Microplastics and environment: role of textile washing processes and mitigation strategies

Marine pollution caused by plastics debris represents a global problem that has become particularly relevant in recent years, due either to the direct impact these pollutants have on the environment either to their effects on human health. Among the general plastic waste, microplastics are arousing wide concern in recent years, since they remain unaltered in the marine environment, representing a serious problem for the health since they can be ingested by plankton or other marine organisms, eventually entering the human food chain. Recently a new source of microplastics pollution has been identified in the washing processes of synthetic clothes. In such scenario, the aim of this work was to assess the role of domestic and industrial washing processes on microfiber release and consequently to find solutions to mitigate its environmental impact. Standard polyester and polypropylene fabrics were washed with different methods, simulating domestic and industrial washings conditions. The washing liquor was filtered and the filters were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in order to identify micro and nanfibers detached from synthetic textiles. Different textile finishing treatments were performed in order to prevent microplastics release from the fabrics. The obtained results allowed to identify the washing conditions that are less aggressive on the fabrics and the treatments able to protect them limiting the microplastics release.