Review on electrospinning of recycled polymer-derived fibers: A road towards sustainability, production and applications

In recent decades, the substantial growth in the production of non-biodegradable plastics led to a striking increase in environmental pollution. Conventional methods to manage these wastes, such as landfilling, incineration or physical recycling, are in many cases not only inefficient, but also costly and environmentally damaging. In these cases, the need for innovative and sustainable methods to reduce and reuse plastics waste is mandatory. One of the new and efficient approaches is the use of electrospinning and similar technology to directly convert plastics waste into thin fibers as an upcycling method. This process allows the production of micro- and nano-scale fibers from recycled polymers. These fibers can then be used in various applications, such as filtration, medicine, packaging and advanced engineering materials and composites (as reinforcements). This is related to their interesting properties, such as high contact surface area, tunable porosity and good strength depending on the original polymer. In this review, potential applications for this technology are presented in using polymer wastes and to describe its role as a sustainable solution in reducing the negative impacts of plastics on the environment. The scientific basis and functional advantages of this method are described first and experimental studies conducted in the field of electrospinning of recycled polymers are reviewed next. Finally, some conclusions are reported with openings for future developments.