Worn Again puts textile-to-fiber accelerator into operation in Winterthur

(CONNECT) Worn Again Technologies, which has sites in Winterthur and Nottingham and is based in Switzerland with Worn Again Switzerland AG in Zurich, has put its textile-to-fiber accelerator into operation in Winterthur. With the successful recycling of used polyester and cotton textiles, the company wants to initiate the process towards commercial use, according to a press release.

With the Accelerator, the company has significantly improved its process chemistry and technical processes. With the solvents currently used, polyester and cotton fibers can be recovered in high purity. Technically, it has been possible to recover 95 percent of the solvents used and thus make the process more environmentally friendly. There are currently two expansion stages of operation. In the first, polyester is recycled into spinnable fibers. In a second stage, cellulose fibers and other cellulose products will be produced.

"The Accelerator is a decisive factor in the construction of our first commercial plant," Toby Moss, Chief Commercial Officer of Worn Again Switzerland, is quoted as saying in the press release. "Testing on this scale will allow us to expand our solutions to a wider range of raw materials, enabling us to maintain our pioneering role by recycling more material streams and building a growing portfolio of high-quality downstream product applications." With the successful test runs, the company is now trying to find industrial practice partners to commercialize the process. ce/ww