![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20240129155048\/IMG_0285-1-1024x576.jpg\")
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to make these fragments, but to characterize them and describe how big they are and what their properties are, that\u2019s really important to teach the world what they could be used for,\u201d Salmon says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang was not only able to describe the characteristics of the enzyme-degraded cotton, she was also able to identify potential uses for them such as papermaking, composites and insulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople are now looking at products that were made from plastics for decades to see how they can be made in a different way with wood pulp, cotton or textile waste,\u201d Salmon says. \u201cThe very important thing about this publication is that we characterized detailed properties of cotton fragments so that additional researchers can see that and be inspired to use them to make products.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digging into dyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\nAnother important factor in Wang\u2019s research is the effect dyes have on the properties of the cotton fragments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes the presence of dyes can limit the applications of the final products,\u201d Wang says. \u201cIf we want to overcome that, we need to find how we can decrease the effect of the dyes on the final product or find a way to apply the dyed products to another application such as pigments or printing materials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20240129155034\/IMG_0312-1024x576.jpg\")
Wang with the cotton sample (right) that she then treats with enzymes to create fragments (left). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBy identifying how dyes affect the final cotton fragments, Wang opens the door for textile designers to avoid dyes that hinder recycling, and for dye companies to design new dyes that are more compatible with recycling strategies. This is just one of the ways the Textile Biocatalysis Research Group will continue moving forward with Wang\u2019s research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to reteach people about this cellulose polymer, which is the number one polymer on earth,\u201d Salmon says. \u201cThere is more cellulose on earth than any other organic polymer. Nature decided this was a really great material to make things from, so we should learn from that and realize that there are a lot of things we can make from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mentorship in the lab<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWang credits a big part of her research\u2019s success to the community and mentorship she found with Salmon and her lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a student in a research lab you need to make big and small decisions all the time,\u201d Wang says. \u201cOften I will ask Dr. Salmon what would work better for me, but\u00a0she won\u2019t direct you to the answer. She makes you think yourself and gives you tips on how you can make your decisions. This way of learning made me grow a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Salmon who encouraged Wang to submit her research to Cellulose journal. Together they found that the results they were observing were underreported. Salmon guided Wang through the writing and submission process, offering constructive suggestions and edits to the manuscript before submission and again after receiving peer review feedback. It is a long and detailed process to get research published in a scientific journal, much less to be chosen for the cover as Wang was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful to Dr. Salmon for her guidance,\u201d Wang says. \u201cWe both felt greatly honored that our article was chosen for the cover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang is carrying the skills and knowledge she has learned in Salmon\u2019s lab with her as she conducts new research within Wilson College studying hemp fiber for textiles.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cThinking about our planet and the future, we want to learn and teach more about materials that are already on the planet and how they can be used to help us overcome issues like greenhouse gas emissions and waste accumulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is how Associate Professor Sonja Salmon<\/a> describes the mission of her Textile Biocatalysis Research Group<\/a> at the Wilson College of Textiles<\/a>. The group explores the interactions of enzymes and microorganisms with polymers, fibers and textile materials. Fiber and Polymer Science<\/a> Ph.D. student Siyan Wang, a member of the group, recently earned a spot on the front cover of Cellulose journal for her research on cotton fiber fragments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By identifying how dyes affect the final cotton fragments, Wang opens the door for textile designers to avoid dyes that hinder recycling, and for dye companies to design new dyes that are more compatible with recycling strategies. This is just one of the ways the Textile Biocatalysis Research Group will continue moving forward with Wang\u2019s research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to reteach people about this cellulose polymer, which is the number one polymer on earth,\u201d Salmon says. \u201cThere is more cellulose on earth than any other organic polymer. Nature decided this was a really great material to make things from, so we should learn from that and realize that there are a lot of things we can make from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mentorship in the lab<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWang credits a big part of her research\u2019s success to the community and mentorship she found with Salmon and her lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a student in a research lab you need to make big and small decisions all the time,\u201d Wang says. \u201cOften I will ask Dr. Salmon what would work better for me, but\u00a0she won\u2019t direct you to the answer. She makes you think yourself and gives you tips on how you can make your decisions. This way of learning made me grow a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Salmon who encouraged Wang to submit her research to Cellulose journal. Together they found that the results they were observing were underreported. Salmon guided Wang through the writing and submission process, offering constructive suggestions and edits to the manuscript before submission and again after receiving peer review feedback. It is a long and detailed process to get research published in a scientific journal, much less to be chosen for the cover as Wang was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful to Dr. Salmon for her guidance,\u201d Wang says. \u201cWe both felt greatly honored that our article was chosen for the cover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang is carrying the skills and knowledge she has learned in Salmon\u2019s lab with her as she conducts new research within Wilson College studying hemp fiber for textiles.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cThinking about our planet and the future, we want to learn and teach more about materials that are already on the planet and how they can be used to help us overcome issues like greenhouse gas emissions and waste accumulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is how Associate Professor Sonja Salmon<\/a> describes the mission of her Textile Biocatalysis Research Group<\/a> at the Wilson College of Textiles<\/a>. The group explores the interactions of enzymes and microorganisms with polymers, fibers and textile materials. Fiber and Polymer Science<\/a> Ph.D. student Siyan Wang, a member of the group, recently earned a spot on the front cover of Cellulose journal for her research on cotton fiber fragments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Characterizing cotton<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Wang\u2019s article, titled \"Preparation and characterization of cotton fiber fragments from model textile waste via mechanical milling and enzyme degradation,\u201d provides crucial information for researchers working to decrease the 11 million metric tons of textiles waste<\/a> that go into U.S. landfills every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang\u2019s research moves towards a greener alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to make these fragments, but to characterize them and describe how big they are and what their properties are, that\u2019s really important to teach the world what they could be used for,\u201d Salmon says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang was not only able to describe the characteristics of the enzyme-degraded cotton, she was also able to identify potential uses for them such as papermaking, composites and insulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople are now looking at products that were made from plastics for decades to see how they can be made in a different way with wood pulp, cotton or textile waste,\u201d Salmon says. \u201cThe very important thing about this publication is that we characterized detailed properties of cotton fragments so that additional researchers can see that and be inspired to use them to make products.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digging into dyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Another important factor in Wang\u2019s research is the effect dyes have on the properties of the cotton fragments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes the presence of dyes can limit the applications of the final products,\u201d Wang says. \u201cIf we want to overcome that, we need to find how we can decrease the effect of the dyes on the final product or find a way to apply the dyed products to another application such as pigments or printing materials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By identifying how dyes affect the final cotton fragments, Wang opens the door for textile designers to avoid dyes that hinder recycling, and for dye companies to design new dyes that are more compatible with recycling strategies. This is just one of the ways the Textile Biocatalysis Research Group will continue moving forward with Wang\u2019s research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to reteach people about this cellulose polymer, which is the number one polymer on earth,\u201d Salmon says. \u201cThere is more cellulose on earth than any other organic polymer. Nature decided this was a really great material to make things from, so we should learn from that and realize that there are a lot of things we can make from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mentorship in the lab<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Wang credits a big part of her research\u2019s success to the community and mentorship she found with Salmon and her lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a student in a research lab you need to make big and small decisions all the time,\u201d Wang says. \u201cOften I will ask Dr. Salmon what would work better for me, but\u00a0she won\u2019t direct you to the answer. She makes you think yourself and gives you tips on how you can make your decisions. This way of learning made me grow a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Salmon who encouraged Wang to submit her research to Cellulose journal. Together they found that the results they were observing were underreported. Salmon guided Wang through the writing and submission process, offering constructive suggestions and edits to the manuscript before submission and again after receiving peer review feedback. It is a long and detailed process to get research published in a scientific journal, much less to be chosen for the cover as Wang was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful to Dr. Salmon for her guidance,\u201d Wang says. \u201cWe both felt greatly honored that our article was chosen for the cover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang is carrying the skills and knowledge she has learned in Salmon\u2019s lab with her as she conducts new research within Wilson College studying hemp fiber for textiles.<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ph.D. student Siyan Wang\u2019s breakthrough research on cotton fiber fragments earned a prestigious spot on the front cover of Cellulose journal. See how her research is changing the game for textile recycling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":56948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"Mary Giuffrida","ncst_show_custom_author":true,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"displayCategoryID\":512,\"caption\":\"Associate Professor Sonja Salmon (left) and Ph.D. student Siyan Wang (right).\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[742,490,512,502,479],"tags":[1143,2327,2328,1055,504,505,1382],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-56944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newswire","category-our-people","category-research-and-innovation","category-student-success","category-tecs","tag-department-of-textile-engineering-chemistry-and-science","tag-faculty-research","tag-graduate-programs","tag-ph-d-fiber-and-polymer-science","tag-research","tag-sustainability","tag-wilson-college-of-textiles"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":512,"name":"Research and Innovation","slug":"research-and-innovation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":512,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":255,"filter":"raw"},"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"yoast_head":"