New Fiber: From Shrimp And Crab Shells To Seaweed, Qingdao Looks For Fiber In The Sea

Textile is Qingdao's traditional competitive industry, and the ocean is Qingdao's biggest feature. What kind of "spark" can be generated when the two collide?

Qingdao universities and enterprises, such as Qingdao University, Mingyue Seaweed Group, Jifa Group and Qingdao Yuanhai Xinke, have replied that they want raw materials from the sea and develop "new fibers".

Scientific researchers started from basic research in the laboratory, and achieved breakthroughs in a number of key technologies from "0" to "1". They made seaweed, shrimp and crab shells into fibers, promoted the successful application of relevant technological achievements in daily necessities, clothing, high-end equipment, etc., explored the "third source" of fibers, and made it possible for China to build a "marine cotton warehouse".

　　 From shrimp and crab shells to seaweed, Qingdao looks for fiber in the sea

Fiber is an indispensable raw material in daily production and life. There are two main categories: one is natural fibers such as cotton, linen and wool, and the other is synthetic fibers processed from oil, coal and other raw materials. Both types of fibers have certain limitations. Cotton, linen, wool, etc. mainly come from the earth's surface and need to occupy a large amount of farmland with limited output. Synthetic fiber needs to consume oil, coal and other disposable energy. From oil extraction, coal mining to refining, and then to forming the final fiber products, the processing process is complex, which is very easy to cause pollution. At the same time, the comfort of synthetic fiber products is relatively poor, and they are not friendly to the environment, making harmless treatment difficult.

The ocean is a "cornucopia" with rich resources. Can you ask for fiber from the ocean? Scientific researchers in Qingdao universities and enterprises have started their own exploration. They take algae, shrimp and crab shells, which widely exist in the sea, as research objects to explore the "third source" of fiber.

As early as around 2000, Jifa Group focused on the crustaceans of shrimp, crab and other marine organisms. From sporadic research and development to systematic promotion, after several years of efforts, they have developed "marine chitin fiber". This fiber became the first antibacterial and deodorant functional fiber extracted from nature and successfully developed, and won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. Since then, Jifa Group has made continuous efforts in the research and development of chitin fiber, and completed the national science and technology support plan project of the Ministry of Science and Technology - chitin fiber textile material processing technology project in 2010; The "highly absorbent chitosan fiber and medical fiber" developed in 2012 was identified by experts, and the overall technology of the project reached the international advanced level, among which the product quality reached the international leading level. "At present, we have obtained 6 national invention patents and 2 foreign PCT patents in the field of chitin fiber," said Yi Hongjun, a new material R&D engineer of Jifa Group.

The research on seaweed fiber began in the 1940s abroad, but no substantive breakthrough has been made. In 2004, Xia Yanzhi, the president of the Marine Fiber New Materials Research Institute of Qingdao University and the director of the provincial and ministerial jointly built National Key Laboratory, started a bold attempt to use algae resources to produce fibers. They were surprised to find that seaweed fiber is a natural flame retardant material. In addition, it also has the advantages of bacteriostasis and mildew prevention, environmental protection, non-toxic, biodegradable, and good comfort. For example, in terms of bacteriostasis, the bacteriostasis rate of seaweed fiber against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus reached 99%; In terms of comfort, it is superior to cotton and comparable to cashmere and silk.

At the same time, the raw material of seaweed fiber kelp is relatively easy to obtain. One mu of seaweed field can produce 5-10 tons of light dried kelp, which can extract about 1-2 tons of fiber grade sodium alginate, while 99% of fiber grade sodium alginate can be processed into seaweed fiber, with almost no by-products. According to this calculation, the output of seaweed fiber produced by one mu of sea field is about five times more than that of cotton. Therefore, Xia Yanzhi's team began to make continuous efforts in the field of seaweed fiber.

Open up the whole industrial chain and build a "marine cotton warehouse"

The marine fiber represented by seaweed fiber has obvious natural advantages, but there are also some pain points such as poor washing resistance, poor strength, and difficult dyeing, which hinder the large-scale industrial application of seaweed fiber in the textile field.

"Can we break through the key technology to make seaweed fiber into textile fiber?" Xia Yanzhi proposed the idea of building a "marine cotton warehouse" when discussing with team members. He led the team to dive down, step by step, repeatedly experiment and study in the laboratory, seeking breakthroughs in key technologies from "0" to "1".

In 2023, the State Intellectual Property Office released the list of winners of the 24th China Patent Award. The project "A Preparation Method of Seaweed Fiber Resistant to Salt and Detergent" declared by Xia Yanzhi's team won the Silver Award of China Patent, which solved the technical problem of seaweed fiber and its textiles that cannot be washed, and increased the washability time of seaweed fiber from a few minutes to more than 70 hours, It lays a foundation for the large-scale application of seaweed fiber in textile and clothing fields.

Improve the strength of seaweed fiber to 1.2 to 1.5 times that of cotton, develop the key technology of seaweed fiber dyeing, and develop the super absorbent seaweed fiber with the highest water absorption rate of 200 times of its own weight... 20 years of research "cold bench" has brought about one technical breakthrough after another, and years of technical breakthroughs have made Xia Yanzhi's team a global leader in the field of seaweed fiber. In 2023, at the appraisal meeting held by the China Textile Industry Federation, the project of "1000 ton seaweed fiber industrialization technology and equipment for textile" led by Xia Yanzhi won the "international leading" evaluation of the experts attending the meeting.

It is worth mentioning that Xia Yanzhi's team has promoted technology R&D and industrial application at the same time. "We have mastered a full set of theoretical achievements in the field of seaweed fiber for textile, developed production technology and equipment that are washable, dyeable and high strength, and opened the whole industrial chain of manufacturing fiber grade seaweed fiber raw materials by using kelp in the upstream, producing and developing seaweed fiber in the midstream, and making various textiles by using seaweed fiber in the downstream." Xia Yanzhi introduced. Globally, there are no scientific research institutions or enterprises that can do this.

In 2019, Qingdao Yuanhai New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yuanhai Xinke"), jointly established by Qingdao University and Qingdao Bingjin Capital Company, independently built the world's only industrial production line of seaweed fiber for textile and clothing with natural flame retardant and bacteriostatic functions, and passed the appraisal of scientific and technological achievements in July 2023. The annual production capacity of this production line can reach 5000 tons, which is the largest production line of seaweed fiber in the world at present.

Break through each technology and apply it more widely

Only when scientific and technological achievements fall from "paper" to "ground" can they burst out more vitality and truly serve human production and life. With each technological breakthrough, the application range of fibers from the sea is becoming wider and wider.

Jifa Group has developed chitosan needle punched non-woven fabric, spunlaced non-woven fabric, hot air non-woven fabric, fiber blended yarn, fabric, textile, mask and other series of products by using chitin fiber. Some products, especially medical dressings, have been exported to the EU, Southeast Asia, the United States, Japan and other countries and regions. "At present, chitin fiber is mainly used as functional materials, such as hydrophobic or hydrophilic medical dressings. The annual consumption of the group is about 100 tons," Yi Hongjun told reporters.

In Mingyue Seaweed Group, seaweed fiber has been used to make medical scar patches, alginate band aids, facial masks, X-ray medical imaging lines, gel films and other products. "Nonwovens made of alginate fibers are widely used in the field of medical dressings. Compared with traditional cotton gauze, alginate dressings have high moisture absorption, good hemostatic performance, and can form a layer of hydrogel on the surface of the wound, which can not only provide a good healing environment for the wound, but also remove it painlessly after the wound healing, with unique performance of promoting wound healing." Introduction of relevant persons in charge of the Group.

In November 2023, the Dawan District International Textile Yarn Expo will be held in Shenzhen. In front of the booth of Yuanhai Xinke, there is a great deal of activity, and a continuous stream of fabric, textile and clothing enterprises come to consult and negotiate cooperation. "We have exhibited more than 30 seaweed fiber products." Wang Haining, the investor and director of Yuanhai Xinke, said that the seaweed fiber produced by the company can be used not only in health care, textile and clothing, but also in flame retardant engineering, biomedical and other fields.

However, the overall sales volume of textile grade seaweed fiber is still small at present, which has not yet formed scale effect. "In 2023, the sales volume of seaweed fiber will be about 100 tons, which can basically achieve a break even." Xia Yanzhi believes that seaweed fiber is currently in the "ready" stage. With its widespread application in the future, the output of seaweed fiber will continue to increase, and the profitability of the industry will also be greatly improved.

(Source: Qingdao Daily)