Regenerated/Semi-Synthetic Textile Fiber | Man-made Cellulose Fiber

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Regenerated fibres are those made from natural fiber polymer, for example wood pulp or cotton linters. These raw materials are reformed to produce fibers or filaments suitable to spin into yarns. The first commercial regenerated synthetic fiber was rayon, also known as ‘artificial silk’, and was made from modified cellulose and wood pulp, later known as viscose rayon

• Natural Textile Fibers
• Manufactured Textile Fibers

Rayon was the first manufactured fiber, made into filaments through wet spinning. These are called regenerated cellulose fiber and the cellulose material used to produce these fibers are -Wood pulp, Cotton linters, Seed Hair, Bast, Leaf, Grasses and Bamboo pulp. Rayon fiber is classified into three types- Viscose rayon, Acetate rayon and Cuprammonium Rayon. These regenerated fibers are produced by dissolving cellulose chemically into solution and passed these concentrated viscous solution through spinneret. 

Viscose Rayon

Viscose was discovered by Cross and Bevan in 1892 during a programme of research on the general properties of cellulose. It is the sodium salt of cellulose Xanthate (Cell-O-C-SNa).It is may be manufactured from cotton linters but the usual starting point is wood pulp. The unrefined wood chips are purified by treatment first with calcium bi-sulphite and then by boiling with steam under pressure for about 14 hours.

Features of Viscose Fiber

• It is a semi-synthetic or regenerated cellulose fiber
• It is the first manufactured fiber.
• It has a serrated round shape with smooth surface.
• When it wets, losses it's strength up to 50%.
• It is also known as artificial silk.

Acetate Rayon

The secondary cellulose acetate rayon cotton linters, waste cotton or high-grade wood pulp is purified by boiling with alkali followed hypochlorite bleaching. After purification the cellulose is dried and mixed with acetic an-hydride and glacial acetic acid together with about 1% of sulphuric acid.

Features of Acetate Fiber

• It has luxurious feel and appearance.
• It has a strength of 1.4 kg per denier which falls to 0.9 when wet.
• First time this material is used as a protective coat for fabric wings of aeroplanes.
• Excellent drape ability and softness
• Shrink, moth and mildew resistant.

Cuprammonium Rayon

Cuprammonium rayon is made from scoured and bleached cotton linters or purified wood pulp with a high alpha cellulose content. The cellulose id washed and then pressed until it contains about 50 percent of water.

Features of Cuprammonium Fiber

• It is not unlike natural silk when examined under the microscope.
• Fibers are finer than other rayon's.
• This products have a particularly pleasing soft -like handle.
• Due to more amorphous region at the structure it undergoes degradation with greater range than natural cellulose

Other Regenerated Fibers that are under processing to get commercial Success

• Algin ALG
• Cupro CUP
• Rubber ED
• Lyocell CLY
• Modal CMD
• Triacetate CTA
• Viscose CV