18 Sep R&D ON DYEING BIODEGRADABLE YARNS BASED ON POLYLACTIC ACID FOR THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR

The Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) has awarded us a grant of €72,988.11, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) at a rate of 60% through the ERDF Operational Programme of the Valencian Community, for the project entitled “R&D on Dyeing Biodegradable Yarns Based on Polylactic Acid for the Agri-food Sector,” file number IMIDTA/2024/114, submitted to the PIDI-CV 2024 programme.

The objective of the project has been the research and development of a new dyeing method for sustainable yarns, enabling the creation of a new range of biodegradable dyed yarns made from polylactic acid (PLA) for the agri-food sector. This work has led to the definition of a characterization system for PLA yarns, as well as the establishment of a complete dyeing process and its appropriate operating parameters. It also includes the preparation requirements of the yarns and the influence of post-treatment finishes on this type of material, resulting in an optimized, reliable, and reproducible dyeing process.

The research carried out within this project has also included the study of dyes and auxiliaries in order to identify those that provide the highest performance, depending on the nature of the fiber and the dyeing process, while aligning with the sustainability framework of the project.

Biodegradable PLA dyed yarns for the agri-food sector represent an innovation both nationally and internationally, as:

• The international market shows increasing demand for this type of sustainable product.
• There is currently a lack of PLA yarns dyed at the yarn stage, which limits the available color range—an issue that this development aims to overcome.