From the Sector

STFI will be presenting high-end textile products and solutions at Techtextil 2024. The highlights from current research results and innovations provide an insight into the digitalisation of textile production, show applications for 3D printing and smart technical textiles and provide examples of particularly sustainably designed products as well as innovative approaches for protective and medical textiles.

The central highlight of STFI's presence at Techtextil is a robot system that demonstrates the automated processing of a bobbin frame on a small scale. The pick-and-place application demonstrates camera-supported gripping of the bobbins. The robot is part of the STFI's “Textile Factory of the Future” which demonstrates automation solutions for the textile industry in a laboratory environment.

From the field of sustainable products and solutions, a sleeping bag with bio-based and therefore vegan filling material and a natural fibre-based composite element for furniture construction, in which LEDs and capacitive proximity sensors for contactless function control have been applied using embroidery technology, will be on show. Printed heating conductor structures demonstrate current research work for the e-mobility of the future, as the individually controllable seat and interior heating should ultimately reduce weight and save energy compared to conventional heating systems.

While a protective suit for special task forces protects against the dangers of a Molotov cocktail attack, a shin guard and a knee brace with patellar ring illustrate the process combination of 3D printing and UV LED cross-linking. Other highlights from lightweight textile construction include the rib of a vertical rudder of an Airbus A320 and a green snowboard made from recycled carbon fibres.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, revealed the three finalists that will compete for the Hygienix Innovation Award™. Glatfelter, Mundeo, and Sequel will present their new absorbent hygiene products to senior-level leaders at Hygienix, Nov. 13-16, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Here is a summary of the finalists’ products:

Glatfelter: GlatPure™
GlatPure™ is a range of bio-based absorbent hygiene components derived from renewable materials. This product range consists of a variety of plant-based and natural topsheets, an acquisition distribution layer, an absorbent core, a newly improved backsheet, and a landing zone. Crafted from 100% renewable fibers and biodegradable materials, and enriched with bio-based binders, GlatPure™ stands as the industry’s first fully functional, fossil-fuel free range of solutions.  

Mundao: Diap’Earth®
From nature to nature: Mundao brings to market DIAP’EARTH®, an industrially compostable baby diaper. This diaper provides a circular solution to the AHP waste issue. Ecoconception (DIAP’EARTH is a bio-based & plastic free diaper) makes it possible to compost the diaper in an industrial composting facility to turn it into carbon where it can become fertilizer for soil. DIAP’EARTH has been successfully composted in major French cities.

Sequel: The Sequel Spiral™ Tampon
The Sequel Spiral™ Tampon features a proprietary spiral design that is engineered to be more fluid mechanically efficient, meaning it is designed to absorb more evenly and not leak before it’s full. In August 2023 the Sequel Spiral™ Tampon received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medical device and the company will now begin a series of consumer trials, with broad availability expected in Q1 of 2024.

The winner of the Award will be announced at the end of the event, Thurs., Nov. 16th, at 11:30 am. Last year’s award recipient was Pads on a Roll™ by Egal Pads. Pads on a Roll is a wrapped super-thin absorbent period pad that dispenses like toilet paper in public bathroom stalls, preventing the personal embarrassment of not having a menstrual product when needed.

Conference Highlights
In addition to the award presentation, the Hygienix™ conference will focus on consumer-centric innovations, the circular economy, raw material advancements in sustainability, opportunities for advanced recycling in absorbent hygiene, optimizing the packaging footprint, new approaches for odor control, and market trends and drivers. Plus, INDA’s Government Affairs office will be in attendance to provide insights into recent regulatory and legislative issues. Participants can learn about how the current political landscape could affect the nonwovens industry.

After its launch on 20 September 2020, the RCI is proud to celebrate its first anniversary this fall. The balance sheet of the first year is impressive: starting from 11 founding members, that number increased to 30 member companies within 12 months. Numerous webinars, press releases, background information, a glossary and a comic allowed to convey the “Renewable Carbon” concept to the public. The RCI is actively working on labelling and policy analysis, and more activities will follow in the next year.

Key for this success: the topic of renewable carbon in chemicals and materials is increasingly becoming a focus of politics and industry. Larger companies will have to report their GHG emissions and also the footprint of their products as part of legislative changes surrounding the European Green Deal. In this context, indirect emissions and the carbon sources of materials will play a much more crucial role. The RCI is actively working on solutions for companies to shift from fossil to renewable carbon, which consists of the use of bio-based feedstock, CO2-based resources and recycling. In the future, reporting on GHG emissions will also include Scope 3 emissions, which are all indirect emissions that occur along the company’s value and supply chain and where the used raw materials account for a large proportion of the footprint. Here is where the carbon source of chemicals and plastics comes into play as an important contributor to the carbon footprint. Without a shift from fossil to renewable carbon feedstocks (combining bio-based, CO2-based and recycled), a sustainable future and the Paris climate targets will be almost impossible to master.

To discuss, promote and realise the shift, 30 innovative companies have already joined forces to support the transition to renewable carbon, considering both technological and economical approaches – and helping to shape the political framework accordingly.

For the second year, RCI plans to focus on a comprehensive understanding of the expected political framework conditions in Europe and across the globe, since they will determine the future of chemistry and materials more than ever. Building on this knowledge, the topic of renewable carbon could then to be systematically integrated into new political directives, which has so far not been effectively managed.

In reality, the political focus lies on the strategy of decarbonising the energy sector, a very central and Herculean task. However, it cannot be applied to the chemical and material world because carbon is usually the central building block that cannot be dispensed with. On the contrary, the demand for carbon in the chemical and materials sectors is expected to more than double by 2050. In order to meet this demand in a sustainable manner, we must move towards quitting fossil carbon. For the first time in industrial history, it is possible to decouple chemistry and materials from petrochemicals and completely cover the demand through the utilisation of biomass, CO2 and recycling.

• Lenzing will hold 51 percent in a future joint venture
• Largest single line dissolving wood pulp plant in the world
• Basic engineering and permitting process to be kicked off
• 43,000 hectares FSC® certified plantation secured
• Final investment decision subject to outcome of basic engineering expected in 2019

Lenzing Group, world market leader in specialty cellulosic fibers and Duratex, the largest producer of industrialized wood panels of the Southern Hemisphere, announce that they agreed on the terms and conditions to form a joint venture to investigate building the largest single line dissolving wood pulp (DWP) plant in the state of Minas Gerais, close to Sao Paulo, Brazil. This decision supports the backward integration and the growth in specialty fibers, defined in Lenzing’s corporate strategy sCore TEN.

The joint venture will investigate the construction of a 450,000 t DWP plant, which is expected to become the largest and most competitive single line DWP plant in the world. Dissolving wood pulp is the key raw material for the production of Lenzing’s bio-based fibers. For the future operation, the two companies have secured a plantation of 43,000 hectares that will provide the FSC® certified biomass. The plantation is fully in line with Lenzing’s wood and pulp sourcing policy. The basic engineering and the application for required permits and merger clearances will now be started.

Lenzing will hold 51 percent of the joint venture which will operate the mill, while Duratex’s share will be 49 percent. The estimated cash investment by the joint venture for the construction of the DWP mill is expected to be somewhat above USD 1 bn (based on current FX rates, net of generic tax refunds and the outcome of the basic engineering study). The joint venture will supply the entire volume of dissolving wood pulp to the Lenzing Group. This step is an essential milestone in the group’s ambition to grow its specialty fibers business.

“Specialty cellulosic fibers are an important contribution to make the global textile industry more sustainable. In line with our corporate strategy sCore TEN we are committed to strong organic growth in this field. We are pleased that with Duratex, a recognized leader in sustainable forestry management, we have a strong partner in this joint venture. Together we will create a very sustainable and competitive raw material base for Lenzing’s global expansion plans”, says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of Lenzing Group.

“Projects of this nature are the result of our strategic plan and of our team’s effort towards drawing Duratex’s future. The Company is known for its financial solidity, high quality, innovation and sustainability; the results of a history spanning over six decades. The partnership with Lenzing for the construction of the largest single line dissolving wood pulp plant in the world is an honor for Duratex. Working with Lenzing, a global benchmark in technology, high quality and corporate governance makes us very proud. We are sure that this joint venture is going to be successful”, affirms Duratex’s Chief Executive Officer Antonio Joaquim de Oliveira.

The final investment decision to build the dissolving wood pulp plant is subject to the outcome of the basic engineering studies and the approval by the respective supervisory boards.