Viscose fibre manufacturer Kelheim Fibres will present solutions for high-performance insulation materials, disinfectant wipes and supply chain at this year’s Techtextil to be held at Frankfurt, Germany from May 14-17. With dry short cut viscose fibres, Kelheim saves energy and the fibre’s specific properties allow for permanent dimensional stability.

Fibres with an extremely fine titre are processed along with pyrogenic silica to make vacuum insulation panels (VIPs). They offer the same insulation effect as rock wool with only one tenth the thickness. Such panels are used in refrigerators and freezers, as well as in building insulation. Transport logistics that demand an uninterrupted cold chain is another promising future market for these speciality fibres, said Kelheim in a press release.

Fresh from Kelheim’s R&D laboratory comes the new viscose speciality fibre, Danufil QR. It is specifically designed for use in disinfectant wipes. The standard viscose fibres, due to their negative ionic charge, bind up to 80 per cent of quarternary ammonium compounds (quats), a common disinfectant, and so hinder their actual purpose. The positively charged Danufil QR fibre can reduce this undesired effect to less than 10 per cent. Softness, excellent fluid management and full biodegradability are the typical properties of viscose fibres – with the use of Danufil QR, disinfectant wipes can now also benefit from these.

Supply chain transparency and protection against forgery is another topic addressed by the viscose fibre experts. A marker fibre enables the – invisible for the human eye, but definite and even customer-specific—coding of products. So, the traceability of a product can be guaranteed, and customers and manufacturers can be protected from possible economic damages by plagiarism.

Alongside these new fibres, Kelheim will showcase many well-known speciality fibres as well as a range of new development projects.

After a fire in their production plant in October 2018, the Bavarian viscose fibre specialists are gradually rebuilding their production capacity. Currently five lines are working, which is the equivalent of about 50 per cent of Kelheim’s former production capacity. The rebuilding process is expected to be completed by the middle of 2020.

“Until then, we concentrate all available resources on the creation of innovative new fibres and the development of new application areas so that we will restart with new state-of-the-art production lines, combined with more than 80 years of experience in viscose fibre production and numerous fibre innovations. Coming back stronger will be our motto for 2019,” said Matthew North, commercial director at Kelheim Fibres. (PC)