From the Sector

Suominen launches a carbon neutral nonwoven, BIOLACE^® Zero. BIOLACE^® Zero is an excellent product for many kinds of wiping applications like baby, personal care, and household wipes. It has excellent wet and dry strength and it’s very soft. It is made of 100% cellulosic lyocell fibers and the product is 100% biodegradable, compostable and plastic free.

BIOLACE^® Zero utilizes VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers from Suominen´s long-term partner Lenzing. BIOLACE^® Zero is made of 100% carbon neutral VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers.

“We are very excited to introduce BIOLACE^® Zero, which is not just Suominen´s first carbon neutral product, but also one of the first carbon neutral nonwovens on the market. BIOLACE^® Zero will be available as part of Suominen's sustainable product portfolio”, says Marika Mäkilä, Senior Manager, Category Management, Europe.

Suominen’s BIOLACE^® Zero and Lenzing’s VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers are certified as carbon neutral products by globally recognized company, ClimatePartner. Carbon neutrality means that the greenhouse gas emissions of nonwoven have been calculated – from the raw material production to the client’s production facility – reduced and are offset through certified carbon offset projects.

Suominen is a pioneer in sustainable nonwovens and we have a wide range of sustainable nonwoven products for different applications. Suominen’s R&D team has excellent know-how on sustainable fibers and we are also continuously collaborating with innovative partners to develop new and innovative solutions with a reduced environmental impact into our product portfolio.

“With this new carbon neutral product BIOLACE^® Zero we are able to support our customers in their greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Innovating new products in collaboration with partners such as Lenzing by using carbon neutral VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers is well aligned with our strategy and vision to be the frontrunner in sustainable nonwovens”, says Noora Rantanen, Manager, Sustainability & Marketing.

Suominen launches a carbon neutral nonwoven, BIOLACE® Zero. BIOLACE® Zero is suitable for many kinds of wiping applications like baby, personal care, and household wipes. It has wet and dry strength and it’s very soft. It is made of 100% cellulosic lyocell fibers and the product is 100% biodegradable, compostable and plastic free.

BIOLACE® Zero utilizes VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers from Suominen´s long-term partner Lenzing. BIOLACE® Zero is made of 100% carbon neutral VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers.

“We are very excited to introduce BIOLACE® Zero, which is not just Suominen´s first carbon neutral product, but also one of the first carbon neutral nonwovens on the market. BIOLACE® Zero will be available as part of Suominen's sustainable product portfolio”, says Marika Mäkilä, Senior Manager, Category Management, Europe.

Suominen’s BIOLACE® Zero and Lenzing’s VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers are certified as carbon neutral products by globally recognized company, ClimatePartner. Carbon neutrality means that the greenhouse gas emissions of nonwoven have been calculated – from the raw material production to the client’s production facility – reduced and are offset through certified carbon offset projects.

“With this new carbon neutral product BIOLACE® Zero we are able to support our customers in their greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Innovating new products in collaboration with partners such as Lenzing by using carbon neutral VEOCEL™ Lyocell fibers is well aligned with our strategy and vision to be the frontrunner in sustainable nonwovens”, says Noora Rantanen, Manager, Sustainability & Marketing.

• Expert Speakers Delivering Key Region Market Updates

Industry leaders will gain a compelling region-by-region view of the nonwovens industry from experts presenting the latest nonwovens trends in their areas of the world at IDEA®22, March 29-31 in Miami Beach.

Speakers with the latest knowledge will deliver important nonwoven market updates, demand forecasts and research findings on the industry in China, Asia, South America, North America and Europe.

The conference will explore how each region has responded to the pandemic challenges and supply chain issues with new innovations and solutions, providing IDEA®  attendees with vital insights for decision-making.

Program highlights include:

• Overview and Green Innovation Development of China’s Nonwovens Industry,  by Guimei Li, Vice President, China Nonwovens and Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA) on March 29
• South America – Land of Opportunity or Land of Turbulence? The Recent History and Trends That Are Shaping the South American Nonwovens Market, presented by Mariana Mynarski, Corporate Marketing Manager, Fitesa on March 29
• Asian Nonwovens Production and Market Update by Chan-Hyou Park, Chairman, Asia Nonwoven Fabrics Association (ANFA) on March 30
• Understanding the State of the North American Nonwovens Industry and a Market Gone Mad presented by Brad Kalil, INDA Director of Market Intelligence and Economic Insights on March 31
• An Overview of Key Issues Facing Nonwovens on Top of European Market Trends presented by Pierre Wiertz, General Manager, EDANA on March 31

IDEA® Award Presentations
Another conference highlight will be the presentation of the IDEA® 2022 Achievement Awards in partnership with Nonwovens Industry magazine, based on the results of online voting in six categories as well as the announcement of the first Sustainability Advancement Award on March 30.

IDEA® – the World’s Preeminent Event for the Nonwovens & Engineered Fabrics Industry – will feature several hundred exhibitors from a myriad of industry sectors and is expected to once again draw an audience of several thousand senior-level buyers and attendees from over 60 countries to the Miami Beach Convention Center. A welcome reception will be held to officially kick off the event on March 28.

IDEA®22 Essentials of Nonwovens Training Courses
Product developers, marketing managers, technical sales, support and other professionals can expand their industry-focused knowledge by attending the IDEA®22 Essentials of Nonwovens Training Courses.

This vital training program will provide an immersive dive into the latest nonwoven technologies, industry segments and more with courses on absorbent hygiene cores, making nonwovens, industrial wipes and consumer wipes.

A must-attend educational session on patent searching on March 31 will cover the latest major changes in patent searches on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website that has been updated to enhance user experience. 

• Carbios has succeeded in producing a 100% enzymatically recycled white PET fiber from colored textile waste
• At the same time, the company has produced the first 100% recycled PET bottles, that have successfully passed the food contact validation tests, from the same textile waste.
• Carbios received €827,200 for the validation of this final technical stage of the project co-funded by ADEME

Carbios announced the validation of the 3^rd and final technical step of the CE-PET research project, co-funded by ADEME3 (France’s Environment and Energy Management Agency), for which Carbios is the lead partner alongside its academic partner TWB. This achievement confirms, once again, the full potential and breadth of Carbios’ enzymatic recycling process, C-ZYME™. This breakthrough innovation makes it possible to produce a wide variety of products of equivalent quality to those of petro-sourced origin from any PET waste, including textiles.
 
The first white PET fiber recycled enzymatically from colored textile waste
Worldwide, around 90 million tons of PET are produced each year, more than 2/3 of which are used to manufacture fibers. However, only 13% of textile waste is currently recycled, mainly for downcycling, i.e. for lower quality applications (such as padding, insulators or rags). By successfully manufacturing at pilot scale a white PET fiber that is 100% enzymatically recycled from colored textile waste, Carbios is paving the way for the circular economy in the textile industry.  C-ZYME™ is now on the doorstep of industrialization and will soon enable the biggest brands to move closer to their sustainability goals.
 
Emmanuel Ladent, Chief Executive Officer of Carbios: « Thanks to our breakthrough process, it will soon be possible to manufacture, on a large scale, t-shirts or bottles using polyester textile waste as raw material. This is a major breakthrough that gives value to waste that currently has little or no value. It is a concrete solution that opens up a global market of 60 million tons per year of potential raw materials and will help to reduce the use of fossil resources. »
 
Separate collection of textile waste soon to be mandatory in Europe
From 1 January 2025 the separate collection of textile waste, which is already in place in some countries, will be mandatory for all EU Member States (European Directive 2018/851 on waste).  Carbios’ process will enable this waste to be sustainably recovered and included in a true circular economy model.
 
These technological validations were carried out as part of the CE-PET research project, co-funded by ADEME3. In particular, the project aimed to develop Carbios’ enzymatic PET recycling process on textile waste. The C-ZYME™ technology is complementary to thermomechanical recycling and will make it possible to process plastic and textile waste deposits that are currently not or poorly recovered. For the validation of this stage of the project, Carbios received €827,200 (€206,800 in grants and €620,400 in repayable advances).

Flocus ™, the trademark for kapok fibers, offers a range of kapok textile materials such as fibers, yarns, textiles and nonwovens. The company presents the most performing and zero carbon footprint solutions based on Flocus™ kapok available for the leather goods industry, a sector that is making an important transition to sustainability in terms of processing and raw materials.

As for nonwoven, some of their most used products in the world of leatherware are:

• Maliwatt - 50% Kapok, 50% PLA (based on corn), a 100% biodegradable non-woven which can be used in the shoe sole. Maliwatt can be thermopressed/heat press and turned into a paper/cardboard type and lightweight structure. It is the perfect material for sneakers, casual and active shoes thanks to its quick dry, antibacterial, hydrophobic, hypoallergenic, Insulation properties. Other frequent applications are in the field of automotive, construction and car panels, sound absorption and acoustics panels and geo textiles.
• HDE /Hydroentanglement - 50% Kapok, 50% Organic cotton. It is a 100% natural and biodegradable material that can be used in the shoe production as a sole, intersole or as a padding for shoes and bags. Thanks to its termoregulating, lightweight, hypoallergenic, thermoconductivity, insulation, soft touch, hydrophobic, anti-moth anti mite properties, it is used for a large range of applications. It is popular in the apparel world as a cruelty free filling for winter jackets, replacing duck down, and in the home industry ad a stuffing for mattresses, duvets, furniture, sleeping bags.

The offer for the leather goods industry includes also Flocus™ kapok-based fabrics in different blends and weights: linings, coatings, fabric inserts, accessories, components rich in performance and style. For example, kapok and organic cotton with GOTS certification, kapok with Tencel and recycled polyester (Repreve), kapok with linen, organic cotton and a small percentage of Spandex.

These materials were presented at the September 2021 edition of Lineapelle in the exhibition "A New point of materials", dedicated to eco-responsible innovations in terms of technologies, applications, materials and machines.

As part of their EMAS certification, the company has already been publishing an annual environmental statement since 2020, in which all relevant environmental data are available to the public. The Sustainability Report, which will also be published annually, goes one step further here - it covers not only the company's environmental performance, but also Corporate Social Responsibility as a whole.

Following this approach, the fibre experts have also created a new structure internally, which gives even more weight to the area of CSR: In future, all sustainability topics will be centrally integrated in the new CSR department (formerly HSE, Health, Safety & Environment) under the leadership of Wolfgang Ott.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical company, has been recognized as an “Achiever” in the Global Children's Rights and Business 2021 benchmark by the Global Child Forum. The company has been ranked 7th out of 28 global chemical companies and is the only Southeast Asia-based company included in the Basic Materials category this year.

This recognition demonstrates IVL's commitment to supporting children's rights and child-friendly business practices in the workplace, marketplace, and community and environment by adopting Children's Rights and Business Principles (CRBP) of UNICEF. The company has a wide range of initiatives that ensure children’s rights, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, and decent work and economic growth.

Chief among IVL’s contributions to children’s rights is the Recycling Education program for the younger generation. The program aims at creating awareness and providing knowledge about recycling and waste separation, in which everyone can take part. By supporting youth as a priority, the program aims to educate future business and community leaders how to lead their organizations, communities, and other consumers in doing the right thing to protect our environment. During the past few years, the program has educated almost 50,000 people of which are students from more than 100 schools. Initiated in Thailand, IVL is now expanding the Recycling Education where it operates globally.

The State of Children's Rights and Business 2021 benchmark report is produced by the Global Child Forum, a leading children’s rights organization, and the Boston Consulting Group by surveying 832 large global companies in nine industries and assessing 27 standardized metrics from its Code of Conduct. This report focuses on the rights of children along with sustainability supervision based on publicly available information.

• AMSilk Partners with Mercedes-Benz to Present a Sustainable Bio-Based Product
• The use of a biotechnology-based and certified-vegan silk-like fabric marks a first in the automotive sector

AMSilk GmbH (“AMSilk”), a leader in supplying innovative high-performance bio-based silk materials, announced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz, for the development of novel, sustainable car door pulls, as part of the car manufacturer’s latest technology programme, the VISION EQXX.

The new concept car, VISION EQXX, features innovative interior materials, revealing a way forward for luxury design that conserves resources and is in balance with nature. Among the organic interior design features are new door pulls made from AMSilk’s Biosteel® fiber. This high-strength, certified-vegan, silk-like fabric is made using AMSilk’s proprietary biotechnology expertise. AMSilk is the world’s first industrial supplier of vegan silk biopolymers which are 100% biodegradable, recyclable, renewable and zero-waste.

Marking a first in the automotive sector, AMSilk’s Biosteel® provides a solution to the car industry whose need to replace petroleum-based content by natural, bio-based materials is increasingly growing.
This new project is the most efficient electric vehicle Mercedes-Benz has ever built and marks a new expression of efficiency and sustainability in interior design. The all-electric VISION EQXX was unveiled in a digital world premiere on the “Mercedes me” media online platform.

Ulrich Scherbel, Chief Executive Officer of AMSilk said: “We are extremely proud to partner with Mercedes-Benz on the technology programme VISION EQXX, providing sustainable interior design solutions from our best-in-class bio-based fibers. Amid a fresh wave of ambitious climate pledges, we are proud to be playing a leading role in providing solutions for a zero-waste future.”

The AVK – Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe – has once again presented its Innovation Awards to companies, institutes and their partners. Three composites innovations were recognised in each of the three categories – “Innovative Products/Applications”, “Innovative Processes” and “Research and Science” – at the new event JEC Forum DACH on 23 November 2021, the first edition of which was held in Frankfurt.

“As usual, the submissions included a lot of very interesting and promising products and processes this year. The Innovation Awards highlight the outstanding efficiency, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of fibre-reinforced plastics as well as the companies and institutes operating in the sector,” explains Dr. Elmar Witten, Managing Director of the AVK. The jury of leading experts from the industry honoured the following innovations this year:

Category “Research and Science”
First place in the “Research and Science” category was awarded to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for its Bondline Control Technology (BCT). This innovative process is used for quality control and assurance of bonded joints. The core element is a porous fabric which is applied to a joining surface using an epoxy adhesive or matrix resin. Peeling away the fabric creates a chemically reactive and undercut surface and can also be used as a test to check adhesion to the substrate. BCT has potential in a variety of possible applications. For example, peel ply can be replaced by BCT fabric to produce composite components with an optimised joining surface. The cost-effective BCT peel test is suitable for coupon testing and process control. In addition, the combined adhesion test and surface pre-treatment can be used for quality assurance of bonded repairs on fibre composite structures.

Second place was taken by the Institute of Textile Technology (ITA) at RWTH Aachen University and its partners AEROVIDE GmbH, Altropol Kunststoff GmbH, Basamentwerke Böcke GmbH, TechnoCarbon Technologies GbR with “StoneBlade – Lightweight construction with granite for the wind industry”. This innovation enables manufacturers to reduce the amount of non-recyclable materials used in rotor blade construction. At the same time, it reduces the weight of these components and improves the mechanical properties relating to the stability of wind turbines. The innovative approach replaces glass-fibre reinforced plastic in the blade components with hard rock – a natural, cost-effective and recyclable lightweight material. The slabs of rock are cut and ground to a thickness of just a few millimetres and embedded in a fibre composite laminate with carbon fibre, which stabilises them for alternating load cases. The pre-stressed material is pressure-stable in the composite and can absorb tensile forces in the event of continuously alternating loads without any loss of stiffness.

Third place went to the Dresden University of Technology – Institute for Lightweight Construction and Plastics Technology (ILK) with its partner Mercedes Benz AG for the interdisciplinary development of a highly integrated inductive charging module for electric vehicles. The ultra-thin charging module was designed to make optimum use of space in the vehicle underbody without reducing ground clearance. An interdisciplinary approach was adopted for the development process. This involved the electrical, mechanical and process characterisation of high-frequency Litz wires, ferromagnetic foil and metal wire cloth as well as the creation of a simulation model. The result is a demonstrator for a charging system with a structural height of 15 mm and a total weight of 8 kg. It achieves a transmission efficiency of up to 92 percent at 7.2 kW nominal power and active air cooling. The hardware demonstrator was fabricated in a 3-step process using RTM and VARI techniques.

Overview of all the winners in the three categories:
Category “Innovative Products/Applications”
1st Place: “Traffic signs from Nabasco (N-BMC)” – Nabasco Products BV and Lorenz Kunststofftechnik GmbH, partners: Pol Heteren BV and NPSP BV
2nd Place: “Novel, ultratough vinyl ester resin for the construction of large marine vessels” Evonik Operations GmbH
3rd Place: “Air intake housing with a multi-material design for gas turbines” – MAN Energy Solutions SE, Leichtbau-Zentrum Sachsen GmbH and Leichtbau-Systemtechnologien KORROPOL GmbH.
Category “Innovative Processes”
1st Place: “In-mould wrapping” off-tool, film-coated, fibre composite components for exterior applications – BMW Group, Partner: Renolit SE
2nd Place: “Adaptive automated repair of composite structural components in the aviation sector” – Lufthansa Technik AG, Partner: iSAM AG
3rd Place: “Automated surface pre-treatment using VUV excimer lamps” – CTC GmbH
Category “Research and Science”
1st Place: “Bondline Control Technology (BCT)” – German Aerospace Center (DLR)
2nd Place: “StoneBlade – Lightweight construction with granite for the wind industry” – Institute of Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University, Partners: AEROVIDE GmbH, Altropol Kunststoff GmbH, Basamentwerke Böcke GmbH, TechnoCarbon Technologies GbR
3rd Place: “Interdisciplinary development of a highly integrated inductive charging module for electric vehicles” – Dresden University of Technology – Institute for Lightweight Construction and Plastics Technology (ILK), Partner: Mercedes Benz AG

Submissions for the next Innovation Award can be made from the end of January 2022.

The Hygiene Fibers Group of Indorama Ventures (IVL) came together at the Index Show to present an all-inclusive range of recycled and biodegradable solutions for Hygiene Fiber and Nonwoven applications.

The combination of polymers, technologies, processes and global reach supported by the Hygiene Fibers Group – one of three business segments that make up Indorama Ventures – positions it within the Hygiene industry to meet increasingly challenging market demand for innovative sustainable solutions within the hygiene sector. Across the six brands and companies that make up Hygiene Fibers Group – Auriga, Avgol, FiberVisions, Indorama Asia, Trevira and Wellman International – sustainability and supporting customers to achieve circular objectives is integral to all efforts and fundamental to the ethos of the Hygiene business segment.

At the Index Show, the Hygiene Fibers Group launched CiCLO®, a textile technology which allows polyester and other synthetic materials to biodegrade like natural materials do in wastewater treatment plant sludge, sea water and landfill conditions, reducing synthetic microfiber pollution generated during washing, and minimizing plastic accumulation in landfills caused by discarded textiles.

In line with the company’s commitment to support customers with high performance products, while also reducing the impact on the environment, several of the  Hygiene Fibers brands, including Wellman International, Trevira GMBH and Auriga, have been working closely over the last 12 months with the IAM team and the CiCLO® technology. Developments have focused on PET and rPET staple fiber and filament sustainable solutions for applications where recycling is particularly challenging, such as Hygiene, Home Textiles and Automotive applications.

Strengthening the profile of biodegradable offerings within the Hygiene Fibers Group’s sustainability portfolio, Trevira introduced a new range of bicomponent fibres based on PLA and PBS (polybutylene succinate) at the Index show. Both biopolymers offer an exceptional technological opportunity in terms of environmental care and sustainability, while delivering optimum performance. Equally to PLA, PBS is recyclable and up to 100% biodegradable under industrial conditions.

Efforts towards supporting customers to achieve circular objectives are a priority within the Hygiene Fibers Group. This is reflected in the recycled fibers expertise deployed across the segment. Four Hygiene Fibers Group brands, IVL Asia, Auriga, Trevira and Wellman International offer an extensive range of 100% recycled, accredited PET fibers, across a multitude of fiber and nonwovens applications.

The development and evolution of sustainable technologies is central to activity across IVL’s Hygiene Fibers Group, with particular focus on sustainable polyolefin solutions. FiberVisions and ES-FIBERVISIONS, leading Polyolefin mono and bico fiber brands and sister company Avgol, have partnered with UK-based Polymateria to commercially harness the innovative ‘biotransformation’ technology pioneered by Polymateria. The patented technology alters the properties of polyolefins to make them biodegradable in a natural process.  Other polyolefin sustainable innovations within the Hygiene Fibers Group were featured at Index include biosurfactant and biocolourant developments being undertaken by the Avgol team with FiberVisons progressing sustainable design solutions, including lightweight, high performance, reduced carbon solutions.