Fiber shedding from polyester and polyester-cotton blend fabrics during tumble drying

Novak, Lovrenc (author), Malneršič, Aleš (author), Lupše, Janez (author), Hočevar, Marko (author)

This study examines fiber shedding from polyester and polyester–cotton blend textilesduring tumble drying in a domestic heat pump dryer, focusing on the effects of drumspeed, load mass, and load composition. Standardized textiles and mixed consumeritems (3 kg and 5 kg loads) were dried in a modified dryer with an external high-efficiency filtration system that enabled time-resolved gravimetric measurement ofreleased fibers. Shedding was driven by mechanical stresses from textile motion andinteractions, which depended strongly on drum speed and load characteristics. Thegreatest fiber release occurred at the nominal 58 rpm, associated with the cataractingregime. Lower speeds (10–30 rpm) reduced shedding but increased drying time, whilea higher speed (70 rpm) combined with frequent textile redistribution produced thelowest shedding with little effect on drying duration. Load mass effects differed by loadtype: standardized 5 kg loads shed more than 3 kg loads, whereas the mixed consumerloads showed an opposite trend, which is interpreted as a load-composition effect ratherthan a direct mass effect. Overall, the results show a complex coupling between drumdynamics and textile interactions and indicate that adaptive drying strategies can reducefiber release during tumble drying without compromising drying performance.

• Language: English
• Keywords: polyester-cotton textiles, fiber shedding, tumble drying, microfiber emission, textile degradation, fiber emission mitigation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 18 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 23, no. 1, art. 2668758
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-182331
• UDC: 677.1/.5:648.33
• ISSN on article: 1544-046X
• DOI: 10.1080/15440478.2026.2668758
• COBISS.SI-ID: 277360643
• Publication date in RUL: 07.05.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of natural fibers
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1544-046X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 521905689

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Japanese
• Keywords: poliester-bombažne tekstilije, izločanje vlaken, strojno sušenje perila, emisije mikrovlaken, degradacija tekstilij, zmanjšanje emisij vlaken

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: L2-3174
• Name: Nizkoemisijsko gospodinjsko strojno sušenje z vrednotenjem poškodb tekstilnih materialov

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: European Union - NextGenerationEU
• Project number: TN-02-0782
• Name: Hybrid technologies of factories of the future for the green transition
• Acronym: GREENTECH