POLYACRYLONITRILE RECYCLING

Polyacrylonitrile, like all plastics or polymers, has a very low rate of biodegradability and can remain tens and even hundreds of years polluting the environment, mainly in the form of microfibers in the ocean and textile residues in the soil and landfills.

PAN, like polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) from plastic bags and packaging; polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from soft drink bottles and polyester fabrics; polystyrene (PS) from thermal packaging for food and electronic equipment; chloride polyvinyl (PVC) pipes; Nylon clothing and engineering pieces; as they are poorly soluble in water, organisms cannot use these polymers as an energy source in their metabolic processes. These polymers are the greatest polluting agents created by mankind, with the intention of facilitating everyday life, whether by reducing domestic work, producing, conserving and transporting food at low cost and also replacing natural fibers of more expensive production and dependent on climatic conditions.

Among the greatest human uses for polymers is the production of synthetic fibers, which currently has surpassed by almost 3 times the production of natural fibers, such as cotton, with an increasing volume in the order of 70 million tons/year. One of the industries with the greatest environmental impact due to the production process, whether through the use of toxic solvents, the use of raw materials of origin in coal and oil, the generation of liquid effluents due to dyeing and also the disposal of the product after its cycle without having an appropriate recycling chain, is the fashion industry.

Here are some data on the environmental impact of the fashion and textile industry on the environment:

• According to the UN agency on Climate Change, the fashion industry contributes for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions due to its long supply chains and intensive energy production.

• Almost 20% of global wastewater is produced by the fashion industry.

• Cotton cultivation accounts for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides, despite using only 3% of the world's arable land.

• 20,000 liters is the amount of water needed to produce one kilogram of cotton, equivalent to a single shirt and jeans.

• The textile industry is one of the top three water waste industries in China, discharging more than 2.5 billion tons of wastewater annually.

• USA Environmental Protection Agency informs that 16 million tons of textile waste were generated in 2015, of which 11 million tons were discarded..

• About 15% of the fabric intended for clothing ends up on the cutting room floor. This rate of waste has been tolerated across the industry for decades.

• Consumers throw away shoes and clothes in an average of 32 kg per person, annually.

• About 85% of this waste goes to landfills, where it occupies about 5% of the space and the quantity is increasing.

• Up to 95% of textiles that go to landfills each year could be recycled.

With the intention of creating recycling alternatives for PAN or acrylic fibers, IGTPAN has been studying processes that allow the recycling of these fibers, by transforming them into biodegradable products and with applications in several industrial segments.