Production of antimicrobial nonwoven fabrics based on recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) fibers on industrial scale

One of the ultimate goals of this article is to produce antimicrobial polyester nonwoven fabrics on industrial scale. Therefore, the adaptation and development of pilot conditions for imparting polyester textile materials antimicrobial properties is highly needed. This will pave the way for establishment a technological package for the production of antimicrobial polyester nonwoven fabrics on industrial scale. The effect of semi-industrial scale treatment conditions, mainly antimicrobial substrate (AS) concentration, duration, and temperature on the (%) colony forming unit (CFU) reduction after treatment with aqueous solutions of AS was examined. The antimicrobial activity of treated with AS fibers against S. aureus, E. coli, and C. albicans was investigated using the shake flask method. All PET fibers bounded with AS showed outstanding antimicrobial activities against the previously mentioned three microorganisms. In fact the % of CFU reduction for all PET samples were significant, whereas it was null for the parent fibers.