Elucidating the Impact of Material, Process and Structural Parameters on Fragmented Fibre Release from Textiles During Laundering

Fragmented fibres (FF) are increasingly recognised as a pervasive environmental contaminant, contributing to the pollution of air, water, and soil. Their presence in natural ecosystems can potentially harm living organisms by acting as carriers and sources of toxic chemicals. In humans, there is emerging evidence on the potential risks associated with synthetic FF to toxicity, and their role as vectors for pathogens/parasites. Natural and regenerated FF may also contain hazardous chemical residues and can pose environmental and health threats. Household laundering is reported to be a major source of FF emissions, accounting for nearly 5 million kilograms of discharge annually into aquatic environments.
This thesis advances understanding of how textile materials (fibre type) and structures influence FF release during laundering to fundamentally understand the impact of key textile variables. Standardised laundering tests were conducted to systematically assess the influence of fibre properties, yarn structure, fabric construction, and surface finishes. Fibre Fragmentation was quantified through gravimetric analysis and correlated with fibre mechanical properties and manufacturing parameters. This research is pioneering in isolating key textile variables under controlled conditions, enabling the development of novel structure-property relationships governing FF release. The experimental findings reveal the complex interactions between fibre mechanics, yarn processing, and fabric construction.
In addition, a novel fluid dynamics visualisation methodology was developed to capture fibre motion and detachment under turbulent flow conditions, simulating the hydrodynamic forces encountered during washing. This system provides, for the first time, real-time insights into fibre behaviour during turbulence, enabling a mechanistic analysis of fibre motion that leads to fatigue and detachment.
Together, these contributions offer new mechanistic insight into the drivers of fibre fragmentation and provide insights for designing low-shedding textiles. This work supports the development of structure-informed mitigation approaches to contribute to broader efforts aimed at reducing the environmental impact of fragmented fibre pollution at source.