The market
Global production of natural fibers from plants and animals reached the $ 50 billion mark in 2010 for a total production of 35 million tonnes, 23 million tonnes of which are reserved for textiles and clothing. The balance of 12 million tonnes is used in a series of applications for industrial products and consumption such as strengthening thermoplastic panels in European cars, composite panels with coconut fibers more resistant than teak in Indian construction, The roofs reinforced in Sisal in Brazil, the hemp mixed with the cement used in China for the 2008 Olympic Games. The world market for composites in natural fibers in the automotive industry, construction, sports and leisure was evaluated at 2, $ 1 billion in 2010 and should more than double by 2015. BMW vehicles contain up to 24 kilograms of flax and sisal which are transformed into composites for interior panels or dashboards. The Mercedes Benz Class A uses natural composites in base panels not only because of their natural origin, but also because of their performance in terms of weight and sustainability.
The largest natural fiber produced in the world with a production of 25 million tonnes in 2010 is cotton. The three largest cotton producers are China (32%), India (22%) and the United States (12%). However, cotton is declining, especially in the United States where the cultivated area of this natural fiber has dropped by 30 percent in one year to reach just over 3 million hectares, the lowest since 1983. So then That this decline is traditionally due to the replacement of natural fibers with synthetic fibers, the global trend is reinforced by the will of the Chinese to cultivate foods on land now reserved for cotton. China wants to largely replace cotton farms with high water intensity with food crops. They chose to replace cotton with industrial hemp. The culture of hemp will drop from a modest area of 20,000 hectares at present to perhaps 1.3 million hectares in a few years. Hemp grows prolific on hilly and less fertile soils, without needing irrigation, while stabilizing erosion, a key ecosystem service. The second largest natural fiber produced in the world is jute, whose production reaches 2.9 million tonnes and mainly produced in India, the prices of which are higher (up to 400 dollars per ton) than those of cotton Because jute fiber is mainly used as a substitute for plastic packaging and therefore linked to the international price of oil.
Innovation
The natural fibers are popular and demand is generally up. Quality variations, low fire resistance (except wool) and low shock resistance limit its broader industrial use. On the other hand, high rigidity and the ability to break without leaving rough and dangerous edges are considered advantages. However, one of the biggest challenges remains the fact that most vegetable fibers compete with food production for earth and water. There are attempts to transform, for example, water hyacinth into resistant fibers useful for the manufacture of furniture and accessories. This invasive species obstructs rivers and dams in Africa and Asia, feeding on nutrients that accumulate in water bodies due to soil erosion and excessive fertilizer use. With the exception of a few minor breakthroughs for this aquatic plant in Thailand and Bangladesh, it is necessary to find natural resources and widely available in renewable fibers which can be converted into quality products without competing food.
Ji Yujun chaired the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th National Congress of the People of China, but he is an entrepreneur in the soul. As a party representative, he always cared about the growth of the economy while ensuring social assistance. He began his career in 1980 as director of a toilet towel plant, which was unable to meet quality standards. It was the time of the planned economy when cotton offer was still random and often out of the control of a factory director. Under the supervision of Ji Yujun, quality has recovered and production increased thanks to the importation of advanced equipment from Japan and Germany. Mr. Yujun then merged the wattle manufacturing company with public companies and municipal companies under the Xi Ying Men brand. This brand appeared in 2005 as the first brand in the Chinese textile industry. While consolidating production, he decides to invest in research to differentiate the offer.
Ji Yujun and his team were inspired by the fact that each year, in June and July, green algae appear along the coast of Qingdao, consuming large amounts of oxygen, threatening marine life and fishing. In 2007, an epidemic of algae in Taihu, the third largest freshwater lake in China, interrupted tap water supply of more than a million people in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, for ten days. Volunteers and the army rid of the sea nearly a million tonnes of algae before the 2008 Olympic Sailing competition could start in Qingdao. As algae proliferations often cause ravages in Chinese rivers and threaten marine ecology and fisheries, it has been agreed to undertake a joint research initiative with the National Laboratory for New Materials of the University From Qingdao, on the potential of algae as a source of fiber.
The first cash flow
The original fibers were fragile and were only used for medical textiles such as bandages and surgical dressings. The team then managed to develop a new raw material extraction process for Varech fibers. Motivated by the fact that these fibers were more resistant and more durable than cotton, the research team tested the extraction of high resistance alginate fibers of a wide variety of brown, green and red algae. The research team has discovered that new fibers are resisting fire and electromagnetic waves. Thus, algae -based fibers provide a unique raw material for the manufacture of special clothing, such as fireproof clothes, medical uniforms and protective clothing for military use.
The new alginate extraction process makes it possible to obtain 200 to 250 kg of raw material for each tonne of dry algae. The cost of producing alginate fiber varies from $ 8,000 to $ 10,000 per tonne. As China is the largest aquaculture country in algae in the world with around half of the world's world production, it has an abundance of raw materials to produce alginate fibers. This means that low -value algae can be sold at high prices. Better still, each year, cleaning excessive proliferations of algae is transformed into a source of jobs and quality products, with a proven value on the market. The return of the first tests with customers motivated Mr. Yujun to build a 1,000 -ton fiber factory in Qingdao, which entered service in 2011.
The opportunity
The first sales of algae -based textile products have been welcomed by customers because they are widely aware of the capacity of algae extracts to regenerate and maintain healthy skin. The potential production of renewable alginate fibers from China, according to the resources currently available in the country, could reach 1.9 million tonnes per year. The algae fibers, which were then completely unused, thus become the third most important natural fiber on the market. This implies that China (and the world) could further reduce its dependence on cotton - which requires the use of pesticides and a lot of water - without the need for agricultural space. Textile applications for algae fibers have already changed bandages and special clothes to fashionable products.
New fashion brands are emerging, such as "Twosquareter" in Germany, a start-up that offers clothes containing algae while saying that the skin calms down and regenerates by wearing textiles based on algae, which is verified independently. A skirt or a dress can cost between 100 and 250 €, and although it is a multiple of selling prices charged by Zara or H&M, it is only a fraction of the big brands. Thus, textiles based on seaweed are niche for healthy clothes for the person who carries them and for nature from which they are harvested in a lasting way. If the source includes algae proliferations, an exemplary application of the concept of the blue economy is observed. Whatever the cost of eliminating algae, these freshwater or seawater resources then provide income, respond to real demand on the market and generate jobs, a clear improvement in relation to the spill of the prolific biomass in discharges where it rots and generates methane.
The potential of seaweed fibers has attracted competitors. The Qingdao Xi Ying Men Group may have the largest production unit in the world, but competitors have arrived like New Fibers Textile Corporation of Taiwan which makes a fiber which is a combination of cellulose and seaweed, both considered as renewable resources. The German chemical group Zimmer AG had been a pioneer in the field of similar fibers, but sold its activities at Smart Fiber AG, which now has a production capacity of 500 tonnes per year in Rudolstadt, from algae harvested in North Sea, and decided to move to the Lenzing factory in Austria, a leader in cellulose fibers. The Smart Fiber team produces antibacterial fibers, reducing odors, taking care of the skin, regulating temperature, electricity conductors as well as chemicals and temperature differences. Today, we are entering the market for therapeutic and functional textiles, which opens a new world for entrepreneurs around the world.
