Biodegradation of cotton fabric modified with polycarboxylic acids and CuO/Cu2O nanoparticles in soil and compost

Abstract

Nano-finishing of textiles with Cu-based nanoparticles (NPs) is continually gaining scientific attention due to their extraordinary antimicrobial activity and inexpensive precursor salts. After exploitation, such textile goods commonly end-up on landfills becoming prone to biodegradation. The aim of this study is to highlight the influence of in situ synthetized CuO/Cu2O NPs on biodegradation behavior of cotton (CO) fabrics impregnated with 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic (BTCA) and succinic (SUC) acids in soil and compost. Biodegradation of impregnated samples in soil was slower compared to control CO fabric. The presence of CuO/Cu2O NPs negligibly affected biodegradation process in compost which ran much faster than in soil.