Photo from the project.
The DoubleBio project intends to develop a textile fiber that is both bio-based and biodegradable, in sea and land. The fiber is expected to be particularly useful in disposable textiles such as agricultural textiles, packaging, wet wipes, diapers, and face masks.
These products are usually based on non-degradable fossil-based polymers such as polypropylene and polyester. In Sweden, much is recycled through energy recovery. In many European countries landfill is more common, some of these products end up in drains, nature, and the sea.
A biodegradable textile would contribute to a better environment by avoiding littering, microplastics and enable composting. In this project, the textile fibers will be produced by melt spinning, which is the most common fiber spinning method in the textile industry. The newly developed material is intended to replace fossil-based polymer, especially polypropylene, and thereby produce effects such as reduced net emissions of carbon dioxide and reduced occurrence of microplastics in nature.
Participants
Skarp Engineering, Gaia Biomaterials, Tenowo GmbH, BCC AB and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB.
Budget & time plan
The project’s total budget is 4,8 SEK and the project runs for a little more than two years – between October 2022 and December 2024.