Development and Characterization of Weft-Knitted Fabrics of Naturally Occurring Polymer Fibers for Sustainable and Functional Textiles

Abstract

This study focuses on the potential uses in textiles of fibers of soy protein (SP) and chitin, which are naturally occurring polymers that can be obtained from agricultural and food processing by-products and wastes. The as-received natural fibers were first subjected to a three-step manufacturing process to develop yarns that were, thereafter, converted into fabrics by weft knitting. Different characterizations in terms of physical properties and comfort parameters were carried out on the natural fibers and compared to waste derived fibers of coir and also conventional cotton and cotton-based fibers, which are widely used in the textile industry. The evaluation of the geometry and mechanical properties revealed that both SP and chitin fibers showed similar fineness and tenacity values than cotton, whereas coir did not achieve the expected properties to develop fabrics. In relation to the moisture content, it was found that the SP fibers outperformed the other natural fibers, which could successfully avoid variations in the mechanical performance of their fabrics as well as impair the growth of microorganisms. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of the natural fibers was assessed against different bacteria and fungi that are typically found on the skin. The obtained results indicated that the fibers of chitin and also SP, being the latter functionalized with biocides during the fiber-formation process, showed a high antimicrobial activity. In particular, reductions of up to 100% and 60% were attained for the bacteria and fungi strains, respectively. Finally, textile comfort was evaluated on the weft-knitted fabrics of the chitin and SP fibers by means of thermal and tactile tests. The comfort analysis indicated that the thermal resistance of both fabrics was similar to that of cotton, whereas their air permeability was higher, particularly for chitin due to its higher fineness, which makes these natural fibers very promising for summer clothes. Both the SP and chitin fabrics also presented relatively similar values of fullness and softness than the pure cotton fabric in terms of body feeling and richness. However, the cotton/polyester fabric was the only one that achieved a good range for uses in winter-autumn cloths. Therefore, the results of this work demonstrate that non-conventional chitin and SP fibers can be considered as potential candidates to replace cotton fibers in fabrics for the textile industry due to their high comfort and improved sustainability. Furthermore, these natural fibers can also serve to develop novel functional textiles with antimicrobial properties.

Integration of nanocomposite finishing on polyester fabric for enhanced UV protection, performance, and comfort properties

“…Therefore, fabric properties, such as thermal conductivity, water vapor resistance, hygroscopicity, and air permeability, could influence physiological comfort. 14 –16…”

Enhanced Knittability of Paper Yarn from the Swedish Forest by Using Textile Finishing Materials

“…Sustainability in textiles involves a long chain of factors to consider: material production and processing, distribution of products, consumption, and disposal [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The textile sector is enormous and is a significant part of several countries' national economies [3].…”

“…Consumer demands on environmental friendliness and governmental laws drive the companies to make an effort to increase their sustainability while also fulfilling other requirements such as comfort, performance, and aesthetics [3,5,6]. For textile materials' sustainability, renewability is desired because the majority of today's textiles are petroleum based [2,5,10]. Therefore, a lot of research is directed toward different natural fibers where the significant problems are pesticides and chemicals [2,5,9].…”

“…For textile materials' sustainability, renewability is desired because the majority of today's textiles are petroleum based [2,5,10]. Therefore, a lot of research is directed toward different natural fibers where the significant problems are pesticides and chemicals [2,5,9]. The processing chemicals are used for various purposes in several process steps and end up in waste water [3].…”

Biopolymers from Natural Resources

“…Ferrándiz et al [ 17 ] studied the potential use of soy protein (SP) fibers functionalized with an undisclosed antimicrobial agent as well chitin (with inherent antimicrobial properties) fibers as sustainable active textiles to replace synthetic polymers widely used in this sector. The thermal resistance of both weft-knitted fabrics was similar to that of cotton, whereas their air permeability was higher, particularly in the case of chitin due to its higher fineness, which makes these natural fibers very promising for summer clothes.…”