Enhancing the Environmental profile of an African cotton textile through bio waste recovery and valorization

Abstract

The African Kitenge1is a resource intensive cotton-based textile product having profound popularity and widespread use, especially in the vast sub Saharan Africa. Kitenge is made of 100% cotton and for every kilogram of Kitenge produced in a textile factory, 3.96 kilograms of cotton have to be produced at the farm level with concomitant generation of about 10.33 kilograms of biowaste. The generation of such an amount of biowaste demands closer attention owing to the inherent adverse potential consequences to the environment. In the present study, the enhancement of the environmental profile of a typical African cotton textile popularly known as Kitenge is investigated. The assessment is carried out considering three alternatives in which biogas and nutrient rich digest are produced and used to replace different proportions of fossil fuels and mineral fertilizers in the Kitenge production chain. The assessment is performed using the life cycle sustainability assessment methodology based on the ISO 14040 and 14044 principles. Theenvironmental assessment metrics employed in the study include the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with a timeframe of 100 years and the cumulative energy demand. It is observed that valorization of about 50% of the biowaste from Kitenge production has the capacity to offset the Kitenge’s carbon footprint and cumulative energy demand by up to 25% and 37% respectively. These results unveil interesting insight for sustainable management and branding of the African Kitenge.