Recycled-Textile-Waste-Based Sustainable Bricks: A Mechanical, Thermal, and Qualitative Life Cycle Overview

Abstract

The textile industry, renowned for its comfort-providing role, is undergoing a significant transformation to address its environmental impact. The escalating environmental impact of the textile industry, characterised by substantial contributions to global carbon emissions, wastewater, and the burgeoning issue of textile waste, demands urgent attention. This study aims at identifying the feasibility of the future use of textile scraps in the construction and architecture industry by analysing the effect of different binders. In this study, synthetic knitted post-consumer-waste fabrics were taken from a waste market for use as a reinforcement, and different binders were used as the matrix. In the experiment phase, the waste fabrics were mixed with synthetic binders and hydraulic binders to form brick samples. The mechanical and thermal properties of these samples were tested and compared with those of clay bricks. In terms of mechanical properties, unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) samples showed the highest mechanical strength, while acrylic glue (GL) samples had the lowest mechanical strength. White cement (WC) samples showed moderate mechanical properties. Through several tests, it was observed that UPR samples showed the highest values of tensile, bending, and compressive strengths, i.e., 0.111 MPa, 0.134 MPa, and 3.114 MPa, respectively. For WC, the tensile, bending, and compressive strengths were 0.064 MPa, 0.106 MPa, and 2.670 MPa, respectively. For GL, the least favourable mechanical behaviour was observed, i.e., 0.0162 MPa, 0.0492 MPa, and 1.542 MPa, respectively. In terms of thermal conductivity, WC samples showed exceptional resistance to heat transfer. They showed a minimum temperature rise of 54.3 °C after 15 min, as compared to 57.3 °C for GL-based samples and 58.1 °C for UPR. When it comes to polymeric binders, UPR showed better thermal insulation properties, whereas GL allowed for faster heat transfer for up to 10 min of heating. This study explores a circular textile system by assessing the potential of using textile waste as a building material, contributing to greener interior design. This study demonstrated the usefulness of adding short, recycled PET fibres as a reinforcement in UPR composites. The use of the PET fibre avoids the need to use a surface treatment to improve interfacial adhesion to the UPR matrix because of the chemical affinity between the two polyesters, i.e., the PET fibre and the unsaturated polyester resin. This can find application in the construction field, such as in the reinforcement of wooden structural elements, infill walls, and partition walls, or in furniture or for decorative purposes.