The regenerated cellulose fiber industry has long faced three major bottlenecks: high dependence on imported wood pulp, heavy pollution from traditional viscose processes, and the difficulty of high-value recycling of waste cotton textiles. Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. has introduced three new products this year, each targeting one of these challenges.

Starting with the raw material side. The industry's import dependence on dissolving wood pulp exceeds 80%, bringing forestry sustainability risks. Since 2022, Xinxiang Chemical Fiber has collaborated with Lin Zhanxi, academician of the United Nations International Academy of Ecology and Life Safety Sciences, to tackle Juncao pulping and spinning technology. It has now mastered the full set of Juncao fiber processes and holds multiple invention patents for Juncao pulp and Juncao fiber. Test data show that the fiber's antibacterial rates against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans all exceed 99%, and its antiviral activity rates against H3N2 and H1N1 avian influenza viruses are both above 99.99%. Industry observers say it opens a new raw material path of "replacing wood with grass" and links fiber green transformation with rural revitalization.

Next, the process side. The company jointly developed ionic liquid spinning technology with the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, built a hundred-ton production line that began operation in October this year, and named the product Shisaier. It has been trial-woven at Zibo Daranfang and Hualu Technology. This dry-jet wet spinning process does not follow a chemical reaction route; the ionic liquid precipitated in the coagulation bath and washing stages is recovered, refined, and reused, forming a closed loop with essentially no waste emissions. Juncao Shisaier fiber made with this technology combines high strength, easy dyeing, and natural antibacterial and antiviral properties.

The third product focuses on waste textile recycling. Xinxiang Chemical Fiber partnered with Southwest Jiaotong University to use a green DT composite solvent to dissolve and regenerate cellulose from waste cotton textiles under mild conditions, producing ByluRecel fiber. This eliminates traditional pulping steps and can achieve a 100% recovery rate. The full dissolution spinning and solvent recovery technology is in place, and a thousand-ton demonstration line for regenerated cellulose fiber from waste cotton textiles is under construction, expected to begin production in 2024. The raw material mainly comes from used hotel linens. As a member of the China Waste Textile Recycling Industry Alliance, the company jointly launched the "Zero Discard of Old Clothes" city action—an initiative for hotel linen recycling and resource circulation—with the China Textile Industry Federation Environmental Resources Committee, brands under Jinjiang Hotel Group, Anhui Tianzhu, Taiyuan University of Technology, and the Fifth Electronics Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

On the business side, the company has formed an annual capacity of 120,000 tons of regenerated cellulose filament and 220,000 tons of spandex. From January to October 2023, it achieved industrial output value of 6.56 billion yuan, up 0.56% year on year; net profit was 142 million yuan, up 157% year on year. In March this year, it was rated a "National Green Factory." In energy conservation and carbon reduction, a 7.1 MWp rooftop photovoltaic system generates about 8 million kWh annually, self-developed two-stage membrane acidic wastewater recovery technology reduces fresh water intake by 4.5 million tons per year, and the zero-carbon product R&D team's two zero-carbon products—regenerated cellulose filament and spandex—cut carbon emissions by 21% and 9.2%, respectively.

For the waste textile recycling industry, if ByluRecel's demonstration line goes into operation as scheduled, it means highly concentrated waste cotton streams such as hotel linens are expected to enter a chemical regeneration path, finding an outlet for waste cotton long constrained by downgraded physical recycling; and the closed-loop nature of the Shisaier process also provides a replicable technology option for cleaner production in the regenerated cellulose industry. Group Chairman Shao Changjin proposed the "233" development plan, namely 200,000 tons of filament, 300,000 tons of spandex, and 300,000 tons of green fiber, striving for sales revenue of 20 billion yuan during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Source: 常创常新，新乡白鹭“飞”出绿色低碳之旅——访新乡白鹭投资集团有限公司党委书记、董事长邵长金_中国化学纤维工业协会 · Originally published on 2023-12-13