Exploração do potencial dos solventes eutécticos profundos no tingimento têxtil verde e sustentável

Currently, the Textile Industry ranks among the top five polluters in the world, particularly concerning water consumption. It is forecasted that by 2030, there will be a production increase of textiles by around 145 million tons, further incrementing pollution levels. Dyeing ranks among the most polluting processes, necessitating urgent measures to mitigate its harmful effects. Strategies such as supercritical carbon dioxide dyeing and non-aqueous solvent dyeing have been implemented with the goal of minimizing the usage of dye and auxiliary agents, thus lowering the pollutant load. While yielding acceptable results, there is still a considerable journey ahead to establish an effective dyeing process that does not compromise the final coloration's quality and its resistance to washing and light. The National Strategy for Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Effluents 2030 (ENEAPAI 2030), which has been adopted, emphasizes the urgency of addressing the known environmental situation and defines a sustainable strategy for the period up to 2030. Its main goal is the significant improvement of water quality in the country's river basins, ideally in accordance with the targets set by the Water Framework Directive by 2027. The project DeepNDye is aligned with these demands and sets specific objectives to achieve its primary aim of mitigating the environmental impact of textile dyeing and reduction of water consumption. These objectives are: i) to investigate NADES by exploring their chemical and physical properties suitable for extraction and textile dyeing applications, including polarity, solubility, viscosity, toxicity, biodegradability, among others; ii) evaluate the feasibility of integrating "NADYES" as alternatives to synthetic dyes in textile dyeing processes; iii) to compare the dyeing performance of "NADYES" with conventional synthetic dyes, focusing on parameters such as dye uptake, color fastness, and overall color quality across various textile substrates; iv) to evaluate the environmental implications of adopting NADES-based dyeing methods, including potential reductions in water consumption, energy usage, chemical waste generation, environmental pollution and toxicity; v) to optimize ‘NADYES’formulations and dyeing conditions to maximize dyeing efficiency, color yield, and color fastness while minimizing resource consumption and environmental impact; vi) to evaluate the final properties of dyed substrates (antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal); vi) to investigate the scalability of NADES-based dyeing processes for industrial applications, addressing challenges related to production scale, cost-effectiveness, and integration with existing textile manufacturing infrastructure; vii) to conduct a comparative economic analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of NADES-based dyeing methods versus conventional synthetic dyeing processes, considering factors such as raw material costs, process efficiency, and potential savings in environmental compliance, and viii) to disseminate research findings through publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at conferences, and engagement with industry stakeholders to raise awareness and facilitate the adoption of NADES-based dyeing technologies. In line with the ambitious DeepNDye timeline, we plan to explore the development of a digital portfolio showcasing natural pigments and dyes in collaboration with Tintex. This initiative will be pursued after the project's completion.