KELHEIM - Speciality viscose manufacturer Kelheim Fibres has joined Recycling Atelier Augsburg, the centre for research and development in the field of textile recycling.
Located at the Institut für Textiltechnik Augsburg, an affiliated institute of Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, the two institutions founded the Recycling Atelier in June 2022 together with twelve partners from the German textile industry.
"As a model factory, the Recycling Atelier Augsburg combines the most important processes of textile recycling and offers holistic and comprehensive research along the value chain," explained Georg Stegschuster, head of the Recycling Atelier Augsburg, adding that the scientists research on all process steps of textile recycling: from material analysis to sorting, preparation and textile processing to sustainable product design. Comprehensive data collection and the use of artificial intelligence as well as innovative materials also play a central role.
Kelheim Fibres is a manufacturer of high-quality viscose fibres, which consist of cellulose, the main component of the renewable raw material wood, and are used worldwide for products in areas such as hygiene, textiles, and technical applications.
"In New Business Development as well as Fibre and Application Development, we follow the Open Innovation concept - the cooperation with the Recycling Atelier offers us an ideal platform for this. Here we work with partners to advance sustainability and performance," added Maik Thiel, project manager at Kelheim Fibres.
Recycled cotton fibres are often very short or of uneven length, which makes further processing of 100 per cent recycled material a challenge. This is where the speciality fibres from Kelheim Fibres come into play, whose addition should enable the production of high-quality new products, such as nonwovens. In the future, the fibres provided by Kelheim Fibres will also be made from recycled pulp, closing the loop further.
In the Recycling Atelier, the focus is on the triad of technical and ecological sense as well as economic benefit. In this way, the partners of the Recycling Atelier say they are standing up against fast fashion, outsourced corporate responsibility and a general decline in raw material quality, which often fuels downcycling - the low-quality reuse - of materials.
Scientists at ITA Augsburg have been researching carbon fibre-reinforced composites (CFRP) and their recycling - also within the framework of the MAI Carbon cluster - with the aim of establishing textile processes and products on an industrial scale and making them economically efficient for the industry. Particular attention is paid to research into recycling technologies for textiles of all kinds, the digitalisation of textile processes and the development of products according to Design for Recycling principles.
For this purpose, modern textile production lines are available to the scientists at the Sigma Technopark and the Augsburg Technology Centre. The Augsburg Institute of Textile Technology and Augsburg University of Applied Sciences opened the Recycling Atelier Augsburg, a model factory for the holistic recycling of textiles, in June 2022.
Kelheim Fibres speciality products are used in most diverse applications from fashion, hygiene and medical products to nonwovens and speciality papers.
All the fibres are made from 100% wood pulp from PEFC or FSC certified sources. They are fully biodegradable and offer an environmentally sound alternative to petroleum-based materials in a broad range of different end products – while maintaining or even enhancing the functional performance of the product.
The production takes place exclusively in Germany and complies with the strict German environmental legislation.
