PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University has won a $365,000 grant for research on recycling cotton waste products into high quality regenerated fibers for consumer goods.
“This project is at the heart of WSU’s commitment, as a land-grant university, to expand sustainable systems,” said James Moyer, associate dean for research in WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. “The development of more sustainable, recycling protocols for cotton will not only reduce waste but also result in more environmentally friendly systems for recycling the fiber.”
The Walmart Foundation and U.S. Conference of Mayors recently announced winners of the U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grants, which this year focused on innovations in textile manufacturing processes.
“Numerous trees are being cut to process into wood pulp for making regenerated cellulose fibers, such as rayon and lyocell,” said Hang Liu, assistant professor in WSU’s Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles. “But we are throwing away used cotton products, which are a better cellulose resource.” [Read more…]