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Solution overview

Our Solution

Agar-agar and agarose fibers for fashion industry

Tagline

Agar-agar and agarose fibers as a circular economy solution for the textile industry

Pitch us on your solution

The textile business is considered one of the most polluting in the world. It is responsible for the use of non-biodegradable materials by the disposal of several toxic metals in soil, water and air, as well as the use of large volumes of water. Increasing awareness of serious environmental effects encouraged scientific research on ecologically friendly materials, such as the best use of natural and synthetic biological-based fibers. Another option is bio-based polymer materials that are renewable, abundant and biodegradable as the carbohydrate polymers known as polysaccharides, extracted from the algae. This project proposes the production of biodegradable fibers to be inserted inside textile industries productive cycles. The materials explored are the polymers Agar and Agarose. The idea is rethink the industry, consumption and especially the discard with a new material and we can change the world and the environment.

What is the problem you are solving?

As a result of the advances in technology and global population growth, plastics have become the most widely used polymers in all aspects of life and industry. According to the European Bioplastics Institute's 2018 report, global production of petroleum-based plastics was 2.11 million tonnes, of which 56.8% were non-biodegradable and 43.2% were biodegradable. The textile industry accounts for 16% of the production of non-biodegradable plastics and only 5% of biodegradable plastics.

To reduce the environmental effects of uncontrolled production of petroleum-based plastics requires more sustainable options for renewable resources. As an ecological alternative, bioplastics have attracted widespread attention.

Algae have been explored for years as a sustainable solution in various sectors, such as biofuels, food, beauty, pharmacy and medicine. They already occupy space in research that unites design, technology and bioengineering. According to the Market Research Institute Market and Markets (2018), the projection is that the market for algae products will reach US $ 44.7 billion by 2023. In addition to the problems directly linked to the manufacture of textiles such as the use of chemicals in the chain, wastewater and atmospheric emissions, another challenge for the world is the conception of new materials and their disposal.

Who are you serving?

Working with the textile import market (between Brazil and China) for eight years made me understand in practice just how polluting the fabric and fashion industry are in general. Everyone needs to dress and consume these items, fashion trends encourage consumption in greater quantity and in a shorter span of time. The big problem today is discarding, where they usually go to underdeveloped countries and do not decompose. This project was designed so that the fibers of agar and agarose polymers could be developed on an industrial scale and be placed on the market for the manufacture of clothing with biodegradable and compostable materials, in order for us to have a circular economy in fashion with the intention of targeting all the world, independently of their geographical location.

What is your solution?

The proposal of this project is to use agar polymers and agarose for the development of textile fibers on an industrial scale. Agar and agarose are biodegradable polymers with special characteristics such as biocompatibility, excellent hydration capacity, thermo-reversible gelation behavior, market availability and physical-chemical characteristics that can be applied to the development of biomaterials and bioplastics. It is known that the agar and agarose mixed or together with their derivatives are effective and can also be used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

The main materials used to manufacture the fibers are commercial products, and the agar is acquired from the commercial manufacturer SM Género Alimentício LTDA (São Paulo, Brazil). It has the appearance of powder in its purest form and presents a slightly yellowish color due to the degree of purity. Agarose was purchased from the commercial manufacturer Vetec Química Final LTDA (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The agarose looks powdered in its purest form and white color.

For the preparation of the fibers, agar and agarose were dissolved in organic solvent. To obtain the gel, each solution was kept under stirring to ensure its solubilization. After this period, each gel (agar and agarose) were divided into parts to make fibers with the pure polymer and with two different concentrations of plasticizer. The insertion of the natural plasticizer is better in the fiber. All activities were performed at room temperature. All gels were transparent, odorless and pH neutral. Then, each of the gels was inserted into a 5 ml glass syringe, the fibers were formed by the wet spinning method in a liquid solution at room temperature.

The fiber manufacturing process was performed through wet spinning. This technique was developed by the textile industry in the 1930s for the production of artificial fibers, such as rayon viscose, and consists of phase separation induced by non-solvent. The polymers are extruded through a die and subjected to a coagulation bath; it is in this bath where the liquid and / or pasty polymer is converted into solid filaments.

In this design the fibers were extruded with a syringe used as spinneret directly into the coagulant solution. The fibers are formed in the coagulation bath. The fibers were immersed in the solution for three minutes each, removed and rolled in polypropylene cones and dried naturally also at room temperature.

Select only the most relevant.

Design and produce mass-market clothing and apparel through circular processes

Where is your solution team headquartered?

São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil

Our solution's stage of development:

Prototype