New durable water and oil repellent products used in the textile industry

MIDWOR-LIFE is a project cofounded by LIFE+ programme that aims to reduce the impact on the environment, human health and worker safety, of current Durable Water and Oil Repellents (DWOR) used in the textile industry and their alternatives, by analyzing their environmental impact and technical functionalities.

On 29th March, a monitoring meeting of MIDWOR-LIFE project was held in ACCIÓ (regional agency for economic development in Catalonia) facilities in Brussels. All partners participated at the meeting which also counted on the presence of the project external monitor, from NEEMO. Members of MIDWOR-LIFE Consortium at ACCIÓ facilities in Brussels. During the meeting the actions carried out during the first 18 months of the project life were reviewed.

Main results obtained are the selection of the Durable Water and Oil Repellent (DWOR) products to be studied during the project. Two current DWORs (based on long-chain fluorocarbons) and seven alternatives (such as short-chain fluorocarbons, silicones, hybrid fluoride silicones, sol-gel, etc.) were selected.

The selection of the fabrics on which the DWORs are applied (material, structure and weight) was done according to the application of the final products. Selected applications are: carpets for automotive, T-shirts for sport, suits, upholstery and workwear polo shirt. After the selection of the DWORs and fabrics, a pre-screening of functionality and environmental impact was carried out. It provides a map of technical performance and environmental and health impact for the chosen DWORs.

Next step was the pre-industrial demonstration. This action comprised the application of the DWORs on to the fabrics by several finishing processes and the subsequent technical performance, risk and Life Cycle assessments for the resulting treated fabrics. The results of this

In the following months, demonstration will be done at industrial level. Six textile finishing companies will participate, 2 in Spain, 2 in Czech Republic and 2 in Italy.

The day after the meeting, MIDWOR-LIFE project was presented within the annual conference of the European Textile Technology Platform.

This event, held in Brussels on the 30th and 31st March, was attended by more than 170 professionals in the sector and its focus was “Textile research in Horizon 2020”.

MIDWOR-LIFE is a European project, cofounded by the European Community under the LIFE+ Financial Instrument within the axe Environment Policy and Governance and under the Grant Agreement n. LIFE14 ENV/ES/000670.

AEI TÈXTILS, a non-profit organization representing the Catalan technical textiles cluster is the coordinator of the project. The consortium is completed by another 5 partners: 3 research institutes/technological centres from Spain: LEITAT Technological Center (member of Tecnio network), CETIM and the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia from CSIC plus 2 technical textile clusters, POINTEX from Italy and CLUTEX from the Czech Republic.

MIDWOR-LIFE is an example of collaborative project between clusters, with the aim to improve competitiveness of their members, SMEs in the technical textiles sector.

More information: www.midwor-life.eu