Looking Beyond Pure Cellulose to Lignocellulose for Regenerated Continuous Spun Filaments

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomass Utilization
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Growing demand for sustainable precursors like lignin and cellulose in technical textile production.
• Potential for reduced processing costs, energy consumption, and pollution by direct spinning from biomass feedstock.
• Limitations of current methods relying on purified lignin or cellulose.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the direct spinning of continuous regenerated fibers from dissolved and unbleached miscanthus grass pulp.
• To characterize the rheological, structural, and mechanical properties of the resulting lignocellulose pulp (LCP) fibers.
• To assess the feasibility of using minimally processed biomass for technical textile fiber production.

Main Methods:

• Dissolving and spinning unbleached miscanthus grass pulp to create a spinning dope.
• Characterizing the rheological properties (viscosity) and microscopic features of the spinning dope.
• Analyzing the structure (X-ray diffraction) and mechanical properties (strength, modulus) of the spun LCP fibers.

Main Results:

• Successfully produced continuous regenerated spun fibers from dissolved, unbleached miscanthus grass pulp.
• The spinning dope exhibited high viscosity (26-256 kPa·s zero-shear viscosity) with undissolved components, resulting in fibers with rough surfaces.
• Spun LCP fibers demonstrated strengths of 114-173 MPa and moduli of 9-12 GPa, comparable to wool, wet viscose rayon, and lower-range lyocell.
• Undissolved lignocellulose components did not impede the spinning process.

Conclusions:

• Direct spinning of continuous fibers from minimally processed lignocellulose pulp is feasible.
• This approach offers a sustainable pathway for producing technical textile fibers with promising mechanical properties.
• The method reduces the need for extensive precursor purification, lowering environmental impact and production costs.