Biosurfactants for a Sustainable Textile Industry

The global textile market continues to grow and is expected to reach over 3 Billion USD within the next decade. Surfactants are used throughout textile production, and their degradation and persistence in the environment is a concern. Biosurfactants are an emerging class of materials finding applications in a range of industries. Produced from biological feedstocks, they offer eco-friendly alternatives to the traditional detergents, emulsifiers, and CFCs used in textile production, with new opportunities for enhancing fabric quality too. Aside from reducing the environmental impact of waste and effluent from the textile industry, biosurfactants may also be deployed in the treatment of current waste streams. Their use will also have a positive impact on the health of workers. The editors have worked on biosurfactants for over a decade and aim to bring together a wealth of expertise to provide researchers, engineers, and industry professionals with the knowledge to design and develop effective and environmentally friendly solutions to the challenges facing the textile industry with biosurfactants with the UN SDGs in mind.