Elsevier

Environmental Pollution

Volume 257, February 2020, 113553
Environmental Pollution

Laundering and textile parameters influence fibers release in household washings

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113553Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Laundry machines are responsible for fiber release to the environment.

  • Washing machine filters retain a significant part of fibers release but need improvement.

  • Pre-washes can reduce part of fibers emission.

  • Use of detergents can reduce fiber emission in synthetic garments.

  • Annual global washing machine releases were estimated.

Abstract

Synthetic fibers represent one of the main forms of microplastics in marine environment and recently were related to household washings as a source. Although other types of fiber, like natural, do not rely under this classification, there is a potential for them to act as a vector of toxic substances to biota in the same way as microplastics do. Consequently all types of fiber have the potential to cause variable ecologic and socioeconomic impacts. In this scenario, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of washing parameters in the emission of fibers on textiles with different characteristics and fiber content: cotton, acrylic, polyester and polyamide. For this purpose individual garments were sequentially washed with and without detergent. Results showed that the use of a detergent reduced significantly the mass of particles emitted from synthetic garments but not from cotton, which, in relative terms, was responsible for the highest emissions. Textile characteristics such as mass availability and fiber cohesion influenced results, where shorter irregular fibers and lower tenacities dealt to higher releases. For all types of garments tested, 10 sequential cycles decreased particles' release, with peaks in three firsts washes (from 37% to 76%). Taking into account a regular washing machine filter, a considerable mass of fibers (from 40% to 75%) was not retained by this device, indicating a potential for improvement. Together, simple solutions as the use of detergents, three pre-washes and superimposed filter meshes, could diminish >53% of this type of pollution. Besides this potential reduction, globally, in one year, domestic washing machines would still contribute with around 15 thousand tonnes of cotton and synthetic fibers. A structured and sustained solution for this problem should advance in an interdisciplinary approach, fomenting responsibility from plural actors, taken in all stages of products' life cycle.

Introduction

Just a few decades after synthetic polymers mass production begun, the first debris were reported in marine habitats (Buchanan, 1971; Carpenter and Smith, 1972). Corresponding to the middle of the 20th century, this period marked the start of an incommensurable plastic pollution era, which currently is represented by the ubiquity of this material in the natural environment (Kosuth et al., 2018; Zalasiewicz et al., 2016) and more recently, by its presence even in food and water destined for human consumption (Kosuth et al., 2018; Schymanski et al., 2018).

From all sizes of plastic, smaller pieces, named microplastics (GESAMP, 2019), gained crescent attention and are currently targeted by several studies due to the potential damage they can cause when liberated in the environment (SAPEA, 2019; UNEP, 2016). Among the types of microplastic accumulated, synthetic fibers are frequently pointed as predominant (Carr, 2017; Verschoor et al., 2014; Wright et al., 2013), common in both shoreline and offshore sediments (Zalasiewicz et al., 2016). Although filiform microplastics have long been encountered in the marine environment (Buchanan, 1971), it was only in the beginning of 21st century that synthetic clothes' washing was considered a potential source (Browne et al., 2011) and more recently, for particular countries, a dominant one (Boucher and Friot, 2017).

Microplastics, in general, are defined as particles or fragments <5 mm (GESAMP, 2019), composed of synthetic polymers and formed by long organic molecular chains (UNEP, 2016). As manmade materials, they were originally developed not to completely decompose and currently there are only a few species capable of mineralizing them (Andrady, 2011; GESAMP, 2015). Consequently, they accumulate from terrestrial (Wiewel and Lamoree, 2016) to aquatic habitats, including soil (Zubris and Richards, 2005), rivers (Dris et al., 2018), lakes (Eriksen et al., 2013) and oceans (Eriksen et al., 2014; Zalasiewicz et al., 2016).

The issue related to the widespread presence of plastics, especially in the marine environment (Sillanpää and Sainio, 2017), deals with ecologic and socioeconomic impacts, which include, primarily, their interaction with biota and the potential effects on human health (GESAMP, 2016, 2019; SAPEA, 2019). This happens, for example, when microplastics are taken up through ventilation or are ingested directly or indirectly by organisms (GESAMP, 2016). Though the main body of research deals with consequences related to the lower levels of biological organization (e.g. molecules, cells and organisms), it is recognized that this interaction can cause responses like reduced health, feeding, growth and survival (GESAMP, 2016; Nobre et al., 2015; Rochman et al., 2016). Additionally, the presence or sorption of toxic substances in plastics (e.g. bisphenol A, persistent organic pollutants and metals) can cause bioaccumulation in organisms, potentially reaching humans (Mathalon and Hill, 2014).

Specifically regarding toxic chemicals, authors such as Sillanpää and Sainio (2017) and Dris et al. (2018), argue that materials of non-synthetic origin should also be considered as transport pathways of harmful components to the environment. In the context of textile fibers, that includes manmade artificial (e.g. viscose) and natural (e.g. cotton) ones that were already encountered in the aquatic environment and ingested by the biota (Dris et al., 2018; Lusher et al., 2014; Remy et al., 2015). In fact, all types of fibers can contain harmful substances like dyestuff and additives with the potential to cause ecologic and socioeconomic impacts (Cesa et al., 2017; Dris et al., 2018; Zhao et al., 2016).

Linking toxic impacts from textiles with current values of production, just in 2016, 100 million tonnes of fibers were consumed (Oerlikon, 2017). From these, the vast majority was destined to apparel (Angel, 2016) and around 70% accounted to manmade materials, i.e. artificial and synthetic (Dris et al., 2018). Indeed, since the development of viscose, in the 19th century, manmade fibers produced a turning point in human relationship with textiles. We went from an in natura period to a broad spectrum of options that, with higher controlled properties, enabled more versatility and new applications (Mogahzy, 2009; Needles, 1986). If in the middle of the 20th century, synthetic fibers, which are the only group to be considered microplastics (Cesa et al., 2017), represented a consumption of around 2 million tonnes; in 2010 that number turned to >40 million tonnes or around 60% of all textiles destined to apparel (FAO-ICAC, 2013). In the same year, cotton represented almost 33% and all other cellulosic fibers, about 7% (Essel et al., 2015; FAO-ICAC, 2013).

With projections of growth in textile consumption for the near future, acquisition and use of household washing machines are also expected to increase (Dris et al., 2018; Laitala et al., 2011; Pakula and Stamminger, 2015). Nevertheless, it is considered that there are already >840 million units of this equipment with different models and commands worldwide (Barthel and Götz, 2013; Pakula and Stamminger, 2015). Regarding washing effluents, <30% of global population have access to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), with worst numbers in developing economies (GESAMP, 2016), which in turn buy a larger proportion of synthetic textiles (68.0%) when compared to the developed ones (48.2%) (Boucher and Friot, 2017). In fact, even when effluents are directed to WWTPs, microplastics are not completely removed (Browne et al., 2011), with worst retentions in simpler treatments (Talvitie et al., 2015). That is the case of submarine outfalls, for example, which are frequently employed worldwide (Powley et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2016) and deliver large concentrations of fibers into the marine environment (Rochman et al., 2015). Additionally, even what is retained in WWTP can be released directly to terrestrial environments, used as sludge products (Zubris and Richards, 2005).

In this way, since Browne et al. (2011) revealed the issue of domestic washings generating microplastics, there was a crescent interest related to the topic and although some advances were made, many gaps remain unsolved. These refer specially to understanding how chemical (e.g. detergent) and mechanical (e.g. number of washings, type of washing machine) actions reflect upon textiles and affect fibers shedding (Almroth et al., 2018; De Falco et al., 2017; Mac Namara et al., 2012).

Regarding washing parameters, although previous research could not evaluate detergent use, due to difficulties with filtration (Browne et al., 2011), several authors dedicated to understand this product's influence (Almroth et al., 2018; Åström, 2016; De Falco et al., 2017; Hernandez et al., 2017; Napper and Thompson, 2016; Pirc et al., 2016; Zambrano et al., 2019), with no consensus until the moment. Analogously, although a considerable number of studies performed up to 5 cycles of sequential washes (Folkö, 2005; Kelly et al., 2019; Napper and Thompson, 2016; Sillanpää and Sainio, 2017; Zambrano et al., 2019) only a few executed 10 (De Falco et al., 2019; Pirc et al., 2016), demanding more research to investigate the effect of the number of sequential washes on fibers release. Regarding textile compositions (cotton, acrylic, polyester and polyamide), although natural fibers cannot generate microplastics, cotton also needs to be analyzed because of its importance in the textile industry (Almroth et al., 2018; Browne et al., 2011; FAO-ICAC, 2013; Sillanpää and Sainio, 2017) and its potential to transport toxic substances (Dris et al., 2018). As only a few washing experiment tested it (Sillanpää and Sainio, 2017; Zambrano et al., 2019) more research is necessary. Finally, the majority of domestic washing experiments neglected washing machine real filters and their capacity to retain fibers (Zambrano et al., 2019). This creates not only the need to simulate real conditions faced by consumers, but the consideration of improvements for this type of device.

In this scenario, the present study aims to explore how new combinations of washing and textile parameters may influence fibers release. For that purpose, one factor related to chemical action (detergent) and one to mechanical action (10 sequential washes) were applied to cotton, acrylic, polyester and polyamide. Masses of fibers retained in the filters of the washing machine were also quantified and categorized. The data was analyzed to assess the potential of a set of simple measures to reduce fibers pollution coming from domestic washings.

Section snippets

Textiles

For the experiment, 4 types of garments with different compositions were selected. As they were purchased from the regular market, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were used to confirm fiber content and nature of cotton fiber, as natural or mercerized (results presented in Supporting Information, Figs. S1–S4). Mercerization is described by Mogahzy (2009) as treating fiber with a high concentration of caustic soda to swell and reorganize it, changing some original

Results

A summary of results from the gravimetric method is presented in Table 2. Considering all filtrating materials and 10 consecutive cycles, masses of fibers released in washings varied from a minimum of 49.8 mg to a maximum of 307.8 mg. In relative values, quantities released per article in 10 sequential cycles, varied from a minimum of 0.03% (percent mass) to a maximum of 0.20%.

Overall results

Although the gravimetric method results should be examined conservatively, considering similar but not equal methodologies (i.e. garments individually washed, conventional washing machines, relative masses), results from the present study were aligned to previously published ones. In the case of Pirc et al. (2016), for example, polyethylene terephthalate blankets tested for 10 consecutive cycles and filtered in a 200 μm × 200 μm sieve resulted in 0.04% of fibers released for washings WOD and

Conclusions

The current study aimed to quantify fibers emitted during domestic washings, relying on laundry parameters and textile characteristics that affect garments release. Regarding textile characteristics, articles with a more cohesive structure proved to release fewer quantities of fibers, opposed to those with a more open structure. Although other textile features were not considered, these preliminary inferences could help future studies to design developments and establish minimum manufacture

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Eduardo Barrios, which contributed with insights, related to textile issues. This work was supported by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education) [grant number 7873981]. AT and HHC received a research grant from CNPq (Proc. 309697/2015-8 and 150316/2018-6, respectively).

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