A team of researchers from the University of Delaware are investigating a new process that breaks down mixed-fibre clothing into reusable, recyclable parts without the need for sorting or separation.

Globally, less than 0.5% of postconsumer textile waste is recycled, with the majority either incinerated or ending up in landfills. Most post-consumer textiles made from a mix of fibres, which complicates mechanical recycling due to material blends and contaminants.

This prompted the team to find alternative ways to recycle modern garments and create a closed-loop system. Garments made from a mix of natural and synthetic fibres are difficult to separate, which presents a problem for recycling, which often requires textiles to be sorted into categories beforehand.

The researchers’ study, published in Sciences Advances, demonstrated the chemical conversion of post-consumer mixed textile waste using microwave-assisted glycolysis – a series of reactions that extract energy from glucose by splitting it into two three-carbon molecules called pyruvates – over a zinc oxide (ZnO) catalyst, followed by solvent dissolution.

The team, led by Erha Andini, a chemical engineer at the University of Delaware, used a solvent that breaks the chemical bonds in polyester fabric while leaving cotton and nylon intact. To speed the process, they powered it with microwave energy and added the ZnO catalyst.