Bio-Based Water and Oil Repellent Chemicals will Be Used in the Production of Textile Products
Melis Vekiloğlu, General Manager of Sun Tekstil and Member of Board
TORNADO Project aims to contribute to the transition to a safe circular economy by determining that high performance technical textiles should be designed, produced and used in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.
Melis Vekiloğlu, General Manager of Sun Tekstil and Member of Board: “As Sun Tekstil, we have taken a big step in terms of developing processes, methods and end products that comply with some regulations that are required within the scope of the sustainability goals of the European Union.
For the European Commission Project, which is planned to be completed within 36 months by 14 partners from 5 different countries, the Sun Tekstil grant share will be 297,875 euros.
Underlining that the TORNADO Project includes the goal of ‘Safe sustainable new ways for biobased water and oil repellent coatings’, Vekiloğlu said, “The project is supported by the European Commission within the scope of the Horizon Europe Programme, which aims to realize the technology vision of Europe. In order to realize the objectives of the TORNADO Project, a project consortium consisting of 14 organizations from 5 different countries, including us, was formed. Within the scope of the TORNADO Project, whose official start date has been determined as January 1, 2023, new, bio-based and non-toxic coating chemicals with high water and oil repellency will be developed in accordance with safe and sustainable design criteria. New coatings proposed to be developed and used; It will not contain fluorine, and the negative effects on human health and the environment will be much less than its fluorine-containing counterparts, and recycling opportunities will be easier.”
“It will show the same performance as the fluorine-containing equivalents of water and oil repellent fabrics”
Providing information about the details of the project, Vekiloğlu said, “Water and oil repellent fabrics are frequently preferred especially in the production of technical textiles. For the production of such products, chemicals containing fluorine are used to achieve high repellency performance. On the other hand, fluorine-containing compounds that provide high performance; over time, it accumulates in human and animal bodies, soil, air and water. Therefore, these chemicals have many negative effects on humans and the environment in the long run. Within the scope of the project, two new bio-based water and oil repellent chemicals obtained from vegetable oils will be developed. These new chemicals; The usability and performance evaluation will be made in the packaging, kitchenware and textile sector. As Sun Tekstil, we will use the chemicals developed in the production of textile products. These safe and sustainable chemicals and fabrics treated with these chemicals are expected to perform the same as their fluorine-containing counterparts. Thus, we aim to create a great environmental impact, especially in the field of technical textiles. The products to be developed can also be used in active wear collections or outerwear products where water repellency is required.”
