Recycling and application of textile waste in different products

Disposing of textiles and agriculture waste is a very big problem. Textile waste covers a wide variety of products including fibres, yarns, and fabrics. It is estimated that around 92 million tons of clothing waste are thrown out every year globally. Most of the portion goes into landfills. This is not only a cause for environmental concern but also represents a waste of useful resources. Reconverting waste clothing material by mixing it with resins can be explored for developing high-quality products like wall and floor tiles. Keeping this in mind, in this study various types of textile wastes like denim, waste fibres from spinning like hemp, polyester, flax, cotton, etc are used to develop wall and floor tiles material having water and flame retardant properties.  Similarly, agriculture waste was also utilized in making various products including tiles, bricks, manhole covers, and drainage cover slabs.  The developed tiles were also tested and compared with the conventional ceramic tiles.

 Need of Protective Work-Wear for Workers of Indian Cement

• November 2021

• Project: 
• Development of Cement Work wear

• Shweta Saxena
• M. S. Parmar
• Sangita Saini
• Vasundhara Verma

Cement demand is closely linked to country's economic development, particularly in the infrastructure and housing businesses. The main growth factors for the cement industry are higher government spending on infrastructure and housing and increasing per capita income. This study aims to review and analyze the current status of cement industry with respect to the risks associated with the health of the workers involved. This study aims to provide guidelines,on how to control and on the areas to be focused by the employer for their better health and safety performance. Not only is it dangerous to work with dry cement, even wet cement can damage the skin because it is caustic, abrasive, and extracts moisture from the skin. India is world's second largest cement producer, and the demand for cement is further increasing due to its various applications.There are no specific protective work wear standards in India for the cement workers. The available work wear is inadequate to protect the workers from the dry or wet cement. Thousands of cement workers work under difficult hot, cold and humid climatic conditions without any protective work wear. This results in multiple health problems at the workplace. The present paper stresses on the need of a safe work wear for cement workers in India.

 Quantification of blend ratio of cotton and hemp blended fabric: A new approach

• M. S. Parmar, 
• Indu Gupta, 
• Shalini Juneja

• February 2022
• Journal of the Textile Association 82/4(Nov-Dec 2021)

Cotton is one of the main members of the cellulose fibre family. With the advent of technology and research, members of the cellulose family are increasing. Some of the examples of recently developed cellulose fibres are hemp, banana, and ramie. These fibres are usually blended with cotton to provide some unique properties. At present, no standard method is available to quantify these fibres in a blend. In the present study, moisture regains properties of fibres were used to quantify the blend ratio of cotton and hemp fibers. Various fibre ratios were used to blend the fibres. The presence of these fibres in the blend was identified using FTIR spectral study. Under various humidity and temperature conditions, the moisture regains of these blends was determined with the standard test method. A calibration curve was plotted between blend percentage of fibres and corresponding moisture regain. Based on the calibration curve, the blend ratio of unknown cotton-hemp blends was determined.

 Dyeing of surface-modified cotton with disperse dye to conserve water: Preliminary study

• February 2022
• Asian Dyer December 2021- January 2022:24-27
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Textile processing is one of the largest and oldest industries worldwide and is responsible for substantial resource consumption and pollution. This paper discussed two approaches (Process-I and Process-II) towards the conservation of water in the wet processing of cotton fabric. In these new approaches, the surface of cotton yarn and fabric was modified using a resin followed by dyeing using disperse dye. In these new approaches, there is no need for pretreatment of the cotton fabric before dyeing which can save a significant amount of water, energy, and other chemicals along with cost benefits. A solid dyeing effect has been achieved on cotton fabric using Process-I. Process-II provided a denim fading look on the cotton fabric.

 Air Cleaner Home Textiles to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution: A Preliminary Study

• November 2020, 
• International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research 9(11):398-401

• Arindam Basu, 
• Girendra Pal Singh, 
• M. S. Parmar

Indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems. Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from in door sources and by not carrying indoor air pollutants out of the area. High temperature and humidity levels can also increase concentrations of some pollutants. In this study cotton fabric is treated with natural mineral (expressed as natural mineral1) and exposed with carbon mono oxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide gases individually. After passing through the fabric samples (untreated and treated with mineral), these gases were analysed quantitatively. Study indicated that there was a sharp reduction of these gases after passing through the mineral treated fabric as compared to the untreated fabric.

 Study to analyze and improve anti riot body protector

• February 2021, 
• Man-Made Textiles in India XLIX No. 1(January 2021):7-11

• Neha Kapil, 
• M. S. Parmar, 
• Sangita Saini

Anti riot body protectors are very essential personal protective equipment mostly used by paramilitary and police forces during riots. These body protectors, protect them against various possible threats such as stone-pelting, stabbing, petrol bomb attack etc. during riots. To understand the suitability of present body protector used by soldiers, a study was carried out. The study was divided in to three parts. In the first part of study, a survey was carried out using well designed questionnaire among the 95 soldiers of Rapid Action Forces (RAF). It was revealed from the survey that the soldiers need improved body protectors which can have better stab and impact resistance capability, better durability of hook and loop fasteners. Besides, they pointed out faulty design of body protector which made wearer uncomfortable. Study also pointed out that the design of the body protector was only for male. It was not suitable for female troopers. In the second part of the study, 25 body protectors were procured from the paramilitary forces, police forces and manufacturers to analyze their performance against stab and impact tests. The study revealed that most of the body protectors failed to qualify the requirement given in VPAM KDIW 2004, Edition 2011, standard used for analyzing stab and impact resistance properties of body protector. In the third part of study, composite materials were developed which qualified the requirement of stab resistant as per VPAM KDIW 2004, Edition 2011 standard.

 Analysis of dust resistance property of coated and laminated fabrics using newly developed instrument

• March 2021, 
• Colourage

• M. S. Parmar, 
• Shweta Saxena, 
• Sangita Saini, 
• Durgesh raj Maurya

Workers in the cement industry are engaged in the activities of packing, mixing, transportation and distribution. Being medium risk industry in terms of health hazards, workers are required to have protective work-wear to protect them from anticipating hazards due to the direct exposure of cement dust. Under this study an instrument has been developed to determine cement dust resistance nature of protective fabric. Six types of coated and laminated fabrics were tested on this instrument and their results are compared with air-permeability, hydrostatic head test and moisture vapour transmission properties of these fabrics.

 Workwear fabric for cement workers

• March 2021, 
• Asian Journal of Textile January-February(2021):46-51

• Shweta Saxena, 
• Durgesh raj Maurya, 
• Sangita Saini,
• M. S. Parmar

A large numbers of workers are involved in construction work. As the cement is one of the main materials used in construction, there are chances of these workers to expose dry cement and concrete (wet cement mixture of broken stone or gravel) every day without knowing its harmful effect on their health. It was found that the skin of the workers get affected due to regular with wet concrete and dry cement which ultimately result in dermatitis. This study is divided into two parts. In the first parts a survey is conducted in government as well as private organizations situated in and around Delhi using well designed questionnaire to understand the problems faced by the workers working in cement user industry and also their expectation for the work wear. The survey revealed that most of the workers are migrated from various states and average age was 35 years. They are not having suitable work wear. Most of them were having symptom of swelled eyes, respiratory and skin problems. In the second part, four fabric samples were developed keeping in mind the expectations of workers, and tested for mass, thickness, air and water vapour permeability, chemical resistance, dust resistance and durability properties. Out of four fabric samples (coded as ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’), sample ‘C’ was found to be better than others as it has lower mass, higher tear & tensile strength, lower UV exposure effect, better water vapour permeability. Other properties like air permeability, acid and alkali resistance of all the samples are found to be similar. Dust/cement resistant property of sample ‘C’ was also found better than other three fabric samples when measured at different air jet pressure.

 Creating dyeing effect on cotton fabric with disperse dyes

• April 2021 
• Journal of the Textile Association 81(Jan-Feb 2021)

• M. S. Parmar
• Durgesh raj Maurya, 
• Girendra Pal Singh, 
• Saurbh Jain

Availability of water for dyeing and treatment of effluent are two major problems that Indian textile processing industry facing difficult to resolve. Consumption of water in dyeing of cotton using reactive dye is very high. In the present study, fabric samples were modified using different concentrations of resin. These modified samples were dyed with disperse dye using carrier dyeing process. The presence of resin on the surface of fabric was confirmed using FTIR technique. Digital image processing (DIP) method has shown the resin treated fabric surface became smoother than untreated cotton fabric. ANOVA study indicated that there was a strong relationship between resin percentage on fabric and colour value (K/s). The colour durability of dyed samples was also studied. These samples were also analyzed for tensile, tear, crease recovery angle and colour fastness properties.

Plant Layout: Part-2(IMPORTANCE OF PLANT LAYOUT)

1. It is long-term commitment
2. It facilitates the production process, minimizes material handling, time and cost, and allows flexibility of operations
3. It facilitates easy production flow, makes economic use of the building, promotes effective utilization of manpower, and provides for employee’s convenience, safety, comfort at work, maximum exposure to natural light and ventilation.
4. It affects the flow of material and processes, labour efficiency, supervision and control, use of space and expansion possibilities.

Plant Layout: Part-1(Definition) 

Plant layout refers to the arrangement of physical facilities such as machinery, equipment, furniture etc. with in the factory building in such a manner so as to have quickest flow of material at the lowest cost and with the least amount of handling in processing the product from the receipt of material to the shipment of the finished product.

DEFINITION : Following are the definitions

 “the overall objective of plant layout is to design a physical arrangement that most economically meets the required output – quantity and quality.”

 “Plant layout ideally involves allocation of space and arrangement of equipment in such a manner that overall operating costs are minimized.

DETERMINANTS OF PLANT LAYOUT

1. TYPE OF PRODUCT (size, shape and quality)

2. TYPE OF PROCESS (technology employed, sequencing etc)

3. VOLUME OF PRODUCTIONS- (INCREASE OR DECREASE)

Machine Maintenance : Part-3 (Types of maintenance)

Traditionally, 5 types of maintenance have been distinguished, which are differentiated by the nature of the tasks that they include:

Corrective maintenance:  Corrective maintenance is a maintenance task performed to identify, isolate, and rectify a fault so that the failed equipment, machine, or system can be restored to an operational condition within the tolerances or limits established for in-service operations.

Preventive Maintenance:  Preventative maintenance is maintenance that is regularly performed on a piece of equipment to lessen or reduce the likelihood of it failing. Preventative maintenance is performed while the equipment is still working, so that it does not break down unexpectedly.

In process houses mostly Corrective and Preventive maintenance are performed.

Predictive Maintenance:  Predictive maintenance (PdM) techniques are designed to help determine the condition of in-service equipment in order to predict when maintenance should be performed. This approach promises cost savings over routine or time-based preventive maintenance, because tasks are performed only when warranted.

Zero Hours Maintenance (Overhaul): The set of tasks whose goal is to review the equipment at scheduled intervals before appearing any failure, either when the reliability of the equipment has decreased considerably so it is risky to make forecasts of production capacity . This review is based on leaving the equipment to zero hours of operation, that is, as if the equipment were new. These reviews will replace or repair all items subject to wear. The aim is to ensure, with high probability, a good working time fixed in advance.

Periodic maintenance (Time Based Maintenance TBM): The basic maintenance of equipment made by the users of it. It consists of a series of elementary tasks (data collections, visual inspections, cleaning, lubrication, retightening screws,…) for which no extensive training is necessary, but perhaps only a brief training. This type of maintenance is the based on TPM (Total Productive Maintenance).

Machine Maintenance : Part-2

Objectives of Maintenance Management

The following are some of the objectives of maintenance management:

• Minimizing the loss of productive time because of equipment failure (i.e. minimizing idle time of equipment due to break down).
• Minimizing the repair time and repair cost.
• Minimizing the loss due to production stoppages.
• Efficient use of maintenance personnel and equipments.
• Prolonging the life of capital assets (equipment or machines) by minimizing the rate of wear and tear.
• To keep all productive assets in good working conditions.
• To maximize efficiency and economy in production through optimum use of facilities.
• To minimize accidents through regular inspection and repair of safety devices.
• To minimize the total maintenance cost which includes the cost of repair, cost of preventive maintenance and inventory carrying costs, due to spare parts inventory.
•  To improve the quality of products and to improve productivity.

Machine Maintenance : Part-1

Maintenance Objectives

•  Maintenance is an important factor in quality assurance, which is another basis for the successful competitive edge.

•    Inconsistencies in equipment lead to variability in product characteristics and result in defective parts that fail to meet the established specifications.

•   Beyond just preventing break downs, it is necessary to keep equipment operating within specifications (i.e. process capability) that will produce high level of quality.

•      Unnecessary breakdown also leads to the increase in cost of the production.

Impact of Poor Maintenance

1. Production capacity: Machines idled by breakdowns cannot produce, thus the capacity of the system is reduced.
2. Production costs: Labor costs per unit rise because of idle labor due to machine breakdowns. When machine malfunctions result in scrap, unit labor and material costs increase. Besides, cost of maintenance which includes such costs as costs of providing repair facilities, repair crews, preventive maintenance inspections, spare parts and stand by machines will increase as machines break down frequently.
3. Product and service quality: Poorly maintained equipment produce low quality products. Equipment that have not been properly maintained have frequent break downs and cannot provide adequate service to customers. For example, winding and unwinding rollers of Jigger machine are not maintained properly, they may results uneven dyeing or uneven colour pick up due to tension variation in the fabric across the width.
4. Employee or customer safety: Worn-out equipment is likely to fail at any moment and these failures can cause injuries to the workers, working on those equipments. For example, boiler used in process house, if not maintain properly (removing of scale), it may burst and cause injuries to the boiler attendants.
5. Customer satisfaction: When production equipments break down, products often can not be produced according to the master production schedules, due to work stoppages. This will lead to delayed deliveries of products to the customers.

Handling of dyes & Chemicals-method & precautions: Part-4 (Some important hazards and safety aspects)

•    Direct contact of dyes & chemicals with skin or eyes may cause irritation. If this occurs, flush thoroughly with water. If irritation persists, get medical attention.

•      Gloves to be used while handling dyes & chemicals.

•    Prolonged inhalation of dyes & chemicals should be avoided especially personnel who is dealing with storage of the finishing chemicals. It is recommended to use toxic fume/vapour respirators approved by competent authorities.

•      The method of storage and handling of dyes & chemicals is one among various reasons for inconsistency performance. In most of the process houses the dye & chemicals storerooms are maintained in most disorderly manner. Often the dye & chemicals containers are kept in open condition thereby the dye powders/pastes/chemicals get exposed to varying climatic conditions especially, extreme humidity and temperature. Therefore they should be stored in dry and cool conditions as per the recommendation of manufacturers.

Handling of dyes & Chemicals-method & precautions: Part-3 (Safety Program)

 (c) Emergency preparedness: To establish the plan and procedures for emergency response. Emergency preparedness is vital to reduce injuries, ill-health and other damages, as quick and correct response is necessary in case of emergencies. In textile finishing, common emergency situations involving chemicals include fire, explosion, spills or release of hazardous chemicals, splashing of hot fluid, and any situation which result in personal injuries and acute illnesses.

(d) Hazard communication: To establish appropriate means of communication of safety and health matters to employees. This includes the provision of information, instruction and training to enable employees to do their jobs safely; and

(e) Monitoring and review: To monitor the effectiveness of the safety measures and review and revise periodically to cope with new requirements or significant changes in the concerned processes and /or materials

Handling of dyes & Chemicals-method & precautions: Part-2 (Safety Program)

A chemical safety programme for textile processing should include the following major elements:

(a) Risk assessment: to identify the hazards and evaluate their risks in the processes. Risk assessment is a process to evaluate what chemicals or processes would cause harm at work in terms of frequency of exposure, likelihood and consequence. Based on the assessment results, suitable safety measures could be developed to reduce the risks.

(b) Control of risks: to adopt and maintain suitable preventive and protective measures to control the risks associated with the identified hazards; The primary consideration is to adopt appropriate preventive measures to directly control the hazards at source, such as by elimination or substitution. For instance, certain azo dyes likely to form carcinogenic substances during dyeing process should be replaced by non-hazardous or less hazardous ones. These carcinogenic substances may also be regulated by the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Carcinogenic Substances) Regulations. In case elimination or substitution is not possible, segregation of the chemicals or the process is an effective safety measure. Protective measures such as the use of personal protective equipment should only be considered as a supplementary means in addition to engineering controls to minimize workers’ exposure to the hazards.

Handling of dyes & Chemicals-method & precautions: Part-1 (Introduction)

•      To ensure safety and health at work of employees engaged in textile processing, a carefully planned chemical safety programme is essential.

•      The risks arising from the hazards have to be assessed and control measures set up with their effectiveness monitored. The programme should also include emergency planning and training of employees.

•     The chemical safety programme should be organized and integrated into the general safety management system of the workplace. In addition, sufficient resources should be assigned to the development, implementation and maintenance of the programme