The influence of common textile finishes on cotton fabrics on the generation of microfibers during laundering was assessed. Microfiber release was determined to be in the range of 9000–14,000 particles per gram of cotton fabric. Cotton knitted fabrics treated with softener and durable press generate more microfibers (1.30–1.63 mg/g fabric) during laundering by mass and number than untreated fabric (0.73 mg/g fabric). The fabrics treated with softener generated the longest average microfiber length (0.86 mm), whereas durable press and water repellent treatments produced the shortest average microfiber length (0.62 and 0.63 mm, respectively). In general, the changes in the mechanical properties of the fibers and fabrics due to the finishing treatments are the main factor affecting the microfiber release. The abrasion resistance of the fabrics decreases for durable press treatments and water repellent treatments due to the brittleness in the structure originated by the crosslinking treatment. In the case of the softener treatment, the fabric surface is soft and smooth decreasing the friction coefficient between fibers favoring the fibers loosening from the textile and resulting in a high tendency for fuzz formation and microfiber release. These findings are useful for the textile industry in the design and selection of materials and treatments for the reduction of synthetic or natural microfiber shedding from textiles.

To improve the indoor air quality of apartments in Korea, a toluene adsorptive paint was manufactured and tested for its efficiency to remove the indoor toluene released from wallpaper adhesives. The toluene adsorptive paint was prepared by blending activated carbon and inorganic binder, and the pore characteristics and chemical functional groups of the activated carbon were analyzed to determine whether the micropores and surface functionalities of activated carbon affected toluene adsorption. Toluene adsorption performance of the toluene adsorptive paint was confirmed through static and verification experiments. The average adsorption efficiency of toluene adsorptive paint in the static experiment was 98.3% and the verification experiment confirmed that about 96.3% of toluene was adsorbed from the indoor air of the apartment. As a result, the use of toluene adsorptive paint effectively removes toluene, which may occur in the adhesive, and thus can be considered to have a good effect on the improvement of indoor air quality. Furthermore, toluene adsorptive paint has been found to be an effective way to achieve consumer wall finishing preferences and maintenance convenience.

Indoor air quality in nursery schools is different from other schools and this has been largely ignored, particularly in rural areas. Urban and rural nursery schools have different environmental characteristics whose knowledge needs improvement. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate continuously the concentrations of CO2, CO, NO2, O3, CH2O and total VOC in three rural nursery schools and one urban, being the only one comparing urban and rural nurseries with continuous measurements, thus considering occupation and non-occupation periods. Regarding CO2, urban nursery recorded higher concentrations (739–2328 mg m⁻³) than rural nurseries (653–1078 mg m⁻³). The influence of outdoor air was the main source of CO, NO2 and O3 indoor concentrations. CO and NO2 concentrations were higher in the urban nursery and O3 concentrations were higher in rural ones. CH2O and TVOC concentrations seemed to be related to internal sources, such as furniture and flooring finishing and cleaning products.

The presence and biodegradability of textile microfibers shed during laundering or use is an important environmental issue. In this research, the influence of common textile finishes on the persistence of cotton fibers in an aerobic aquatic environment was assessed. The biodegradation of cotton knitted fabrics with different finishes, silicone softener, durable press, water repellent, and a blue reactive dye was evaluated. The rate of biodegradation decreased with durable press and water repellant finishing treatments. In terms of the final extent of biodegradation, there was no significant difference between the samples. All samples reached more than 60% biodegradation in 102 days. The biodegradation rates were in agreement with observed trends of the same samples for cellulase mediated hydrolysis and cellulase adsorption experiments, indicating the finishes impact the initial adsorption of enzymes excreted by the microorganisms and the initial rates of biodegradation, however despite this the cellulosic material maintains its biodegradability.