From the Sector

ANDRITZ hat vor kurzem eine teXline-Bastfaserlinie im neuen Werk von Ekolution, einem Pionier für nachhaltige Baustoffe, in Malmö, Schweden, in Betrieb genommen. Mit der Linie erweitert Ekolution seine Produktionskapazität für umweltfreundliche Hanffasern und Vliesstoffe aus Industriehanf. ANDRITZ lieferte Anlagen für Hanfaufschluss und -verfeinerung sowie eine neXline Airlay-Anlage zur Herstellung der Vliesstoffe.

Die ANDRITZ-Linie ist darauf ausgelegt, Hanffasern ohne Verunreinigungen in einem schonenden Verfahren zu gewinnen. Die Maschinen brauchen wenig Platz und Energie, sie übernehmen den Aufschluss und das anschließende Verfeinern der Fasern. Aus bis zu 5 Tonnen Rohmaterial pro Stunde werden hochwertige Fasern hergestellt. Ein Teil davon wird in eine Anlage des Typs neXline airlay flexiloft+ eingespeist, die bis zu 1,5 Tonnen Vliesstoff pro Stunde für verschiedene Anwendungen produziert.

Remi Loren, CEO von Ekolution, erklärt: „Unser Unternehmen ist führend bei umweltfreundlichen Materialien mit Dämmstoffen und Vliesstoffen, die biobasiert, kohlenstoffnegativ und energieeffizient sind. ANDRITZ unterstützt uns bei der Erreichung unserer Nachhaltigkeitsziele mit einem Prozess, der die Rohstoffe bestmöglich nutzt und gleichzeitig den Ressourcenverbrauch reduziert. Auch in Zukunft können wir bei der Optimierung unserer Prozesse die Expertise von ANDRITZ im Bereich Service und Digitalisierung nutzen.“

Das 2013 in Schweden gegründete Unternehmen Ekolution produziert biobasierte Baumaterialien basierend auf Hanf aus eigenen Plantagen. Die Hanffaser-Dämmung des Unternehmens ist die erste mit einer Environmental Product Declaration (EDP), die bestätigt, dass diese Dämmung CO2-negativ ist (Industriehanf bindet mehr CO2, als bei der Produktion freigesetzt wird). Die Hanfplatten und Vliesstoffe von Ekolution wurden kürzlich bei dem weltgrößten Bauprojekt mit Hanffaser-Dämmung eingesetzt, einem Hightech-Logistikzentrum in Stockholm. Weitere Anwendungsbereiche der Hanfprodukte von Ekolution sind die Automobil-, Textil-, Möbel-, Akustik-, Verpackungs-, Zellstoff- und Papierindustrie und anderen Sektoren, in denen nachhaltige Naturfasern gefragt sind.

This year's ITMA Asia + CITME 2024 trade fair appearance of the Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions Division between 14 and 18 October 2024 will once again focus on current challenges for the global textile machinery industry: the replacement of old systems with energy-efficient and sustainable technology solutions, the use of digital software and hardware solutions to increase productivity and ensure material quality, and the traceability of all products to enable the recycling of the raw materials used in a future-oriented circular economy.

Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions offers complete solutions ranging from extrusion and polycondensation systems to texturized yarn, accompanied by automation and digital solutions. The supply of all process steps from a single source ensures a coordinated technology that guarantees the high quality of the fibers and yarns produced. The entire product portfolio of the supplier of machines and systems primarily to produce polyester, polypropylene and nylon will therefore take centre stage at this year's trade fair.

“The Chinese market continues to have enormous potential for us, even if it has not been able to match the previous times in terms of large new installations of manmade fiber plants and the associated expansion of production capacity for good two years. However, there is still a great need for renewal, especially in terms of sustainability. Shutting down old plants and replacing them with new, modern and energy-efficient technologies is the path to a better and lower-emission future for us all,” explains André Wissenberg, Head of Marketing, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. “We have been contributing to sustainability with our technology solutions for decades. Be it by increasing energy efficiency with each new generation of machines or by processing new materials,” Wissenberg continues. Oerlikon is proud of the fact that the company has been offering solutions for the textile industry under the e-save sustainability label for 20 years and has saved over 15 million tons of CO2 thanks to the machines and systems developed and installed on the market during this time.

KARL MAYER GROUP has developed a sophisticated system for considerable energy savings when operating the cylinder dryers in its PROSIZE® sizing machines and BLUEDYE dyeing plant.

Saving costs with inline energy recycling
The innovation is called CASCADE and focuses on steam as a heating medium in cylinder dryers. And for good reason: according to the IPCC report by ITMF Zurich, one tonne of steam cost between USD 20 and just under USD 27 internationally in 2021. The new solution relies on reuse to reduce the amount of process energy required.
"CASCADE recirculates parts of the process steam in cylinder dryers, enabling genuine, efficient energy recycling within the machine," explains Karl-Heinz Vaassen, Head of Textile Drying at KARL MAYER.
The customer benefits from significantly lower energy costs and CO2 emissions. With a view to the Asian market, a dryer with 14 cylinders and a running time of 7,000 working hours can achieve cost savings of up to USD 17,000 per year.

Precise, real savings values are available when looking at the machine dashboard. A sensor provides real-time data on the amount of steam circulating in the circuit, from which the corresponding reduction in CO2 equivalents can be calculated.

Utilizing the pressure drop
CASCADE reuses part of the invested process energy and uses the flash-steam in conjunction with the pressure ratios, which - nomen est omen - decrease in cascades in the different zones of the cylinder dryer.
The highest working pressure prevails in the first cylinder section. The heat transfer medium steam emits large amounts of energy for yarn drying and condenses without temperature loss.

The resulting hot condensate is not immediately discharged from the machine, but is instead fed into a flash tank, where vapor exhaust is formed as a result of the pressure reduction. In conventional systems, the carrier medium for gases is only created in the return line towards the boiler house and is eliminated as undesirable. Instead of being utilised in the process, it escapes into the environment. With the CASCADE system, this "freshly recycled steam" is used for the heat supply in the second cylinder section, but not without prior treatment.

In the system patented by KARL MAYER, the recycled steam is intelligently mixed with live steam and thus raised to the level of the required process conditions for use in the cylinder section at the end of the dryer. Here, the fabric moisture is reduced to the desired residual value at medium pressure and temperature conditions.

Market launch is underway
CASCADE was filed for patent by the KARL MAYER GROUP. It was published in September 2023.
The innovative solution at no extra charge was presented at ITM 2024 in Istanbul and was a visitor highlight at the KARL MAYER GROUP stand.

From January 2024, CASCADE will be part of the PROSIZE® as standard. The first sizing machine with the upgrade for greater energy efficiency will be delivered in the second quarter of this year. It will go to a manufacturer in Europe. In the next step, CASCADE will be integrated into other dryer types and will also be available for the BLUEDYE.

Kornit Digital Ltd., a worldwide market leader in digital textile production technologies, released its 2020 Impact and Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Report. This inaugural report affirms Kornit’s commitment to achieving specific ESG goals. This includes the way Kornit conducts business, creates meaningful impact in local communities, and achieves environmental sustainability, in addition to how Kornit will continue to build a diverse and inclusive company culture, foster employee growth and development, and empower fair and safe labor practices globally.
 
In addition to enabling eco-friendly production processes with technology and consumables that use less water, reduce waste, and minimize the carbon footprint, Kornit technology solutions enable sustainable production on demand, which eliminates overproduction of apparel and other textile goods. A 2021 Life Cycle Assessment conducted on two flagship products, the Kornit Atlas MAX and Kornit Presto S, demonstrated that relative to traditional analog processes, Kornit’s digital production systems used up to 95% less water and 94% less energy, and produced up to 83% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the Presto S system and up to 93% less water and 66% less energy, and produced up to 82% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the Atlas MAX system.

Based on this study, in addition to past sustainability performance results and strategic projections for business growth and market expansion, by 2026 Kornit Digital’s sustainable on-demand solutions are expected to enable the production of approximately 2.5 billion apparel items in a responsible manner to deliver:

• Zero overproduction: By moving the industry to on-demand manufacturing, Kornit will help eliminate the estimated 1.1 billion apparel items overproduced using traditional production methods, based on an industry average of 30% overproduction. This is about 1 apparel item for each and every person living in Europe and North America – saved.
• Zero water waste: In addition to eliminating overstocks, Kornit-enabled production on demand will support saving an estimated 4.3 trillion liters (1.1 trillion gallons) of water. This is the estimated amount of drinking water needed for the entire U.S. population for 11 years.
• Reduced CO2 emissions: By enabling sustainable on-demand production, consuming less energy, and generating less waste, Kornit will prevent an estimated 17.2 billion kilograms (37.9 billion pounds) of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to traditional manufacturing methods. This is equivalent to the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emitted from circumnavigating the entire planet with a car nearly 2,400 times.

Furthermore, the report outlines Kornit’s commitment to achieving KPIs that address waste, chemicals, GHG emissions, energy, product development, employee training, diversity and inclusion, and the company’s supply chain.