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Leaching potential of silver from nanosilver-treated textile products

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Abstract

The use of nanosilver as an antibacterial agent for various products has increased, especially so, in textiles. This study aims to investigate the potential of Ag to leach from commercial products which contain nano-Ag by using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test in accordance with USEPA method 1311. Eight nano-Ag products were purchased from the market. Only those products that are likely to be disposed of in a landfill after end use were selected. Nano-Ag fabrics of different concentrations were also prepared at the laboratory scale, and the TCLP test was performed on them as well. The current study assumes that the new products were discarded without use. The Ag content was quantified by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and ranged from 0.95 to 2.82 μg/g of the product in the commercial products and from 1.49 to 350 μg/g of the product in the lab-prepared fabrics. In the TCLP test results, Ag concentrations ranged from 4.3 to 64.9 μg/L in the commercial products and from 28.9 to 28,381 μg/L in the lab-prepared fabrics. The results also indicate that the amount of Ag released depends on the type of the fabrics. Additionally, the size of the nano-Ag released in percentage is different for each prepared fabric. This study can help in understanding the amount of Ag released during the disposal phase of a product in a landfill.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by The Royal Golden Jubilee PhD Program (RGJ) under the organization of the Thailand Research Fund (TRF), Grant No. PHD/0307/2552. We thank the RGJ for providing funds for the study.

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  1. School of Biochemical Engineering and Technology, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT), Thammasat University, P.O. Box 22, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12121, Thailand

    P. Limpiteeprakan & S. Babel

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  1. P. Limpiteeprakan
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  2. S. Babel
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Correspondence to S. Babel.

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Limpiteeprakan, P., Babel, S. Leaching potential of silver from nanosilver-treated textile products. Environ Monit Assess 188, 156 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5158-x

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