Opportunities And Challenges Of Renewable Fiber Industry

　　 Opportunities come and prospects are good

According to statistics, in 2011, China spin The consumption of raw materials has reached 41.3 million tons. Experts predict that if new oil fields cannot be found, the oil resources as the main raw materials of synthetic fibers will be exhausted around 2050. China's dependence on crude oil imports is high. How to reduce the dependence on fossil resources has become a very prominent practical problem. Moreover, with the serious problem of land struggle between grain and cotton, the limited natural fiber resources and the increasing demand for fiber due to the expansion of population, the shortage of textile raw materials has become increasingly prominent.

Recycled fiber raw materials can be divided into two categories, one is waste polyester bottle pieces, the other is waste leftovers and clothes 。 At present, the annual stock of discarded polyester bottles and pieces in China has reached nearly 3 million tons, and the annual stock of waste textiles has reached 26 million tons. Processing and burying these wastes will not only consume a lot of space and funds, but also cause huge environmental pollution. How to turn these wastes into treasure has become a common concern of the government and enterprises, and renewable fibers can take this opportunity to develop.

Some enterprises have seen the economic and social benefits of developing recycled fibers. "Compared with the original polyester fiber, each ton of recycled polyester fiber produced can replace 6~8 tons of original oil; 2.4 tons of polyester plastic raw materials can be used from the landfill, saving nearly 3 cubic meters of landfill space; compared with the production of traditional polyester fiber products, 43.6 tons of water resources can be saved, and the carbon emissions in the burning process of 3 tons of waste can be reduced, with obvious energy-saving and emission reduction effects 。” Yangzhou Tianfulong Automobile Interior Fiber Co., Ltd. Yang Jian told reporters.

In addition, the use of recycled materials has become a need for environmental protection, and has been highly valued by the country, which has played a positive role in guiding relevant enterprises. "Energy conservation and environmental protection, as a strategic emerging industry, has been highlighted in the country's 12th Five Year Plan. As an enterprise, it should consider the strategic plan of sustainable development. In addition, the society's concept of using waste resources is also gradually changing, so it can be determined that the development opportunities and prospects of renewable fiber in China are optimistic." He Wei, the general manager of Zhejiang Jiaren New Material Co., Ltd., is full of confidence in this.

　　 Vigorous development shows signs

From the 1950s, developed countries began to study the methods of recycling waste PET. So far, many large companies and research institutions in the world have invested huge manpower and material resources in this field, and some of these processes have achieved commercial operation. Now, some well-known international brands have joined in promoting the development of recycled fiber products. For example, the team uniforms provided by Nike and Adidas for nine national teams, including the Netherlands, Brazil and the United States in the 2010 South Africa Football World Cup, were reprocessed from recycled polyester bottles. Wal Mart clearly proposed in 2010 that in the next five years, it will implement the requirement of zero waste discharge on its supply chain.

The statistical information released by the National Development and Reform Commission in September 2011 shows that in 2011, China's recycled polyester fiber production capacity was 6 million tons, and the actual output was nearly 4 million tons, accounting for about 80% of the global total output. It can be seen that China has become the largest producer of recycled polyester fiber. Especially in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, there are many factories for recycling polyester bottles and processing enterprises for recycled fibers, and they have gradually formed a certain production scale. Some enterprises have sprung up and reached the world's advanced level in production technology, management level, etc.

For example, Zhejiang Jiaren New Material Co., Ltd. is good at chemical recycling polyester filament. By introducing the world's top ECOCIRCLE recycling system of "Teijin", it can achieve a closed permanent cycle from clothes to clothes. Its chemical recycling process can achieve unlimited cycle production of new polyester without changing the quality. On the one hand, it overcomes the physical production of recycled polyester fiber, low product purity, large quality limitations and difficulty in adapting to high-end clothing Requirements, etc; On the other hand, the "ECOCIRCLE" circulation system has made great contributions to the Earth's environment. "For example, the recycling of 300 T-shirts (about 1 ton) will reduce the energy consumption by 84% compared with the production of polyester raw materials with petroleum, which is equivalent to the energy consumption of a family in a year, which is about 60000 kilojoules; and the CO2 emissions will be reduced by 77%." He Wei, general manager of Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials Co., Ltd., said this analogy. For another example, in terms of the production of recycled differentiated fibers, some enterprises have been able to meet the needs of the international market, and are transitioning from low-end fillers to high-end fabrics and other high-value products. Some enterprises have developed high-end renewable fibers independently

Fibre products. Shanghai Defulun Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. pays attention to the development and application of renewable differential fibers, which can not only produce renewable differential polyester fibers that meet the needs of the international market, but also its coffee carbon fibers, renewable cool fibers, and renewable super cotton like fibers have been widely used in spring and summer fashion, underwear, outerwear, sportswear, casual wear, home textiles and other textile fields. Yang Weizhong, the general manager of the company, said, "We will extend the industrial chain of recycled polyester textiles with fiber enterprises as the core, which will greatly increase the profits of enterprises. Only by forming a circular economy industrial chain of recycled polyester industry, mastering the production process of the entire industrial chain, making efforts to develop end products, and forming a coherent industrial chain, can we expand market share."

For another example, some enterprises are building large-scale circular economy industrial parks for research, development and production of recycled fibers. Haiyan Haili Environmental Protection Fiber Co., Ltd. has the leading production process of recycled FDY filament in China. It mainly researches, develops, produces and sells recycled polyester raw materials and differentiated recycled polyester filament. At present, it is developing a circular economy industrial park, which has huge economic and social benefits. Chen Jie, the general manager of the company, said: "We have built Haili Circular Economy Industrial Park since 2012. It is expected that the project will be put into production in July this year. After completion, the project will achieve an annual output value of 10 billion yuan, an annual profit tax of 1 billion yuan, which has significant social and economic benefits. Our company is committed to building the most complete recycling industrial chain of renewable polyester resources in China."

　　 Challenge many difficulties

As the largest producer and consumer of fiber products in the world, China is still shouldering the heavy mission of upgrading the industrial chain and value chain from the low-end to the high-end in the innovation and change of the renewable fiber industry market. There are also many challenges ahead.

First of all, many enterprises still focus on the production of low-grade fillers and non-woven fabrics. They are not fully developed in the production of high-end fabrics and other high value-added products. The technology is not up to standard, and it is difficult to form large-scale production. "In general, China's recycled polyester fiber products lack systematic and continuous investment in technology, talents, equipment, product development, market development, etc., and the management level is not high, resulting in discontinuous production and difficulty in forming large-scale production. Moreover, the products are still dominated by low-grade cotton, fillers and non-woven fabrics, which are functional filament products and high-grade filament products required by the international market The development of high value-added products such as knitted fabrics and high-end home textile fabrics is insufficient, and the industry development trend of a virtuous circle cannot be formed. " He Wei said in an interview.

Secondly, the access threshold for renewable fiber production enterprises is low, resulting in a mixture of good and bad enterprises in the industry. Zhao Li, Deputy General Manager of Hangzhou Best Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., expressed his concern: "At present, there is no uniform industrial standard for the production of recycled fiber in China, some enterprises are irresponsible to the society, and the regulatory authorities have no appropriate industrial management measures. These are the prominent problems facing the recycled fiber industry at present. A few days ago, our recycled fiber enterprises were also holding a meeting to discuss how to transform and take the lead in promoting the introduction and implementation of industrial standards. Of course, this also needs to be related Departments and media cooperate to guide. "

Thirdly, the concept of mass consumption needs to be changed. The reporter interviewed some consumers at random, and found that most people are still difficult to accept the new consumption concept of "waste - renewable resources - consumer goods", believing that the safety and health of recycled fiber products are not as good as that of raw fiber. "In foreign countries, because of the recognition of environmental protection concepts, consumers have a high degree of recognition of recycled products. In China, consumers believe that recycled products are bad, and they are garbage. This concept is also a major challenge facing the development of recycled fibers. If there is no relevant authoritative department to formulate standards to regulate and guide consumers, Chinese consumers' understanding of recycled fibers will change to 50 years less. " Zhao Li's words also confirmed the reporter's interview and investigation.

Moreover, Zhao Li is also worried about the lack of relevant laws and regulations in China. For example, laws and regulations do not clearly stipulate that some products must use recycled raw materials, which is clearly required in foreign countries.

In the face of the opportunities and challenges of China's renewable fiber industry, entrepreneurs in the sidelines generally expect the government departments to strengthen policy support, formulate unified industry access standards as soon as possible, and also hope that social media will make more appeals to guide consumers to change their ideas. Only in this way can China's renewable fiber industry really flourish.