Comprehensive Assessment of Fragmented Fiber Shedding from Recycled Cotton Textiles Part I: Structural changes in Woven Fabrics and Mass Loss Quantification during laundering

Comprehensive Assessment of Fragmented Fiber Shedding from Recycled Cotton Textiles Part I: Structural changes in Woven Fabrics and Mass Loss Quantification during laundering | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Comprehensive Assessment of Fragmented Fiber Shedding from Recycled Cotton Textiles Part I: Structural changes in Woven Fabrics and Mass Loss Quantification during laundering Mercedes Pereira, Gabriela Krupincová, Brigita Kolčavová - Sirková, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9303657/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study evaluates fiber release from recycled cotton fabrics during washing. Understanding the behavior of recycled cotton textiles is becoming increasingly important, as their use is expected to grow under current EU legislation. The research, therefore, aims not only to assess the suitability of yarns made from various types of cotton waste but also to expand existing knowledge about cellulose particle emissions from mechanically recycled natural fibers through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Another goal is to characterize microcontaminants released during repeated washing cycles. This article presents the first of three parts focusing on quantitative emission analysis, the development of an image-based methodology, and a comprehensive evaluation of woven samples. The experiment was designed to reflect industrial practice: open rotor yarn (29.5 tex) was produced on a Rieter R37 rotor spinning machine, and plain-weave fabrics were woven on a SOMET rapier loom with a STÄUBLI electronic jacquard. Significant structural stabilization occurred within the first five washing cycles, marking the end of the “first wash” phenomenon and the establishment of a new internal stress equilibrium. Shrinkage was more pronounced in the warp direction, directly related to the specific construction of the warp yarns. The cumulative weight loss of released fibers stabilized at 1–1.5 mg·g⁻¹ after five cycles, consistent with modeled expectations. SEM and EDS analyses confirmed that the released material consists of cellulose dust, fibrillated fragments, and detached particles—typical of degradation caused by mechanical recycling and repeated washing stress. Measurement accuracy was improved using Monte Carlo simulations (10,000 iterations), which showed that instrumental uncertainty contributes 5.7–8.4% of total relative uncertainty. The findings indicate that recycled cotton is a notable source of biodegradable microcontaminants, with quantities strongly linked to input material quality. These results provide a solid basis for further evaluation of the environmental impacts of recycled textiles in the circular economy. Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Physical sciences/Materials science Reused cotton fibers woven fabric open-end rotor cotton spun yarn released fibers analysis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 19 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 22 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 21 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 20 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9303657","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":628858553,"identity":"1f79ba69-c152-4009-952a-7f9e4a67c11a","order_by":0,"name":"Mercedes Pereira","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade da Coruña","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mercedes","middleName":"","lastName":"Pereira","suffix":""},{"id":628858555,"identity":"87510c1d-466e-4eed-b006-b61ed3ece388","order_by":1,"name":"Gabriela Krupincová","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABEklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHgaGBAYLMM3AYAAWYnzAABLBr0UCRQuzwQGQCD4tDHAtEMAmgU+LvPvZYx8eVEjIM/CcfSZdUHBHnl8i+Vn1xzYJBv7+A1i1GJ7JS56RcEbCsIG33Ux6hsEzw5kz0sxuHARqkTiAQ0tDjjFDYpsEYwM/G5s0j8HhBIMzByBaDBgbsGvpfwPU8k/CHknL8W8FYC3MOPwiAbKlQSKxgbcNquV4jxkDWAsbdi0GEu+SGRKOSSS38Rxjtp5hcNhwZntPscSZcxI8Emdw2NKfe5jxR42NbT9PGuPtgj+H5fmZ2Td+qCizkcMVYgYwYZArUBzPg6EWZksDEgeHf0fBKBgFo2CkAwDY11PDR+YeqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Liberec","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gabriela","middleName":"","lastName":"Krupincová","suffix":""},{"id":628858556,"identity":"e0e18612-0992-43c6-a857-f0807cea790a","order_by":2,"name":"Brigita Kolčavová - Sirková","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Liberec","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Brigita","middleName":"Kolčavová -","lastName":"Sirková","suffix":""},{"id":628858557,"identity":"ce04dd31-a409-4078-9834-4dc14a893146","order_by":3,"name":"Jana Novotná","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Liberec","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jana","middleName":"","lastName":"Novotná","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-02 13:11:57","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9303657/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9303657/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108493784,"identity":"a7c8dbf5-4c49-422a-aec5-719a21e90bad","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 10:01:41","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1654243,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscriptPARTI.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9303657/v1_covered_bcae6fd0-0238-4762-a3dc-e80c30f1eb4e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Comprehensive Assessment of Fragmented Fiber Shedding from Recycled Cotton Textiles Part I: Structural changes in Woven Fabrics and Mass Loss Quantification during laundering","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Reused cotton fibers, woven fabric, open-end rotor cotton spun yarn, released fibers analysis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9303657/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9303657/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study evaluates fiber release from recycled cotton fabrics during washing. Understanding the behavior of recycled cotton textiles is becoming increasingly important, as their use is expected to grow under current EU legislation. The research, therefore, aims not only to assess the suitability of yarns made from various types of cotton waste but also to expand existing knowledge about cellulose particle emissions from mechanically recycled natural fibers through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Another goal is to characterize microcontaminants released during repeated washing cycles. This article presents the first of three parts focusing on quantitative emission analysis, the development of an image-based methodology, and a comprehensive evaluation of woven samples.\nThe experiment was designed to reflect industrial practice: open rotor yarn (29.5 tex) was produced on a Rieter R37 rotor spinning machine, and plain-weave fabrics were woven on a SOMET rapier loom with a STÄUBLI electronic jacquard. 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