Abstract: Ionic liquid [BMIM]Cl was used to separate polyester and cotton from polyester-cotton blended textile wastes. The influences of dissolution of cotton fiber in ionic liquid, such as pretreatment, temperature, solid-liquid ratio, and time were studied, and the structure and properties of yarn before and after dissolution were characterized. The results showed that this method can effectively separate polyester-cotton blended textile wastes of lower cotton content. The dissolved cotton can be returned to solid cellulose. The residual yarn was polyester which performance has no significant change. The suitable dissolution process parameters: immersing yarn 72h in water under the room temperature, dissolving temperature 130~135℃, solid-liquid ratio of 1g~1.1g cotton: 50g ionic liquids, dissolving time 4h, and so on.

Key words: waste polyester-cotton , blended textile , components separation , ionic liquid , cotton fiber dissolution