Microplastic Fibres: Understanding Their Origins and Mitigating Their Release

Textile-derived microplastic fibres (MPFs) are among the major contributors to global microplastic pollution, contaminating aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments and posing significant risks to ecosystems and human health. This lecture explores the origin, transport, and environmental fate of these ubiquitous pollutants and presents an integrated theoretical–experimental framework, supported by X-ray micro-computed tomography and high-speed imaging of droplet impact, to elucidate the mechanisms governing MPF detachment and shedding. A multiscale mechanics-based model is introduced to explain the fundamental processes of fibre release from textile structures and to establish quantitative relationships between textile architecture and microplastic emissions. The lecture demonstrates how optimising yarn architecture, through an industrially scalable manufacturing parameter, can substantially reduce fibre shedding at its source. The lecture demonstrates that intelligent textile structural design can substantially reduce microplastic fibre release at source, offering a practical and sustainable pathway towards cleaner and more environmentally responsible textile manufacturing.