This issue reviews developments in wetting and wicking of fibrous materials, covering characterization of wetting; wetting and wicking of fibers, filaments, yarns, and fabrics; factors affecting wetting and wicking of fibrous assemblies; mathematical models of wetting and wicking; and application areas of the same.

Nanofibers, with their high surface area-to-volume ratio and unique physical properties, hold significant promise for a wide range of applications, including medical devices, filtration systems, packaging, electronics, and advanced textiles. However, their development and commercialization are hindered by several key challenges and hazards. The main issues are production cost and yield, high voltage, clogging, and toxic materials driven by complex production techniques, which limit their adoption. Additionally, there are environmental and health concerns associated with nanofiber production and disposal, necessitating the development of safer and more sustainable processes and materials. Addressing these challenges requires continued innovation in materials science and industrial practices, as well as a concerted effort to balance production, material, and surrounding condition parameters. This study emphasizes the challenges and hazards associated with nanofiber materials and their production techniques, including electrospinning, centrifugal spinning, solution blow spinning, electro-blown spinning, wet spinning, and melt spinning. It also emphasizes biopolymers and recycling as sustainable and eco-friendly practices to avoid harming the environment and human beings.

Fossil fuels are a major source of energy although they generate toxic pollutants that cause harm to human beings and the environment. To control these toxic pollutants, various environmental regulations have been imposed and improved filtration technologies have been developed and adopted in response. Multinational agreements have been signed in order to tackle fossil fuel emission as a global problem. Whilst efforts to reduce emissions include the switch from fossil fuel to renewables such as solar, rain and wind, renewables like solar and wind sources and technologies are currently expensive as compared to fossil-fuel technologies. Nonwoven filter media are currently the dominant means by which the fly ash particles that are generated during fossil-fuel combustion are removed; they are widely used because of their high filtration efficiency and low pressure-drop properties. This issue of Textile Progress focuses on the filtration market, the manufacturing techniques used for nonwoven filters, the filtration of fly ash and the mechanisms used to control emissions to meet environmental regulations. Important properties of filter fabrics, their areas of application and disposal issues are discussed and possible reasons are presented for the failure of filters during operation. It addresses the problems faced in achieving effective filtration, not only in fossil fuel power plants but also across a number of other important industries.