In response to the textile sector, which is one of the world’s largest polluters, researchers have been working on a new technology. Jorge Pereira, professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) has revealed that the project’s main objective is “to enable the industry to reduce the consumption of water.”

This project, which is named “CirRe-Dyeing”, is expected to last until 2025 and has around two dozens researchers from the UC and different partner institutions working on it. The new technology developed at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra is currently “in the process of intellectual protection”. This means that exclusive rights to the inventors are being provided regarding the creative ideas behind this new technological project.

In a statement sent to Lusa, the University of Coimbra has emphasized that the project’s main objective is to create a circular platform, which will not only enable fiber and fabric dyes to be reused but also the water present in effluents. As Jorge Pereira adds, “Currently, the textile industry is among the five biggest polluters in the world, particularly in terms of water consumption. The forecast is that, by 2030, there will be an increase in textile production of around 145 million tons.”

As mentioned by the researchers, the future platform will be able to be used anywhere in the world and will serve different industries in an environmentally, but also economically and socially friendly way. As Jorge Pereira concludes “We believe that this technology has enormous potential for implementation at an industrial level and, with the support of the Portuguese textile industries, it can progress to pilot trials and in the immediate future contribute to a more efficient and ecological treatment of their effluents contaminated with dyes.”