Converting Old Clothes into Household Insulation

The idea for this SFI challenge project first came to Dr Susan Kelleher, School of Chemical Sciences, when she was teaching polymer chemistry to 3^rd year students in Autumn 2022.

Dr Kelleher wondered whether old clothes could be converted into household insulation, given that she understood that polymers in textiles weren’t fundamentally all that different from those used in insulation and also having just insulated her own home.

This concept forms the basis of the project Dr Kelleher is doing in collaboration with Dr Jennifer Gaughran, School of Physical Sciences, and Dr Ruairi Brannigan, School of Chemical Sciences, who together will support the synthesis and testing of the insulation to make sure it is up to the required industry standards.

The societal impact champion for the project is Claire Downey, based at the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun, who has experience in the field of textile recycling.

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