The significant waste generated by the fashion industry necessitates sustainable textile recycling strategies. Polyester, made from poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), is abundant in post-consumer textiles. Technologies have been developed to convert low-density garment waste into flakes, but the role of color sorting in achieving uniform aesthetics in injection-moldable plastics remains underexplored. This study compares materials extruded from dark color-sorted polyester garment flakes with those from light-color flakes in terms of processability in extrusion and injection molding. The properties examined include melt fluidity, injection molding shrinkage, and mechanical and thermal properties. Commercial chain extenders with anhydride, oxazoline, or epoxide reactive groups were added during extrusion. Interestingly, only dark-colored extruded pellets showed significant degradation, but all the chain extenders allowed melt fluidity to be controlled during reprocessing. The bisoxazoline-based additive was the most promising, due to the highly improved ductility of the samples, regardless of whether they were dark-colored or light-colored. The results indicate significant potential for the industrial recycling of post-consumer textiles and highlight the industrial feasibility of repurposing post-consumer polyester garments. This approach not only supports initiatives of circular economy but also offers a viable solution for managing textile waste, particularly in the fashion industry. Additionally, the suggested recycling route combats the production of microplastics.

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in developing novel materials based on natural biopolymers as a renewable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. The availability of proteins derived from agricultural by-products, along with their favourable properties, has fostered a renewed interest in protein-based materials, promoting research in innovative technologies. In this study, we propose the use of rapeseed protein-rich meal as the main ingredient for the preparation of novel sustainable materials combining excellent environmental properties such as biodegradability and renewability. The application of sustainable products in the present high-tech society requires the modification of the basic native properties of these natural compounds. The original route proposed in this paper consists of preparation via the compression moulding of flexible biomaterials stabilized by crosslinkers/chain extenders. An investigation of the effects of different denaturing and disulfide bond reducing agents, crosslinkers, and preparation conditions on the material mechanical behaviour demonstrated that the novel materials have appreciable strength and stiffness. The results show the potential of utilizing full meal from vegetable by-products to prepare protein-based materials with guaranteed ecofriendly characteristics and mechanical properties adequate for specific structural applications.

This study investigates the potential of rapeseed meal (RM), a protein-rich by-product of the rapeseed oil industry, as a raw material for the development of renewable materials. Due to the presence of antinutritional compounds, rapeseed meal is underutilized, primarily in low-value applications such as animal feed. In this work, rapeseed meal protein hydrolysates were enzymatically obtained and incorporated as plasticizers into rapeseed meal-based materials to improve their mechanical properties, water permeability, and thermal stability. Collagen hydrolysate has also been utilized as a low-cost additive to further enhance the material performance. The glycerol content was reduced to address permeability and migration issues associated with hydrophilic plasticizers. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of hydrolysates into rapeseed meal-based materials modulated thermal stability, water permeability, and mechanical properties—particularly elongation at break and flexibility. The latter increased proportionally with the hydrolysate content of RM-based materials. Additionally, aerobic biodegradation behavior, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) supported the material’s favorable performance characteristics, highlighting the potential of rapeseed meal as a viable, biodegradable alternative for sustainable materials in industrial applications.

The recycling of polyamide 6 (PA) and elastane (EL) from post-consumer textiles is increasingly relevant for sustainable materials development. This study investigates blends obtained from a commercial PA fabric containing 16% EL, processed via extrusion under various conditions to evaluate the influence of temperature, screw type, and speed on phase morphology and thermo-mechanical performance. The results demonstrate that processing parameters, particularly temperature, significantly affect melt viscosity and the final mechanical properties of the blends. Enhanced ductility was observed in all recycled samples compared to pure PA, indicating that mechanical recycling is a promising strategy for PA/EL textile waste. These findings support the feasibility of this approach, while highlighting the need for further research into compatibilization techniques and industrial scalability.

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in developing novel materials based on natural biopolymers as a renewable alternative of petroleum-based plastics. The availability of proteins derived from agricultural by-products, along with their favourable properties, has fostered a renewed interest in protein-based materials, promoting research in innovative technologies. In this study we propose the use of rapeseed protein-rich meal as main ingredient for the preparation of novel sustainable materials combining excellent environmental properties such as biodegradability and renewable origin. Application as sustainable products in the present high-tech society needs modification of basic native properties of these natural compounds. The original route proposed in this paper consists in the preparation via compression moulding of flexible biomaterials stabilized by crosslinkers/chain extenders. Investigation of the effects of different denaturing and disulfide bond reducing agents, crosslinkers, and preparation conditions on the material mechanical behaviour demonstrated that the novel materials have appreciable strength and stiffness. The results show the potential of utilizing full meal from vegetable by-products to prepare protein-based materials with granted ecofriendly characteristics and mechanical properties adequate to specific structural applications.