Analysing the potential of the selective dissolution of elastane from mixed fiber textile waste

•150 (biobased) solvents were computationally screened towards fiber dissolution capacity.•Solubility limits of textile fibers were experimentally assessed with (biobased) solvents.•Biobased THFA and GVL have comparable elastane dissolution capabilities to DMF and DMAC.•A novel TGA-corrected gravimetric method was developed for quantifying polymer dissolution.•LCA confirms that the solvent-based procedure saves 60.3% CO2-eq./kg textile waste.