Content area
In line with environmental awareness movements and social concerns, the textile industry is prioritizing sustainability in its strategic planning, product decisions, and brand initiatives. The use of non-biodegradable materials, obtained from non-renewable sources, contributes heavily to environmental pollution throughout the textile production chain. As sustainable alternatives, considerable efforts are being made to incorporate biodegradable biopolymers derived from residual biomass, with reasonable production costs, to replace or reduce the use of synthetic petrochemical-based polymers. However, the commercial deployment of these biopolymers is dependent on high biomass availability and a cost-effective supply. Residual forest biomass, with lignocellulosic composition and seasonably available at low cost, constitutes an attractive renewable resource that might be used as raw material. Thus, this review aims at carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature on the use of residual forest biomass as a source of new biomaterials for the textile industry, identifying current gaps or problems. Three specific biopolymers are considered: lignin that is recovered from forest biomass, and the bacterial biopolymers poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) and bacterial cellulose (BC), which can be produced from sugar-rich hydrolysates derived from the polysaccharide fractions of forest biomass. Lignin, PHA, and BC can find use in textile applications, for example, to develop fibers or technical textiles, thus replacing the currently used synthetic materials. This approach will considerably contribute to improving the sustainability of the textile industry by reducing the amount of non-biodegradable materials upon disposal of textiles, reducing their environmental impact. Moreover, the integration of residual forest biomass as renewable raw material to produce advanced biomaterials for the textile industry is consistent with the principles of the circular economy and the bioeconomy and offers potential for the development of innovative materials for this industry.
Details
Biodegradation;
Biodegradable materials;
Sustainability;
Cellulose;
Textile industry;
Biomass;
Polymerization;
Availability;
Biomedical materials;
Environmental impact;
Raw materials;
Biodegradability;
Biomaterials;
Biopolymers;
Strategic planning;
Textiles;
Forests;
Production costs;
Petrochemicals;
Lignin;
Hydrolysates;
Alcohol;
Industrial development;
Industrial textiles;
Lignocellulose;
Cellulose fibers;
Moisture absorption;
Renewable resources;
Composite materials;
Polymers;
Forest biomass;
Pollution sources;
Environmental awareness;
Glucose;
Polyhydroxyalkanoates;
Circular economy
1 CITEVE—Technological Centre for Textile and Clothing of Portugal, 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal;
2 Bioenergy and Biorefineries Unit, LNEG—National Laboratory of Energy and Geology, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal;
3 RAIZ—Forest and Paper Research Institute, Eixo, 3801-501 Aveiro, Portugal;
4 Associate Laboratory i4HB—Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal;
5 CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal;