Washing-dependent antistatic performance of antimicrobially finished woven polyester fabric for textile air distribution systems
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract In textile air distribution systems, functional properties such as antimicrobial and antistatic performance are typically introduced into the fabric through separate methods. In this study, a novel silica-based benzalkonium chloride (BAC) finish, originally developed for antimicrobial performance, was further evaluated for its secondary antistatic effect (earlier detected by the authors) on woven 100 % polyester fabric after 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 washing cycles. The unwashed finished fabric exhibited acceptable antistatic properties according to the requirements for protective clothing. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of silica and BAC on the finished fabric sample surface. However, the antistatic effect progressively declined with washing, with surface resistivity approaching that of the unfinished fabric. FTIR band intensities characteristic of silica and BAC decreased in washed finished fabric samples, confirming a partial wash-out of both components from the fabric surface. Since silica nanoparticles are electrical insulators, the observed antistatic effect is more likely attributable to BAC. A single finish Integrating both antimicrobial and antistatic properties into a 100 % polyester fabric with one finishing may facilitate end-of-life recycling and improve the sustainability profile of fabrics for textile air distribution systems.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure · Antimicrobial agents and applications · Textile materials and evaluations
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Production Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design , Kaunas University of Technology, K. Donelaicio St. 73, 4249 Kaunas, Lithuania
Department of Textile Technologies , State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology , Demokratu St. 53, 48485 Kaunas, Lithuania
Funding
Kaunas University of Technology
References (38)
Show source-provided references
1. N. E. Klepeis et al.., “The national human activity pattern survey (NHAPS): A resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants,” J. Expo. Anal. Environ. Epidemiol., vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 231–252, 2001, https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500165.10.1038/sj.jea.7500165 ↗
2. C. Schweizer et al.., “Indoor time-microenvironment-activity patterns in seven regions of Europe,” J. Exposure Sci. Environ. Epidemiol., vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 170–181, 2007, https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jes.7500490.10.1038/sj.jes.7500490 ↗
3. M. Mannan and S. G. Al-Ghamdi, “Indoor air quality in buildings: A comprehensive review on the factors influencing air pollution in residential and commercial structure,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Publ. Health, vol. 18, no. 6, p. 3276, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063276.10.3390/ijerph18063276 ↗
4. J. González-Martín, N. J. R. Kraakman, C. Pérez, R. Lebrero, and R. Muñoz, “A state-of-the-art review on indoor air pollution and strategies for indoor air pollution control,” Chemosphere, vol. 262, 2021, Art. no. 128376, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128376.10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128376 ↗
5. C. Martins et al.., “Sources, levels, and determinants of indoor air pollutants in Europe: A systematic review,” Sci. Total Environ., vol. 964, 2025, Art. no. 178574, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178574.10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178574 ↗
6. C. Vornanen-Winqvist et al.., “Ventilation positive pressure intervention effect on indoor air quality in a school building with moisture problems,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Publ. Health, vol. 15, no. 2, p. 230, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15020230.10.3390/ijerph15020230 ↗
7. C. Jung, G. El Samanoudy, N. Alqassimi, and M. Sherzad, “Assessing the impact of ventilation systems on indoor air quality: A mock-up experiment in Dubai,” Front. Built Environ., vol. 9, 2023, Art. no. 1286053, https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2023.1286053.10.3389/fbuil.2023.1286053 ↗
8. European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. (2024, July 12). Supporting indoor air quality: Staff working document (SWD(2024) 209 final). https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/60934?locale=en [Accessed: May 20, 2025].
9. L. R. Jia, J. Han, X. Chen, Q. Y. Li, C. C. Lee, and Y. H. Fung, “Interaction between thermal comfort, indoor air quality and ventilation energy consumption of educational buildings: A comprehensive review,” Buildings, vol. 11, no. 12, p. 591, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120591.10.3390/buildings11120591 ↗
10. ACR, The NADCA Standard, 2021. Assessment, cleaning, and restoration of HVAC systems. https://nadca.com/blog/duct-cleaning-and-indoor-air-quality-comprehensive-guide [Accessed: March 20, 2025].
11. BS EN 15780:2011, 2011. Ventilation for buildings. Ductwork. Cleanliness of ventilation systems. Retrieved March 20, 2025, from BS EN 15780:2011 Ventilation for buildings. Ductwork. Cleanliness of ventilation systems.
12. VDI 6022, 2018. Ventilation and indoor-air quality – Hygiene requirements for ventilation and air-conditioning systems and units (VDI Ventilation Code of Practice) Retrieved March 20, 2025, from VDI 6022 Blatt 1 – Ventilation and indoor-air quality – Hygiene requirements for ventilation and air-conditioning systems and units (VDI Ventilation Code of Practice).
13. EN 1505: European Committee for Standardization. 2000. Ventilation for buildings-sheet metal air ducts and fittings with rectangular cross-section-Dimensions (EN 1505:2000).
14. EN 1507: European Committee for Standardization, 2006. Ventilation for buildings-sheet metal air ducts with rectangular section-requirements for strength and leakage (EN 1507:2006).
15. EN 12237: European Committee for Standardization, 2003. Ventilation for buildings–Ductwork–Strength and leakage of circular sheet metal ducts (EN 12237:2003).
16. NFPA 90A: National Fire Protection Association, 2024. Standard for the installation of air-conditioning and ventilation systems (NFPA 90A). https://www.nfpa.org/.
17. UL 181: Underwriters Laboratories, 2013. Standard for safety: Factory-made air ducts and air connectors (UL 181). https://www.ul.com/.
18. National Institutes of Health, Office of Research Services, Division of Occupational Health and Safety, 2015. DOHS fact sheet on HVAC duct cleaning. https://ors.od.nih.gov/sr/dohs/Documents/fact-sheet-hvac-duct-cleaning.pdf.
19. ICC Evaluation Service, Acceptance Criteria for Fabric Air Dispersion Systems (AC167), International Code Council, 2004, https://www.icc-es.org/ [Accessed: May 26, 2025].
20. Underwriters Laboratories, Outline of Investigation for Air Dispersion System Materials (UL Subject 2518), Underwriters Laboratories, 2016, https://www.ul.com/ [Accessed: May 26, 2025].
21. European Committee for Standardization, EN 13501-1: Fire Classification of Construction Products and Building Éléments – Part 1: Classification Using Data from Reaction to Fire Tests, Brussels, Belgium, CEN, 2018.
22. F. J. Chen, Q. Y. Wu, D. D. Huang, and H. Wang, “Indoor air flow motions caused by the fabric air dispersion system: A simplified method for CFD simulations,” Indoor Built Environ., vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 841–854, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326x15610797.10.1177/1420326X15610797 ↗
23. J. C. Tapia-Picazo, J. G. Luna-Bárcenas, A. García-Chávez, R. Gonzalez-Nuñez, A. Bonilla-Petriciolet, and A. Alvarez-Castillo, “Polyester fiber production using virgin and recycled PET,” Fibers Polym., vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 547–552, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12221-014-0547-7.10.1007/s12221-014-0547-7 ↗
24. J. T. Orasugh, L. T. Temane, S. Kesavan Pillai, and S. S. Ray, “Advancements in antimicrobial textiles: Fabrication, mechanisms of action, and applications,” ACS Omega, vol. 10, no. 13, pp. 12772–12816, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c11356.10.1021/acsomega.4c11356 ↗
25. European Chemicals Agency, 2020. Report of the first harmonised enforcement project on treated articles (Report No. ECHA-20-H-19-EN): https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/13555/bef_1_report_en.pdf/8e0e4520-3c41-92d2-0e9f-199109ee8f5f [Accessed: January 16, 2025].
26. European Commission, “Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1902 of 29 October 2021 amending Annexes II, III and V to regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the use in cosmetic products of certain substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction,” Off. J. Eur. Union, vol. 387, pp. 120–125, 2021, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1902/oj.
27. European Chemicals Agency, 2024. Zinc pyrithione: Previous candidates for substitution and derogations conditions. https://echa.europa.eu/previous-candidates-for-substitution-and-derogations-conditions/-/substance-rev/77601/del/50/col/synonymDynamicField_1527/type/asc/pre/2/view [Accessed: April 5, 2025].
28. Smart Inovation, 2014. Si Bac-Pure®: ANTIMICROBIAL 101-TF. https://www.smartinovation.com/si-bac-pure [Accessed: January 16, 2025].
29. J. Krisciunaite, B. Kalendraite, L. Ragelienė, E. Merkelyte, and D. Mikucioniene, “Durable wash-resistant antimicrobial treatment of knitted fabrics,” Autex Res. J., vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 373–382, 2022, https://doi.org/10.2478/aut-2021-0009.10.2478/aut-2021-0009 ↗
30. M. R. Repon, R. Gofman, A. Ragaišiene, D. Mikučioniene, and R. Milašius, “Development of antimicrobial and antistatic textile for industrial air management systems,” Fibres Text. East. Eur, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 75–82, 2023, https://doi.org/10.2478/ftee-2023-0038.10.2478/ftee-2023-0038 ↗
31. R. M. Aileni, A. Dorogan, T. Sarbu, C. Stroe, and C. Lite, “Statistical analysis of textile structures based on conductive yarns,” Ind. Textil., vol. 74, no. 05, pp. 513–518, 2023, https://doi.org/10.35530/it.074.05.2022125.10.35530/IT.074.05.2022125 ↗
32. D. Damayanti, L. A. Wulandari, A. Bagaskoro, A. Rianjanu, and H.-S. Wu, “Possibility routes for textile recycling technology,” Polymers, vol. 13, no. 21, p. 3834, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13213834.10.3390/polym13213834 ↗
33. W. Dan, J. Gao, X. Qi, J. Wang, and J. Dai, “Antibacterial Quaternary ammonium agents: Chemical diversity and biological mechanism,” Eur. J. Med. Chem., vol. 243, 2022, Art. no. 114765, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114765.10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114765 ↗
34. ISO 6330:2012, Textiles – Domestic washing and drying procedures for textile testing, 2012.
35. EN 1149-5:2018 Protective clothing – Electrostatic properties – Part 5: Material performance and design requirements, 2018.
36. EN 1149-1:2006 Protective clothing – Electrostatic properties – Part 1: Test method for measurement of surface resistivity, 2006.
37. J. Boubaker, R. Cheriaa, and N. Bouallagui, “Evaluating the effectiveness of coating knitted fabrics with silica nanoparticles for protection from needle-stick injuries,” J. Ind. Textil., vol. 51, no. 2_suppl, pp. 3372S–3392S, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1177/15280837211001352.10.1177/15280837211001352 ↗
38. M. T. Maia et al.., “Silica nanoparticles and surface silanization for the fabrication of water-repellent cotton fibers,” ACS Appl. Nano Mater., vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 4634–4647, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.1c03346.10.1021/acsanm.1c03346 ↗