Energy Saving Trend: New Clothing Fiber Varieties To Actively Adapt To

In the past more than 10 years, global warming has become more and more serious, and the energy crisis is intensifying.

Under this new background, people are interested in textile.

New materials, new energy, bioengineering, information

Functional fiber material is the material carrier for the application of modern scientific and technological achievements to the textile industry. The development of new functional fiber materials will become an important accelerator for the development of the textile industry to the modern high-tech field.

Therefore, the developed countries are investing a lot of manpower and material resources to focus on developing new functional fibers. The United States, Japan and other synthetic fiber enterprises can launch about 5 new fiber varieties each year, and the efficiency center of fiber products has changed from "quantity" to "new variety".

For example, the Japanese enterprises with the leading position in chemical fiber technology will normally implement the technology development and reserve in the past 10 years.

It is foreseeable that the new functional fiber manufacturing technology will open up a new development space for the textile industry.

Developing energy fiber to deal with energy crisis

The human body is a constant temperature body. One of the important functions of textile and clothing products is thermal insulation function. The traditional method is to increase the thickness of clothing, and the corresponding way is to increase the amount of fiber material.

In 2010, world fiber production reached 72 million 580 thousand tons and fiber consumption reached 70 million 500 thousand tons.

It can be imagined that such a large amount of material production will cause the greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption to be amazing. The destruction of the environment caused by the waste of fiber products every year is also self-evident.

Therefore, improving the thermal insulation function of fiber materials, reducing the dosage of fiber materials or reducing heating energy, or improving the heat pfer function of fibers, can reduce the temperature and reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning and refrigeration when the environmental temperature is higher. This will certainly be the trend of the development of fiber materials in the future.

The human body is a constant temperature heating body, and most of the heat energy is distributed to the environment in the form of thermal radiation.

The functional fiber clothing made of infrared material and fiber material can absorb the thermal radiation of human body and emit 4~14 micron far-infrared rays easily absorbed by human body, which promotes blood circulation and increases the temperature of subcutaneous deep (4~7 cm).

Under the same dressing condition, the functional product can raise the body temperature by 2~4 degrees, and achieve obvious heat preservation effect compared with conventional fiber clothing.

In the 80s of last century, Unitika used the far-infrared emitting functional powder mixed with silica, three oxidized two aluminum and titanium dioxide in chemical fiber to produce far-infrared functional fibers.

Subsequently, Japan's Teijin (Dongli), Dongli (Toray), Asahi kasin (Asahi) and China's Donghua University, Tsinghua University, Tianjin University of Technology and other related technical research and development.

Photo thermal conversion material composite fiber

In daily life and work, most of the human body is exposed to various sources of light. The characteristics of photothermal conversion materials are the conversion of solar energy into heat energy and stored in materials.

Zirconium zirconium carbide, which is known as a good material for photothermal conversion, is strongly absorbed by sunlight, which takes up 95% of the solar energy and has a wavelength of less than 2 microns. It absorbs light energy into heat energy and increases the temperature of the system.

At the same time, zirconium carbide also has strong reflection effect on the infrared ray emitted by the human body at a wavelength of about 10 microns, so it also has good thermal insulation effect.

The Japanese Decent and the NYI Chi card developed the core shell structure filament made of zirconium and nylon. The garments produced in the sunlight had a temperature of 5~8 degrees higher than that of the same common clothes, even in cloudy days, which was 2 degrees higher than that of the ordinary clothes.

Hygroscopic and exothermic materials composite fibers

Moisture absorption and heat release are the commonalities of general materials.

In textile materials, wool has the most obvious characteristics of moisture absorption and heat release, and has the effect of active thermal insulation.

The material of moisture absorption and heat release is combined with fiber material to produce moisture absorption self heating fiber fabric.

The moisture absorbing self heating fiber developed by Japan's Toyo absorbs heat from the human body and releases two times more heat than wool.

The research of Shanghai Jiao Tong University has proved that the heat released by the absorbent material of 1 kilograms of adsorbent material can keep warm for two hours when the temperature is -20 and the humidity is 75%. When walking speed is 3.2 km / h, it can keep warm for 4 hours, and it can meet the requirements of thermal insulation for soldiers in low temperature in winter.

Phase change energy storage material composite fiber

In the process of solid, liquid and gaseous three phase pformation, energy will be absorbed and stored and released. Suitable phase change materials and composite materials can be used to make tempering fibers.

The principle is: when the outside is heating up, the fiber material absorbs heat through the phase change and stores it, so that the human body will not be affected by the temperature rise for a certain period of time. Conversely, the phase change material will release heat, so that the body will not be affected by cooling down in a certain period of time.

In the 80s of last century, the southern Laboratory of the United States Department of agriculture used polyethylene glycol phase change material and hollow fiber composite to create textile, fiber products for aerospace, flight and consumption.

Subsequently, Ott Lars (Outlast) developed microencapsulated phase change material technology, microencapsulated phase change materials, composite fibers and coatings, which can be used to adjust shoes and down garments, greatly reducing the energy consumption of heating or air conditioning, and achieving the goal of energy saving and emission reduction.

Solar cell and thermoelectric fiber clothing

The energy crisis and global warming make the use of solar energy in the field of textile fiber materials in full swing.

At present, the technology of plastic solar cells and thermoelectric cells is changing with each passing day, and clothing is the direct surface of human body accepting solar energy. Therefore, the combination of plastic solar cell technology and fiber material technology can make solar cell clothing.

At the same time, there is a temperature difference between the surface and the interior of the garment, which provides the basic premise for the development of the thermoelectric battery. The industry can combine the fabric structure and fiber material design to achieve the use of clothing thermoelectric power generation.

At present, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries are developing organic thin film solar cells and organic sensitized dye solar cells. These new technologies and new photoelectric, photo thermal conversion materials and fiber materials will develop new textile fiber products with solar energy conversion and storage function.

Bioactive fiber for epidemic control

Bioactive functional fiber refers to fibers that protect human body from harmful organisms or health functions.

The warming of global warming has accelerated the growth of various viruses, bacteria and pests. Human beings are beginning to face more antibacterial and epidemic prevention tasks.

At the same time, extreme climate will probably lead to more epidemics. Accordingly, there will be more and higher requirements for the antibacterial and epidemic prevention functions of daily textile fiber products, and there will be higher requirements for textile fiber products used in medical, health and health fields.

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Daily functional fiber series

Antibacterial and deodorant functional fibers are made of inorganic, organic, biological enzyme antibacterial materials and fiber materials. Among them, silver fiber antibacterial fiber, nano titanium dioxide photocatalyst antibacterial fiber, Chinese herbal compound and antibacterial fiber are more mature.

At present, silver ion antibacterial fiber has been widely used in the United States and Japan, mainly used in underwear, personal hygiene products, bedding, bath products, shoes and other fields.

In China, there are also many enterprises in developing silver ion antibacterial fiber. Some enterprises have also solved the problem of oxidation and deterioration of silver, and produced antibacterial silver containing fibers and Chinese herbal medicine spices and antibacterial deodorant fibers without oxidation and discoloration. The products have good effect in knitted underwear and shoe materials.

In particular, the antibacterial and deodorant fiber shoe material of Chinese herbal medicine has a high antibacterial rate of over 80% of the main bacteria causing foot odor. It is expected to solve the problem of "shoe odor" that the footwear industry has not been able to overcome very well for a long time. It also opens up a new world for the application of Chinese herbal medicine in textile fiber materials with Chinese characteristics.

The natural Chinese herbal medicine repellent, insect repellent, or synthetic permethrin are combined with fiber materials to produce functional fibers that release mosquito repellent and insect repellent.

For example, the fiber made from pyrethrum extracted from natural chrysanthemum is blended with cotton to make shirts. After testing, the repellency rate of mosquitoes is as high as 90%.

On the other hand, the greenhouse effect leads to higher temperature and harmful organisms. Therefore, antibacterial, mildew proof and insect repellent functions are necessary for home textile products. The fibers with antibacterial, mildew proof and insect repellent effects will be widely applied in home textiles such as carpets, bedding, automotive interior and furniture.

The health functions of Chinese herbal preparations and spices have been well known to the public. Some enterprises in Japan and Taiwan, China, use microencapsulation technology to make fragrant microcapsules and fibers to produce fragrant fibers for underwear, bedding, shoes, sanitary products, etc.

For example, a series of natural fragrance controlled release fibers, such as lavender, chamomile, peppermint, tea tree oil, Artemisia oil, citronella oil and other controlled release fibers, have been developed on the market, which can be used in the manufacture of underwear, shoe materials, bedding and personal hygiene products.

Teijin (Japan) uses fiber loading technology to produce acid controlled release fiber, which keeps the skin of the wearer to be slightly acidic, so as to reduce the growth of harmful bacteria, neutralize the ammonia components in sweat, and eliminate the odour effect. The products are excellent in the field of outdoor clothing, casual wear and sportswear.

Medical functional fiber series

The global fiber industry is developing rapidly from traditional markets to high technology, high value-added healthcare, health care and health applications. This area is also the fastest developing part of high-tech textile fiber products.

Among them, the high added value is mainly achieved through the application of new materials, and the form of products is non-woven.

The new technology can combine all kinds of special functional materials or chemical drugs with fiber materials to produce fibers and nonwovens with special functions or therapeutic effects. It protects human body from infection by harmful organisms, reduces pain of patients, accelerates wound healing and improves nursing efficiency.

Product categories include: antibacterial fiber - used for bandages, surgical clothing, bedding, nursing supplies, health care products, etc.; anesthetic fibers used for wound bandages; hemostasis fibers used for wound care, surgical supplies and so on; drug dosage forms fiber used for controlled release of various chemical drugs or bioactive substances, making topical patches, health and hygiene products, epidemic prevention products, beauty products, etc.

Military functional materials develop towards high technology, high function and high efficiency.

Textile fiber materials are second only to steel materials in armaments. With the continuous improvement of military equipment level, the military textile products of various countries are developing towards high technology, high function and high efficiency.

According to the requirements of military training and field operations and the development of new fiber manufacturing technology under modern and extreme weather conditions, functional fibers and textile products that can be developed by new technologies include: flame retardant, antibacterial, mosquito repellent fibers, used for soldiers clothing, shoes and caps, tents, etc.; moisture absorption, heat release, heat preservation, phase change temperature regulating fibers -- used for soldiers clothing, shoes, gloves, sleeping bags, etc.; chemical controlled release fibers are used for medical hemostasis bandages, anesthetic bandages and wound healing bandages.

Bottlenecks of traditional fiber technology and advantages of new fiber manufacturing

The basic principle of functional fiber manufacturing is to select appropriate functional materials and composite materials with fiber materials to manufacture fiber materials with fiber morphology and special functions. The core of the technology lies in the selection of functional materials and the way of combining with fiber materials.

In the manufacturing technology of energy fibers, most of the "energy materials" have been developed in the form of nano powders. The main way to combine fiber materials is the traditional melt blending technology. There is a problem that "energy materials" add too little function, which is not significant or no function.

In bioactive fiber manufacturing technology, bioactive materials, chemical drugs or Chinese herbal preparations and natural spices as functional materials are extremely sensitive to solvents and temperature. High temperature or solvent will cause functional materials to deteriorate or destroy. High temperature or solvent is the necessary technological condition of traditional spinning technology (dry, wet or melt silk), which limits the application of bioactive functional materials in traditional spinning process.

Therefore, new fiber manufacturing technologies must be developed before it is possible to produce new energy fibers and bioactive functional fibers.

The new functional fiber manufacturing technology has no high temperature conditions and specific solvent requirements. It can combine a wide range of bioactive materials, chemical drugs, Chinese herbal preparations and fiber materials.

At the same time, improving the composite technological conditions or selecting hollow fibers with large aperture can make a large number of "nano powder functional materials" or "bioactive functional materials" combined with fiber materials to produce high-performance functional fibers with more prominent functional characteristics.