can be further developed. Finally, data was processed to analyse and solve the problem, generating a new method which the authors developed from several existing methods.
Existing methods or current alternatives: improve the production process which prevents fibber breakage; develop filtering devices that were more integrated and effective;
design textile products with longer life; and arrange or manage better textile waste management. These were the few of available methods, other suggestions or recommendations were needed in the process of improving this paper’s quality.
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CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE STUDY
3.1 Types of Microplastic Produced from Washing Fast Fashion Clothing
When we are making clothes one of the aspects that we must consider is what is it going to be made of. There are various types of materials ranging from organic and synthetic. Organic materials are sourced from plants or animals whereas synthetic materials are made by humans via chemical synthesis. In the clothing industry synthetic material means that the material is derived from fossil fuel-based crude oil.
There is an estimation that over 62% of clothing now is made of synthetic fibers with the most common being polyester, most of that being polyester. Organic materials only make up for 31% of the material that is used in clothes now. Even though acrylic give the largest amount of fibres released per wash, polyester still released more microplastic since it is the most used fabric. Synthetic materials are double the percentage of organic materials. Since their introduction to the clothing market synthetic materials use in clothing has always increased.
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There are various ways microplastics spread throughout our environment but, one of the primary causes of the spreading is the domestic washing of garments. When we are putting our clothes in the washer or dryer it agitates the filth that is on our clothes so it would come off because of the agitation the clothes begin to shed particles of themselves. If the clothing is made of synthetic materials, then it would shed, and the particles would be considered microplastics. Those microplastics would then spread to the environment by waterways through the wastewater from the washer or dryer.
An experiment was conducted at the Marine Biology and Ecology Research Center which involves the washing of various clothes made from 100% polyester, 100% acrylic, and a blend of 35% polyester and 65% cotton. The clothes used in this experiment are all brand new and have not gone through a wash yet.
From the graphs we can see a reoccurring trend which is with every wash that the clothes go through the number of particles that are released would decrease. From the graph we can also see that the polyester made clothing sheds more particles than the others and that when polyester is combined with organic material like cotton it would decerease the weight of the shedding particles.
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3.2 Microplastic Production from Washing Fast Fashion Clothing
The growth of the fashion industry and textile clothing depend heavily on synthetic fibers as can be seen from the global fiber market. The synthetic fibers that we mostly found in the market are polyester (PET), polyamide (PA), acrylic (PAN), and polypropylene (PP) since they are generally durable, strong, and affordable. Those synthetic fiber can release on what is called as primary microplastic (small plastic particles <5mm size) during it washing process. Other sources for primary microplastics comprise road markings, wear and tear of tires, marine coatings, and cosmetics. Among the sources, Garments are responsible for 35%
of microplastic mitigation mainly during the washing cycles.
To indicate the real number of microplastic release, the behavior of consumers on purchasing fast fashion clothing need to be understand. In Indonesia itself based of Data Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) textile sector and clothing is contracted by -4.08% in 2021, although it was able to grow 5.95% in the fourth quarter of 2021. One of the production segments that can boost performance is the domestic clothing segment. In terms of production volume, the textile is also still experiencing a contraction of 3.97% from 7.2 million tons in 2020 to 6.92 million tons in 2021. Meanwhile, the volume of apparel production grew 14.47% from 1.41 million tons. In 2020 to 1.62 million tonnes in 2021. The data of garment consumption is only based from local production only, meanwhile in Indonesia the consumer is also has huge interest for international fast-fashion retailer which also become another source of microplastic. There are several successful international brands who have penetrated the Indonesia market, among them are H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo.
Using the data of consumer consumption for fast fashion clothing, we can predict how much the microplastic is release for one year. Assuming that 3 garments = 1 kg and the number of fast fashion production is the same with the local production (1.62 million tons), we get that there are 9720 garments bought yearly. Referencing the behavior of UK consumer where they wash dirty clothes 2 times a month then we assume in Indonesia due to the weather dirty clothes are wash 3 times a month. Previously observation is done to know on how much the microplastic is produce for every wash and it is found that 114 mg microplastic release per kg of fabrics. Based on the assumption we get that 114 mg x 3240 kg x 12 months x 3 times = 13,296,960 mg/year or close to 0.013 ton. The number is still very rough due to insufficient amount of necessary data therefore the actual number is actually higher.
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Other research is also done by Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials to discover the amount of microplastic produced after several washes. The research involved different fabrics which have polyester material, with various yarn compositions. To find how many microfibers (microplastic) are in the clothing, filter of 𝜇𝑚 pore size is installed in the washing machine. The graphs below are showing the amount of microfibers released and covered on 𝜇𝑚 pore size filters.
Figure 2. Microfbres released (expressed in mg/kg, Ma±SD, n=2) from BT, a 100% polyester t-shirt, RT a 100% polyester t-shirt, GB, a 100% polyester blouse of which 65% is recycled polyester, and GT, a top whose front is made of 100% polyester and whose back is made of a
blend of 50% cotton and 50% modal.
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Figure 3. Microfbres recovered on: (a) 400 μm mesh, 60 and 20 µm pore size flters; (b) 5 µm pore size flters from the washing of BT, RT, GB, and GT.
The results show that most of the fibers that detach from the fabric have dimensions that match such pore sizes. It is also needed to consider that smaller fibers may be trapped in this and other compartments. To assess the microfiber dimensions of the fractions collected on different filters, the amount of microfiber per filter is analyzed using either optical or scanning electron microscopy.
Briefly after the analysis in the electron microscope has been done, it is concluded that the GT (Green Top) and BT (Blue T-shirt) have completely different behavior, they were selected to undergo washing process in 10 cycles. The figure of the data is in below.
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Figure 4. Total amount of microfbres released during 10 washing cycles from: (a) BT and (b) GT
Figure 5. Microfbres recovered on 400 μm mesh, 60 and 20 µm pore size flters (expressed in mg/kg), and on 5 µm pore size flters (expressed in mg/L), during 10 washing cycles from: (a)
BT and (b) GT.
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Figure 6. TGA curves of the microfbres recovered from 60 µm pore size flters of 1st, 5th and 10th washes performed on GT.
Regarding the result, another research done by Carney Almroth, B. et al. (Quantifying shedding of synthetic fibers from textiles; a source of microplastics released into the environment, 2018) concluded that high-twist frame fiber yarns may help reduce microplastics released during the washing process. In fact, comparing the textile properties of the tested fabrics, GB released less than BT and RT, the two t-shits have a similar structure (knit, continuous filament, no twist, less hairy), because the woven structure has a twisted thread.
Due to the difference in the fiber construction of GB, BT and RT, it does not allow the different polyester compositions of GB (made of 65% recycled polyester) and BT and RT (made of 100% polyester) contributed to the microfiber release.
The yarn twist can be found using the equation:
𝑇 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃 𝜋𝑑
With 𝜃 is the angle formed by the fibre in the yarn with the yarn axis, and d is the diameter in meters.
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The amount of microfibers was converted in number of microfibers, N, assuming that the fibers were all in cylindrical shape and using Equation:
𝑁 =
𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑡 𝜌 𝜋𝐷2
4𝐿
where 𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑡 is the weight of microfiber released during the washing, ρ is the density of the material, L is the mean microfiber length and D is the mean microfiber diameter.
This study evaluated the effective contribution of synthetic clothing laundering processes to the environmental problem of microplastic pollution. The analytical method described brings together three important innovations: (1) Actual wash loads, and programs were tested. (2) All wastewater from washing machines was analyzed. (3) Using filters with different pore sizes in multistage filtration. These made it possible to obtain reliable quantitative data on the amount, size and type of microplastics released during cleaning.
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND SOLUTION
4.1 Current Solutions
In the washing process, the clothes release microplastic fiber. Installing a microplastic filter to a washing machine is one of the solutions that have been applied to catch the microfibers. The microplastic filter comes with a small and thin mesh to catch the microfibers when the clothes are being washed. A regular washing machine with no microplastic filter will release the grey water from the washing process containing the microplastic. With a microplastic filter, the grey water will be free from the microplastic since it is already filtered in the washing process.
The existing microplastic filter can capture 90% of the microplastic fibers. The microplastic will be stored in the filter. Once the filter is full, users can dispose of the microplastic fibers in the household waste. The disposal of microplastic fiber is the problem that haven’t been solved before. The microplastic fiber from the washing machine filter will make another waste if not processed.
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Figure 7. Washing machine filter
The other solution to minimize the microplastic fibers is to air dry the clothes. Instead of using a dryer to dry the laundry from the washing machine, air drying lets the clothes dry by itself using the natural heat and wind. Using a clothing dryer releases a certain amount of microfiber to the air. The tumbling action also might reduce the strength of the clothes that may lead more shedding of the microplastic in the next washing process. Beside reducing the microplastic waste, air drying will greatly save energy especially in Indonesia as a tropical country which is warm all year long. Another solution which is available is to use non chloride detergent or MES flakes which are surfactants that are gentle to the fabric reducing abrasion due to chemical reaction.
4.2 Proposed Solution
Upon reviewing past solutions and arising from the data and statistics collected, our team proposed for regional communities to insert a communal plastic recycler machine to prevent microplastic waste in landfills. In the past, plastics were recycled by being reheated to their melting point then extruded and or casted upon to create new products. We aim to utilize that same process but apply it to be suitable for one housing complex (approximately 100 houses). Furthermore, this machine is optimized for polyester - we assumed the microplastic to be polyester, as it is the most abundant microplastic waste found in clothing.
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Community Model Geographic Indonesia
Housing complex • Consists of approximately 100 houses.
• Has a regional administrator that deals with waste management.
Domestic Specifications
• Owns a washing machine with a filter.
Table 1. Community Model
The recycling machine that we propose consists of a melting chamber and an extrusion.
Microplastic that are already in small sizes are heated to melt in 200-degree Celsius. This temperature is taken to adjust to polyester’s melting point which is shown in the following table. Once in liquid form, the plastic paste is then extruded. Communities then could add any mold at the end of the extruder, adjusting to what end-products they wanted. But keep in mind that
Figure 8. Microplastic material properties
The following diagram details the flow of the logistics from filtration to recycling the microplastic into new products. It started from the domestic scale, where each household will collect the residue of microplastic polyesters. The collected plastics will then be accumulated in a communal scale, where instead of being transported to landfill, these plastics will be recycled into new products through the recycling machine.
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Figure 9. Microplastic recycling process
This solution adopts a familiar yet ingenious approach to solving the microplastic problem in Indonesia. Not only does it manage to remove harmful microplastics from living creatures and environment, it also completes a circular economy which aligns itself with SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production. Furthermore, it also supports SDG 14 and 15 which strives to create a healthy and sustainable land and marine.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1 Conclusion
The process that produces the highest micro fabric waste comes from the first washing cycle, because the age of the clothing is still new, and thus will contain the most microfibre/microplastic waste . Since the fast-fashion are prompt to use synthetic material rather than natural material, such as polyester, it would contribute to microplastic waste being spread to the environment. Therefore, we propose to build small plant that can provide the recycling process of microplastic at one complex (100 houses). The system use extruding and molding process for the microplastic to become useable item.
5.2 Suggestion
Further analysis for various aspects is needed for applying the solutions, for example from the economic and social aspect. Furthermore, it will be better if this solution should be tested in a particular region.
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WORKS CITED PAGE
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