Green And Environmental Protection: Waste Textile Recycling To "New" To "Green"

With the improvement of global environmental awareness, green development has become an important trend of global economic and social development. In the textile industry, the positive incentive effect of vigorously promoting green development, circular development and low-carbon development has become increasingly prominent. More and more enterprises are moving from "new" to "green" on the way of transformation.

"Accelerating the modernization of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature has become a new historical mission of the textile industry." Duan Xiaoping, Vice President of the China Textile Industry Federation (hereinafter referred to as the "China Textile Federation"), said at the recently held Xinxiang "Egret" Green Sustainable Development Forum.

Clear target of waste spinning recycling

The 14th Five Year Plan for the Development of the Textile Industry clearly defines the new orientation of the textile industry, namely, the pillar industry for national economic and social development, the basic industry for solving the problems of people's livelihood and beautifying life, and the advantageous industry for international cooperation and integrated development. In 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on High Quality Development of Chemical Fiber Industry, which clearly promotes high-end, intelligent and green transformation of chemical fiber industry to achieve high-quality development. On August 27 this year, the China Textile Federation officially released the Action Plan for Building a Modern Textile Industry System (2022-2035), which proposed to comprehensively build a green manufacturing system for the textile industry.

Duan Xiaoping stressed that promoting the green development of the textile industry needs to be promoted systematically and for a long time. The high-end industrial structure, sustainable source of raw materials, cleaner production process, recycling of resource utilization, value chain synergy of the industrial chain, and low-carbon energy structure are important paths to promote the green development of the industry and need to be promoted systematically.

Zong Ruilong, deputy director of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that the recycling of waste textiles is of great significance for resource conservation, pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and is also an important measure to effectively supplement the supply of raw materials for China's textile industry and ease resource and environmental constraints.

In March 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles, proposing that by 2025, the recycling system of waste textiles will be initially established, and the recycling capacity will be greatly improved, with the recycling rate of waste textiles reaching 25% and the output of recycled fiber of waste textiles reaching 2 million tons. By 2030, a relatively complete recycling system of waste textiles will be established. Producers and consumers' awareness of recycling will be significantly improved, high-value utilization ways will continue to expand, and the level of industrial development will be significantly improved. The recycling rate of waste textiles will reach 30%, and the recycled fiber output of waste textiles will reach 3 million tons.

Hua Shan, director of the Industry Department of China Textile Federation, believes that the understanding of the resource recycling system should first have the supply and innovation of green fiber, and form a recyclable closed loop. The starting point should start from the design, guide the consumers at the same time, and build the concept of green consumption from the consumer level. In addition, it is also necessary to form a recycling system, involving standards, information systems and key technologies. All links should be improved under the background of the digital economy and the blessing of "Internet+".

New technology accelerates green development

At present, scientific and technological innovation in the field of textile raw materials is promoting the development of fiber industry towards green and high-quality direction.

Shao Changjin, chairman of Xinxiang Bailu Investment Group Co., Ltd. and Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., said in an interview with China Textile News that Xinxiang Bailu always adheres to the concept of collaborative innovation, integrated development, and win-win cooperation, and builds a collaborative innovation alliance with the advantages of enterprise resources, scientific research units, strategic partners and other aspects, In the field of new textile materials, we are committed to cooperation in green low-carbon, recycling, fashion and other aspects, and have achieved fruitful results.

Xinxiang Bailu cooperates with Southwest Jiaotong University to use DT green composite solvent for recycling of waste cotton textiles, realizing recycling of waste linen and finding a new path for green and low-carbon development of the industry; Cooperating with the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we have developed ionic liquid fiber, which is also a new green material and will bring changes to the renewable cellulose industry. The company actively explores the source of non wood raw material cellulose fiber. The use of fungus in fiber manufacturing can realize the substitution of grass for wood, which can not only improve the safety of the industrial chain and supply chain, achieve the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, but also effectively solve the shortage of raw materials in China, which will bring innovation in the renewable cellulose fiber industry.

Shao Changjin introduced that the company has applied for a number of national invention patents from the preparation of straw pulp to a variety of straw fiber preparation methods. At present, the invention patent authorization has been obtained for the preparation of pulp for spinning with fungus and its production method, as well as for the preparation of fungus fiber by ionic liquid method and its method. At the same time, many international patents have been applied for the relevant technology of fungus fiber.

Shao Changjin said that Egret will further adhere to demand oriented and consumption led technological innovation, and strengthen the work of increasing varieties, improving quality and creating brands; Insist on taking the domestic demand market as the strategic basis, and accelerate the transformation of technology to products; It will further strengthen innovation cooperation with universities, scientific research institutes and industrial chain enterprises, promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and strive to cultivate new advantages of industrial chain innovation in building a new development pattern.

"At present, Egret New Materials Research Institute has successively overcome many scientific research problems such as straw pulping and spinning, and mastered a full set of industrial technology from a grass to a silk." Xie Yueting, chief engineer of Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., said that at present, the company has built a demonstration line of 100 tons of ionic liquid fiber, and by the first half of next year, It will also build the world's first thousand ton production line of cellulose fiber by ionic liquid method.

Collaborative innovation and promoting circular economy

"Food, clothing, housing and transportation" is related to people's livelihood. With the continuous improvement of people's living standards, more and more waste clothing is produced in consumption, and the environmental pressure is increasingly prominent. The recycling of waste textiles has attracted much attention. How to find a better solution?

Ren Wenwei, Director of the Shanghai Regional Project of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), introduced the NbS (nature based solution) and case guide proposed by the World Conservation Union, and proposed actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and changed ecosystems, while providing benefits for human well-being and biodiversity.

The industrial pilot work of recycling waste hotel linen, led by the Environmental Protection and Assets Supervision Committee of China Textile Federation, has achieved fruitful results in recent years. Wang Lin, the business director of comprehensive utilization of resources of the Environmental Protection and Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China Textile Federation, said that circular economy is a cross industry and cross value chain cooperation. Only by strengthening industrial collaboration and forming a complete cycle system and closed-loop, can a model beneficial to all parties be established.

Feng Jiaping, executive vice president of the China Forestry Industry Federation, believes that there are three main ways to implement solutions based on nature. The first is to protect the natural ecosystem and biodiversity, the second is to restore and repair the damaged natural ecosystem, and the third is to develop bio based industries.

"The conversion of fungus and reed fiber is conducive to stabilizing the supply of wood pulp raw materials." Sun Huaibin, former vice president of China Textile Federation, said that establishing and improving the industry chain of fungus and grass fiber will help make fungus and grass fiber a new fiber and fiber brand favored by consumers.

"As a new type of healthy raw material, fungus has weakened the dilemma of raw materials being controlled by others." Zhang Jiaqi, deputy general manager and senior engineer of Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., said that as the production side, Xinxiang Egret should improve through process innovation to further reduce costs. It is hoped that the industry will work together to promote the fungus fiber to the market faster and more widely.

To promote the transformation of sustainable fashion industry, all parties need to work together to help the industry find an economic and systematic overall solution and create a sustainable future for the industry. Cheng Xuan, deputy director of the Industry Department of the China Textile Industry Federation, suggested that we should control how to reduce carbon, make good use of green energy and reduce sewage in the production process from the source of technology and raw materials, and take this as the key consideration standard.