The mechanical and ultraviolet aging properties of needle-punched nonwoven geotextiles made with recycled fibers

There are more and more waste textiles in modern times while the recycling efficiency is relatively low. In order to increase the recycling of waste textiles, this paper proposes a kind of low-cost, environmental protection, good permeability, tough and anti-aging substrate geotextile which can replace the riparian soil to support normal growth of plants. First of all, the fiber web was formed by waste fibers (polyester 78 wt%, cotton 20 wt%, others 2 wt%) after carding and reinforcing with different needling parameters. The comprehensive properties of designed nonwoven geotextiles were estimated via a series of tests such as tensile, bursting, air permeability, morphology, thermal stability and porosity. Moreover, the ultraviolet-aging tests were also conducted with both an accelerating aging box and natural aging methods to assess the possibility of outdoor-usage as plant blanket. The comprehensive assessment of results has shown that the optimum processing parameter was the needle depth of 12 mm combined with the needling frequency of 700 times/min. The ultraviolet-aging results have revealed that manufactured geotextiles have comparatively good anti-aging performance, which is suitable for long-term exposure outside. This result of this research provides a feasible and convenient application field for recycled textiles.