Mussel shells to wear out jeans

A research group Materials + Technologies (GMT) from the University of the Basque Country (EHU)in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has discovered that the sand obtained by crushing the shells of mussel has “better” abrasive properties than other materials used by textile industryin addition to being more ecological.

As reported by the EHU in a statement, this fact provides an answer to the search, by “an important multinational in the textile sector”from a “sustainable technique for the wear of denim fabric”.

“We have concluded that the sand obtained by crushing mussel shells is an effective and sustainable abrasive material.. It allows replacing other industrial processes currently used for the wear of denim fabric and that generate a greater impact on the environment. environment or who have a greater toxicity“, the researchers announced Cristina Pena and Juan Luis Osafrom the EHU group.

Treatments used to obtain the look worn denim present “numerous drawbacks“, explained the university. Traditionally, denim fabric was worn by throwing silica sand against the fabric under high pressure. However, the personnel in charge of this technique developed silicosis due to the use of few security measures and inadequate protections.

Being a disease with a high mortality ratethe erosive technique based on sandblast It acquired a bad reputation and was discarded by the textile industry. Instead, other methods began to be used, such as oxidizing chemical treatments either laser thermal treatments. These methods can be more toxic and do not achieve such satisfactory results in terms of wear, the EHU has indicated.

It was then decided to look for a renewable material and they began to try with the mussel shells at the suggestion of the textile company that had placed the order, specifically, with the shells discarded by the food industry.

As Osa explained, taking advantage of the fact that he lives “very close to the La Mejillonera bar in San Sebastián”, they have carried out tests “with the mussel shells that they usually throw in the trash.” “The process consists of wash the shells with water, sterilize the material with a heat treatment, grind it in a mill, sift it and finally project the waste generated against the denim fabric under pressure with a compressed air gun,” he said.

In this way, he explained, the residue “responds very well to the wear of jeansbetter than him garnet that is usually used in this sandblasting process.” In addition, it is necessary less material to achieve the same wear.

The sustainability of erosive material is another of the strong points of the EHU research, says Peña: “It has a lower environmental impact than traditional and chemical abrasives. As a consequence of the consumption of mussels, worldwide 1.5 million tonnes of shell waste per year and, as far as we know, today they are not used”.