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Fibres, filaments and yarns

Highly conductive microfilaments developed by EY Technologies are poised to usher in the next generation of electronic textiles and wearables.
A newly formed joint venture based in Israel is to attempt to produce industrial-scale yarns of carbon filaments using a process developed in the UK.
Outlast Technologies has introduced a polyester version of its temperature-regulating fibre, describing this as a world's first.
In April 2012 Teijin Fibers Ltd will begin fully fledged production and marketing of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibre made using plant-based raw materials.
The first products made using a high-performance polyamide 11 yarn derived entirely from renewable raw materials have been brought to the market.
The Paul Schlack Foundation has awarded its 2010 Prize for a process that makes polyester yarns with a natural feel and appearance at economically viable production speeds.
Sheath-core bicomponent fibre technology can be exploited to make multi-lobal fibres with extremely high surface areas, according to the specialist manufacturer Allasso Industries, based in Raleigh, N
A multicomponent fibre containing a phase-change material (PCM) that combines an effective latent heat effect with high strength has been developed by SCA Hygiene Products.
Polyropylene made using specific nucleated metallocene catalysts can be spun to leave fibres and filaments with superior properties, particularly where high processing speeds and small gauge textiles
Biomedical Structures (BMS) of Warwick, Rhode Island, USA, has announced that it is working with fibre manufacturer DSM Dyneema in processing its Dyneema Purity for various biomedical textile applicat
Evolution not revolution is the way forward for European technical fibre developments, reports Adrian Wilson from two key conferences in Brussels, Belgium, which revealed that the industry is paying a
A cheap fibre that can readily absorb and retain heat is the latest invention by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd.
Composite fibrous structures made of combinations of inorganic-organic hybrid monofilament or multifilament yarns have been developed by Poly-Med.
The discovery of a method for converting commercially derived lignin into fibres could open the way to a new source of raw materials for carbon fibres, according to Weyerhaeuser Co of Federal Way, Was
Technical Absorbents (TAL) reports that it enjoyed "huge success" at the 17th China International Tissue and Disposable Hygiene Products Exhibition (CIHPEC) held in April 2010 in Nanjing, Jiangsu, Chi
Fibres based on copolymers of propylene and 1-hexene (and optionally another alpha-olefin) have been developed for thermal bonding applications by Italy's Basell.
A team of researchers from the University of Vigo, Spain, Rutgers University, USA, and Imperial College London, UK, has developed a method called "laser spinning" to produce glass nanofibres.
Japan's Teijin Fibers Ltd has developed a cationicdyeable polyester polymer, named V4, which it claims can be dyed at ambient temperature and pressure, and offers excellent fibre strength and staining
AGY has developed an E-glass fibre yarn specifically for the European construction and industrial markets.
A USA-based specialist in glass fibre yarns and strong glass fibre reinforcements has now introduced ultrafine yarns for use in printed circuit board (PCB) substrates.
An antimicrobial and deodorant fibre is described in International Patent WO 2008/123631 by ES FiberVisions.
DuPont has revealed how it uses a high-speed rotating distribution disc to melt-spin fibres with an average diameter of less than 1000 nm, as well as collecting them to form a uniform web suitable as
An international group of inventors has devised a way to make sub-micron fibres using an electrospinning process applied to a melt, not a solution.
Smartfiber has launched Smartcel Sensitive, claimed to be the first antibacterial fibre that incorporates the essential trace element zinc.
A group of inventors based in the USA say they have developed an apparatus capable of economically extruding cellulose fibres with small diameters.
A laser-based method for creating long boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) has been developed by researchers in the USA.
Scientists at Rice University and their partners claim to have discovered a method for the industrial-scale processing of pure carbon nanotube fibres that they believe could lead to revolutionary adva
A two-stage heating process can produce aramid yarns with higher tenacities, according to International Patent Publication WO2008/061668.
The value of the global wound care market was estimated at US$10 billion in 2007, according to Steve Law of Speciality Fibres & Materials (SFM), Coventry.
US researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are exploring new ways to create, enhance and employ electrospun fibres for medical device applications.
Researchers in Japan claim to have developed a polyester-based fibre that is antistatic but can still be produced as a fine, false-twisted yarn with all the desirable textile properties of such an ite
In the medical sector, Tencel is currently being used for wipes, gauze equivalents, incontinence products and drapes.
Solving existing technical problems with the production of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibres is the goal of three Chinese inventors.
A new thermo-formable yarn that has potential application in the medical sector, such as orthopaedic bandages, received the 2009 Techtextil Innovation Prize for new materials.
At the recent Techtextil trade fair held in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Smartfiber launched Smartcel Hygienic, a functional lyocell fibre that incorporates copper to counteract pathogens, such as bact
Lenzing has developed a fibre that offers the wearer protection from solar radiation.
Unitika Fibers of Japan is to expand production of its Thermotron fibre, targeting the 2010/11 Autumn and Winter sports clothing market.
Treating the surface of a polyolefin or polyolefin copolymer fibre or fabric with oxidoreductase enzymes increases the hydrophilicity, according to the speciality chemicals company Ciba.
Teijin Aramid of Arnhem, The Netherlands, has proposed a method for spinning and washing aramid fibre that allows for the effective recovery and re-use of sulphuric acid and water, uses low amounts of
A conductive bicomponent fibre that is suitable for practical use in antistatic clothing has been developed in Japan by Kuraray Co Ltd.
Momentum Textiles - a supplier of contract textiles based in Irvine, California, USA - has chosen a recycled flame retardant (FR) polyester fibre, Repreve(r) FR, for a range of privacy curtains that i
By combining biodegradable, renewable materials that are cheap with superabsorbents, researchers at Weyerhaeuser Co in the USA aim to improve the design and function of absorbent articles.
An improved method for stretch-breaking fibres to produce staple yarn is the subject of US Patent 7 454 816.
Researchers in Japan have found a way to make metaaramid (m-aramid) fibres that have better processing and use characteristics, particularly at high temperatures.
A thermally bondable conjugate fibre specifically engineered for use in the formation of carded webs is the result of work at Japan's Teijin Fibres Ltd.
Hollow-core fibres that exhibit an antimicrobial effect have been developed by Eastman Chemical.
Spun nanofibres and nanofibre-reinforced polymers for use in medical devices are disclosed in an international patent, WO 2007/117296, by Boston Scientific SciMed.
NanoHorizons, a provider of nano-scale antimicrobial performance additives, and commission speciality dyehouse, G J Littlewood & Son, have developed a process to integrate NanoHorizons' SmartSilve
Workers at Eastman Chemical Co have developed multicomponent fibres derived from a blend of a sulphopolyester with a water non-dispersible polymer.
Teijin Fibers is to begin the commercial production of a high-strength polyester nanofibre called Nanofront at its Matsuyama plant in Japan.
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