From the Sector

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an engineering order from US textile recycling innovator Circ in anticipation of its first large-scale textile recycling plant. The plant will be the first to recover cotton and polyester from blended textile waste.

Circ® is a pioneering company focused on sustainable solutions for the fashion industry. By converting fashion waste into reusable raw materials for fabrics, Circ reduces the need for petroleum and natural resources. The company’s mission is to build a truly circular economy to protect the planet from the cost of clothing.

ANDRITZ has been successfully conducting trials for Circ at the ANDRITZ Fiber R&D Center in Springfield, Ohio, USA, for several years. The successful partnership and recent developments have led to the decision to expand this cooperation.

The majority of fashion waste consists of polyester-cotton blends, which poses a significant challenge to achieving greater circularity. In particular, the separation of cellulosic and synthetic fibers from textile waste has been a major obstacle. Circ’s innovative recycling process can break down polycotton textile waste into its original components – polyester and cotton. The forthcoming plant will process 200 tons of textile waste per day, allowing cotton to be recycled for lyocell production and polyester to be reused for polyester production. This will reduce the need for virgin raw materials.

Conor Hartman, Chief Operating Officer at Circ, says: “We remain excited about this continued collaboration with ANDRITZ. Together, we will commercialize Circ’s innovative recycling process and take another step towards a truly circular fashion industry. With its expertise in engineering and building large-scale process equipment, ANDRITZ is the right partner to help us transform textile waste into recycled fibers on an industrial level.

Michael Waupotitsch, Vice President Textile Recycling at ANDRITZ, comments: “We are eager to support Circ in their vision of circularity because the technology they have developed is uniquely suited to solve one of the biggest challenges in fashion waste and recycling. With our holistic knowledge in resizing, mechanical separation, hydrothermal processing, recovery of cellulosic pulp as well as pulp cleaning and pulp drying, we have the right expertise to help them achieve their goals. Our experience in process development and machinery will help bring their innovative recycling technology to life.”

Ibrahim Fibres operates nearly 200 Trützschler cards, which is more than any other business in Pakistan. The leading yarn and Polyester Staple Fiber (PS) manufacturer has partnered with Trützschler for over two decades - and recently wanted to start processing long polyester and viscose fibers. It's an unusual request that brings unique challenges.

Pakistan is the eighth largest exporter of textiles in Asia and has the third largest spinning capacity in the continent. Ibrahim Fibres, located in Faisalabad, is a big contributor to that economic strength. The pioneering company produces a wide range of yarns for woven, and knitted fabrics. This includes various blends of cotton, viscose and polyester in different proportions and combinations with yarn counts ranging from Ne 8 to Ne 50. Ibrahim Fibres uses its own polyester via 240,000 spindles at four factories, mainly to produce poly-viscose and poly-cotton combed yarn. In total, the company manufactures 1,200 tons of PSF per day and consumes around 100 tons of its own materials per day. The remaining material is sold to other textile manufacturers.

An unusual challenge
Teams from Ibrahim Fibres often approach Trützschler with fresh ideas and new expectations. They recently set the challenge of producing top-quality yarns from unusually long polyester and viscose fibers. These fibers are used for luxury textiles, high-performance fabrics, fine bedding and advanced nonwoven materials. The end products benefit from the fibers outstanding strength and durability. Often, people in the textile industry talk about the problems with processing short fibers. But long fibers also present difficulties because they have a tendency to wrap or clog carding elements. Their length also makes them more tightly bound, which means they are more difficult to open.

What was the answer to this unusual challenge? Collaboration! Experts from Trützschler worked closely with partners at Ibrahim Fibres to explore potential solutions. "Our technical teams regularly collaborate with Trützschler’s R&D department to enhance production using Industry 4.0 principles, Al, and the latest technology," says Zafar Iqbal. "We’ve now developed a method for handling longer fibers that improves yarn consistency, end-product performance, and cost efficiency, while reducing waste. Our ongoing partnership with Trützschler continues to drive innovation and efficiency in our operations."

TC 30Si is here to help...
Ibrahim Fibres wanted to process 51mm polyester with 51 mm viscose fibers. In line with these requirements, Trützschler engineers optimized the TC 30Si carding machine for processing long polyester and viscose fibers. This machine is specifically customized for man-made fibers and can process these fibers more effectively due to its larger drum diameter, which results in a 14 % extended carding length. The machine also has 35 % more active flats. It has one licker-in and its cylinder, doffer wire, flat tops and stationary flats are all designed for processing man-made fibers.

"We chose TC 30Si for its advanced features, such as its 1400 mm cylinder diameter, extended carding lengths, and the automatic T-GO gap optimizer," says Zafar Iqbal. "These attributes support our Industry 4.0 goals by enhancing technology integration, data use, and operational efficiency, making it ideal for modernizing production and staying competitive in the textile industry."

And Ibrahim Fibres has even more reasons for choosing the TC 30Si: "It has user-friendly software and an intuitive Human Machine Interface (HMI), making it easy to maintain with minimal adjustments. This card boosts productivity and reduces energy consumption, while also improving consistency and reducing defects."