| Abstract [eng] |
Rapidly changing fashion trends and improving standards of living have led to an increase in textile waste. However, the growing environmental concern and the need for sustainable products led to the search for new ways to manage textile waste more efficiently and recycle it into value-added products. One of the possibilities to utilize this waste is to use it in the production of composites. Therefore, the aim of this work was to produce composites from textile waste and determine their mechanical properties. In the theoretical part, the literature on composites with textile materials was reviewed. The most important factors that have an impact on the mechanical properties of these composites were discussed: composite production methods and their parameters, the amount of filler in the composite and the use of different textile materials. The literature on polylactic acid and hemp fibres used in the study was also reviewed. The methodological part described used materials and research methods. In this work, natural fibre reinforced polylactic acid composites were developed. Fibres of two varieties of hemp that are grown in Lithuania, and knitted fabrics made from them, were used as reinforcement for the composites. These composites were produced by hot pressing and fusing methods. Then, the tensile test was performed to evaluate the effect of different composite production methods, different types of hemp fibres and fabrics on the strength of the composites. It was found that USO 31 hemp fibre composite produced by the fusing method has the highest strength. The USO 31 hemp fibre composites were stronger than composites reinforced with Felina 32 fibres. Reinforcing the polylactic acid with a knitted hemp fabric increased its elasticity. In the economic part, the production cost of the composites was calculated to determine whether the production of textile waste composites is more economical than with primary raw materials. The calculation results showed that the production cost of textile waste composites is lower than that of hemp fibre-reinforced composites. It was also found that it is more economical to produce composites by the fusing method than hot pressing. The application possibilities, composting and recycling of these composites, and challenges related to it, were also discussed in the research work. |
