Finnish start-up spins plant-based fibre
Nordic Bioproducts Group, a spin-off from Aalto University in Finland, has created a new wood-based textile fibre it calls Norratex, which is manufactured without any toxic chemicals or expensive solvents.
In the AaltoCell method, cellulose is hydrolysed and further processed into a viscose-like textile fibre.
The method's inventor, Professor Olli Dahl, said: “It’s great to see when your own ideas lead to new products by the skillful team of engineers in a young company. We are embarking on a new era in developing novel biobased products.”
The Norratex method can use a variety of raw material sources, such as forest industry by-products, textile waste and ordinary paper pulp. The company claims some viscose needs to be made from dissolving pulp which can be more expensive than paper pulp, offering a potential cost advantage.
Nordic Bioproducts has signed a partnership with CMPC Ventures, the corporate venture arm of CMPC, one of the largest producers of pulp.
Bernardita Araya, a manager at CMPC Ventures, said: "We are very excited about this new collaboration. For CMPC, this represents a significant step toward establishing a leading role in the development of the future of biobased industries with global impact.”
Tested at a lab scale, the natural fibres can also be separated from blended plastics easily, which could offer a solution for textile recycling.
The market for sustainable man-made cellulosic fibres is growing rapidly. A number of these are Finnish, such as Aalto University's Ioncell fibre, Metsä Spring's Kuura fibre, Spinnova's fibre and Infinited Fibre Company’s Infinna fibre.
