KELHEIM, Germany — August 24, 2017 — Marine litter is a global problem that is attracting more and more public attention: Plastic waste is not only ugly and a danger to flora and fauna — vast amounts of small plastic particles are floating in our oceans and are able to enter our food chain without being detected. Kelheim Fibres presents a new concept that can help to prevent at least a part of this pollution in the first place by substituting conventional wet wipes, which usually contain a significant share of synthetic fibers, by wet wipes made with Kelheim’s viscose speciality short cut fiber Viloft® and cellulose.
Both raw materials are plant-based and therefore completely bio-degradable. With moist toilet tissue in particular, disposal via the toilet is clearly the obvious solution — but in contrast to conventional wipes containing polyester, wipes made of Viloft® short cut fibers can be flushed without concern, as the fibers have two plus points: there is neither a reason to fear an entry of plastic particles into the oceans nor the blockage of private or municipal sewage systems. Wipes made of Viloft® short cut fibers disintegrate in the sewage systems to small particles that do not harm this infrastructure. At the 56th International Man-made Fibers Congress at Dornbirn, Austria, Business Manager Horst Wörner will speak about Kelheim’s contribution to the reduction of marine litter. His colleagues Dr. Nina Köhne and Dr. Roland Scholz will present further innovations of the Bavarian fiber specialist. Dr. Köhne will present the result of a joint research project with Resorba: based on the bio-polymers cellulose and collagen, the scientists created a multifunctional wound dressing, that is significantly superior to reference products as a result of its pH-indication and its gel-forming and wound healing properties.
Dr. Scholz will speak about carbon fibers that also can be manufactured sustainably, that is to say of the renewable raw material cellulose, by using viscose fibers as precursors, The benefit: by modifying the viscose fiber during its production, the course of the subsequent carbonization can be changed in specific ways. For instance, a significant increase in the yield of carbon as well as a reduction of undesirable pyrolysis by-products was achieved. In addition to their presentations, the R&D team of the Bavarian viscose fiber manufacturer looks forward to interesting conversations at their company’s booth.
Posted August 24, 2017
Source: Kelheim Fibres
