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ANALYSIS OF THE NEAR INFRARED (NIR) SPECTROSCOPY METHOD USED FOR TEXTILE WASTE SORTING
Abstract
Textile production is considered one of the most polluting industries with a high impact on the environment, both in terms of increased resource consumption and textile waste generation. Moreover, in the past years, the textile industry registered a significant growth, which leads to large amounts of textile waste that need to be controlled and managed. This problem highlighted the need for sustainable methods and improved technologies for textile recycling, and brings into focus the importance of circular economy in textile waste management. The circular economy of textile waste refers to the reuse and recycling of this waste by transforming it into raw material, which is further used in the manufacturing of new textiles, and therefore keeping it in a closed-loop. In order to ensure an efficient textile waste recycling, the material sorting process must be done in an effective and accurate way, this step being the first in the process and influencing the quality of the fractions being recycled. There are several methods for textile waste sorting, one of the most used being the near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy method. This method can sort the textiles based on the color, fiber composition and structure, being a rapid, environmental friendly and easy-to-use technology of textile identification. In this paper, the NIR spectroscopy method was analyzed in order to provide information regarding its limits, applicability and feasibility, under which conditions it gives the best results and to which types of textiles it can be applied. The understanding of this information is essential for an efficient waste recycling process and a sustainable waste management.
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