Tequatic starts research on textile microplastics in water ecosystems

The occurrence of textile fibre microplastics in aquatic ecosystems will be a major topic for research in the new Tequatic project. Alena Ševců and her team from CXI have teamed up with a team from the Faculty of Textiles at TUL led by prof. Jiří Militký and with toxicologists Priscilla Falagan Lotsch and Tham Hoang from Auburn University in the USA. Together, they will investigate the release of microplastics into the aquatic environment during the production, washing and recycling of textiles.

"There is evidence that more than a third of microplastics in rivers and oceans originate primarily from textiles. We chose this topic because it is a serious environmental problem that can have negative impacts not only on humans but also on aquatic organisms. Our work will focus on the identification, characterisation and assessment of the effects of these fibrous microplastics," says Alena Ševců for CXI.

Scientists will pay particular attention to the transport of hazardous substances such as antibiotics or PFAS on textile microplastics, which can be re-released when environmental physicochemical conditions change. While textile fiber microplastics do not readily disperse through aquatic environments and are more likely to settle to the bottom, the more varied chemical composition due to substances used in dyeing and chemical treatments of textiles means that more toxic degradation products and much more difficult elimination from the environment can be expected. The aim of the project is to provide comprehensive information on microplastics in textiles that could be used to protect aquatic ecosystems and human health.