Textile qualities of regenerated cellulose fibers from cotton waste pulp

Cotton is not the answer to meet the rapidly growing demand for textile fibers. Wood-based regenerated cellulose fibers are an attractive alternative. Since wood is a candidate to replace fossil raw materials in so many applications of the circular economy, other sources need investigation. Cotton linters work in the viscose process – can cotton waste be used to make dissolving pulp? We describe the textile qualities of lyocell fibers from (i) pure cotton waste pulp and (ii) blending with conventional dissolving pulp. The staple fibers were tensile tested, yarns spun and tensile tested and knitted, and tested for shrinkage, water and dye sorption, abrasion resistance, fuzzing and pilling, staining and fastness. TENCEL® staple fibers and off-the-shelf TENCEL® yarn were used as references. The results show that the two study fibers had tenacity and an E-modulus that exceeded the staple fiber reference. Also, the study yarns were at least as good as the spun reference yarn and the commercial off-the-shelf yarn in terms of wet tenacity. Single jerseys made from the study yarns shrunk less upon laundering, which is surprising since they could absorb at least as much water at a comparable rate as the references. Dyeability, staining and color fastness, durability and pilling tendency showed that the two study fiber tricots performed at least as good as the references. This study suggests that cotton waste is a promising candidate for special grade pulp to suit niche regenerated fiber products or to spice up conventional wood-based dissolving pulp.