TOKYO – Japanese fibre manufacturer Teijin Frontier claims to have developed a new technology capable of removing spandex from used polyester clothing so that it can be recycled more effectively.
The company says its 'foreign material removal technology' features a new processing agent which can be used to remove polyurethane (PU) elastomer fibre during the pre-treatment phase of the chemical recycling process.
The same agent also removes chemical contaminants, such as dyes, optimising the polyester decolourisation process, according to Teijin Frontier which has been testing the technology since October 2022.
