Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Impact of Different Washing Conditions on the Release of Ag Species from Textiles

Abstract

Joanna Kyzioł-Komosińska, Agnieszka Bara, Czesława Rosik-Dulewska, Justyna Czupiol, Sławomir Boncel and Agnieszka Dzieniszewska

The paper investigates the Ag release from textiles (socks available in shops, cotton and viscose filled with Ag nanoparticles–AgNPs) into a washing solution under different conditions. The released Ag amount depended on various factors, such as test media (chemical composition, temperature and water volume), metal contents, and textile impregnation conditions. Furthermore, it turned out that the textile type and colour were the main parameters affecting the Ag release. The Ag concentration in the washing solution ranged between 0.015 μg/l and 4.44 μg/l (socks) and between 0.61 μg/l and 103 μg/l (AgNPs–filled cotton). The total Ag percentage released into water during one washing varied considerably among textiles (from less than 1 to 34%). In the tap water presence, the released Ag load decreased from 6.82 to 1.35 μg/l due to the AgCl and/or Ag2CO3 precipitation. The bleaching process had a strong effect on the quality and speciation of Ag rleased during the washing process. For example, the Ag concentration in the washing solution changed from 0.8 μg/l to 12.9 μg/l and was higher by 20 times (white socks) to 170 times (black socks) when compared with washing in water without any oxidising agent. The washing of nano–Ag–treated textiles may have potentially released both ionic and particle forms as smaller AgNPs dissolved more rapidly than large AgNPs. The results of the present study demonstrate that the water solution containing Ag revealed a toxic effect on D. magna and V. fischeri. Among the tested species, D. magna was the most sensitive and revealed acute toxicity for low EC50 values. The V. fischeri response was less sensitive due to the physiological state of the bacteria.