Along with the widespread use of polyester (PET) has come the need to address the fact that the disposal of PET-based textiles, particularly in land field sites, poses potential environmental problems due to its lack of biodegradability. Among the environmental stewardship initiatives that have emerged is closed loop recycling of colored PET fabrics used in apparel. Recycling PET would not only eliminate solid waste sent to landfills it would reduce the carbon footprint associated with petrochemical usage. A key step in the recycling process is the removal of color (dyes), and recent studies in our laboratories have shown that aqueous sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (SFS) is an effective decolorizing agent for disperse dyes in PET. This agent works best for disperse dye removal when a water-miscible organic co-solvent such as acetone is used, due to the low water solubility of these dyes. Phase 2 of this program involved recovery and reuse of solvent media and the reuse of decolorized PET fabric. It was found that the decolorized fabrics can be re-dyed the same or different colors, with acceptable color differences and no significant effect on fabric integrity. It was also found that the co-solvent could be recovered and reused.
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