Method for recycling cotton and polyester fibers from waste fabrics

摘要

Systems and methods involving subcritical water reactions are provided for recycling the cellulose and polyester components of waste cotton fabrics and cotton/polyester blend fabrics that are otherwise to be discarded or disposed. Specifically, the disclosed method provides a method for manufacturing a high-quality material comprising cellulose and terephthalic acid (TPA) with low environmental impact by treating a waste fabric. The cellulose and TPA produced are of high quality, allowing the production of recycled cellulose and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) suitable for fiber spinning and textile applications.