Design and modelling of textiles with antimicrobial properties with polyphosphates obtained from industrial sludges

Polyphosphate (PolyP) enriched with antimicrobial properties is an essential constituent of waste water sludge. Antimicrobial textiles prevent the growth and spread of microbes in face masks and membranes. The aims of project are to develop fundamental theory for the extraction of PolyP from solid sludge using biological method, utilisation of PolyP to develop sustainable antimicrobial nanofibers and modelling of geometry and nozzle dimensions of coaxial electrospinning. Conventional antimicrobial textiles contain metal oxide nanoparticles (silver, zinc, titanium), phenols, quaternary ammonium salts and toxicity of these chemicals significantly affect the environment which is a major concern of current time. Polylactic acid and polyvinyl chloride, based nanofibers will be synthesized in which PolyP works as shell structure to impart antimicrobial effect. Designing, modelling and analysis of nanofibers diameter, geometry of core shell structures and functional properties using image processing and computational tools will be realized in this project.