Investigation of tensile strength and elongation properties of chenille upholstery fabrics including recycling polyester yarns

Abstract

Every day, millions of plastic and polyethylene terephthalate bottles are being thrown away by people. This leads not only to the reduction of landfills and increase in environmental problems but also to pollution of marine and oceans that affect the lives of many living things. Therefore, recycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate bottles with recycling technologies has great environmental importance. In this study, recycled polyester yarns obtained by recycling waste polyethylene terephthalate bottles and standard polyester yarns were used in staple forms, as well as binder and pile yarns of the chenille yarn structure. In this context, 16 different chenille yarns were produced and the production parameters such as rotor speed, spindle speed, and pile density are kept constant by selecting the appropriate values. Then, these chenille yarns were used as weft to produce upholstery fabrics. Tensile strength and elongation tests were applied to the upholstery fabrics, and the results were evaluated statistically. As a result of the tensile strength tests and statistical analyses, it is concluded that the weft breaking strength of all types of woven fabrics, which have 100% recycled polyester in the structures of chenille yarns as weft, is slightly decreased compared to other types, but this decrease is not statistically significant. The use of recycled polyester yarns in the structures of chenille yarns, which are widely used in the upholstery sector, will be beneficial in producing more sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics.

TSC Opinion

La méthode du « chenille yarn » que l’on nomme laine chenille est déjà une technique de recyclage des fibres naturelles. Elle consiste à découper des morceaux de textile pour en refaire des fibres qui sont à nouveau tissées. Cette approche s’applique aussi aux tissus synthétiques. Elle donne des structures et des apparences de fibres qui sont originales et certaines sont très recherchées par l’industrie de la mode. Sa limitation porte souvent sur la fragilité des tissus qui doivent être lavés à sec. Dans cette étude, les auteurs ont montré l’utilisation de bouteilles en PET pour fabriquer des textiles à partir de ce procédé. Ils discutent les modes opératoires et les qualités obtenues. L’utilisation envisagée est le rembourrage. Le PET étant très résistant à la biodegradation par les insectes et les bactéries, il peut effectivement constituer une matière parfaite pour cette application sans avoir à ajouter d’additifs chimiques.