RE:Spin A new technology to expand recycling of cellulosic textile fibers

Important results from the project

The project group developed a textile recycling process, based on ShareTex’s technology, in which filaments are directly regenerated from textile waste. The process was validated at laboratory scale and we conducted market and sustainability analyses to expand the readiness of the innovation beyond the technical perspective. The project group delivered an increase in the readiness level from all different perspectives, as described in the application for financing. Apart from the increase in TRL, the project group conducted additional activities to increase the MRL and SRL.

Expected long term effects

The recycling process validated in the RE:Spin project has a strong potential to make an impact in the textile industry, as it can help to decouple from virgin resources and decrease the environmental footprint of fiber production. The results obtained from cotton waste show that it would be possible to deliver filaments similar to lyocell or viscose without the need to rely on wood-based feedstocks and avoiding the need for toxic chemicals typical of viscose production. In the case of viscose waste, the results show that it would be possible to obtained recycled filaments as well.

Approach and implementation

Each work package of the project had one or more deliverables and all of them were completed within the time span of the project. The reason for this is that all work packages achieved the results and goals described in the application for funding. Several milestones were defined in the application for funding at different timepoints during the project. All these milestones were achieved in due time so the project activities and goals were concluded according to the overall time span of the project.