The Eurecat technology centre is leading a project which will convert biomass produced by forest management into regenerated cellulose fibres for the textile industry in line with the push for the bioeconomy.
The initiative, which also involves the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia and the University of Lleida, seeks to add value to forest biomass by turning pruning waste, branches and lower-quality wood into products such as regenerated cellulose fibres for sustainable textiles and innovative materials. This makes it possible to help reduce the fuel load in forests and support setting up local industries and the circular economy in rural areas.
As part of the project, called TEXWOODS, Eurecat is working on the use of forestry waste in high-value applications through new biorefinery technologies based on lignocellulosic biomass, i.e. from plant materials such as wood, and is applying innovative wet spinning technology to the recovered cellulose to yield sustainable and circular fabrics which are much needed in the current linear economy context.
Eurecat is also designing biopolymer dissolution procedures to minimise the environmental impact of spinning processes by using eco-friendly solvents, known as green solvents, and new methods for their recovery.
In terms of sustainability, the initiative is grounded in developing and optimising processes for manufacturing circular regenerated fibres, factoring in everything from biopolymer extraction efficiency to energy and water use, the environmental impact of solvents and product quality.
The project is looking at how process parameters, solvent systems and fibre treatments can be harnessed along with management and recycling to roll out new circular approaches.
Eurecat “undertakes innovative projects to foster the bioeconomy as a driver of transformation in numerous sectors, such as textiles in this case, to support new economic models which generate opportunities through the sustainable use of natural resources,” points out Gabriel Anzaldi, Eurecat’s Director of Ecosystems.
New wet spinning technology to enhance circularity in the textile industry
Under the project, Eurecat has recently acquired new equipment, the first of its kind in the country, to implement wet spinning technology that “will enable polymers found in nature or recovered from waste generated in various industries to be turned into new filaments which can be used as fibres in textile manufacturing,” says Virginia García, director of Eurecat’s Functional Textiles unit.
The equipment has been designed by FET (Fibre Extrusion Technology) to meet Eurecat’s requirements for working with polymers of various sources and viscosities, making it an ideal resource for industry research and innovation.
The waste used as raw material for the wet spinning process usually contains natural or synthetic polymers which can be dissolved and regenerated to form fibres.
In terms of sustainability and circularity, projects drawing on wet spinning technology address developing environmentally-friendly processes for producing regenerated fibres, including sourcing raw materials, using sustainable solvents and recycling and recovering waste, thereby enhancing climate resilience.
The purpose is for “businesses to introduce this technology as a means of recovering waste and so help increase sustainable textile materials and develop innovative, efficient processes for producing regenerated fibres,” adds Virginia García.
Increasing regenerated fibre production capacity
García argues that “the only way to secure the textile supply chain for cellulose fibres is to increase regenerated fibre production capacity,” a market that “is expected to grow significantly in the coming years as companies that currently mainly use cotton will have to add regenerated fibres to their production programmes.”
This means that businesses managing waste with high cellulose or other biopolymer content, such as those in the agri-food, forestry, textile or marine and coastal environmental management sectors, will stand to benefit from the innovation as will the chemical and biorefinery industries in terms of biomass fractionation for extracting high added-value products and biopolymers.
The TEXWOODS project has the financial backing of the Catalan Government through ACCIÓ, the Agency for Business Competitiveness, to generate cutting-edge technology and knowledge which can be used by Catalan enterprises.
