Sun Shiyuan, Jiaxing'S "Doctor Of Textile", Turns Waste Cow Hide Into Yarn And Weaves It Into Clothes

Can waste cowhide be turned into yarn to make clothes? Sun Shiyuan has been competing with a piece of scrap cow hide for six years for an appeal of the enterprise.

Sun Shiyuan is the director of the scientific research service department of Jiaxing Food, Drug and Product Quality Inspection and Testing Institute. On weekdays, he not only devotes himself to the laboratory research and development of new materials, but also helps enterprises solve problems and get through the "two pulse of responsibility and supervision" of development.

Once, Sun Shiyuan thought that "spinning and weaving is just spinning and weaving, stepping on the sewing machine, which is of no great use". He changed his mind until he went to college. Now, as long as we chat with Sun Shiyuan, he will definitely recommend this unpopular major and share with you how textile is ubiquitous.

Sun Shiyuan instructs students to do textile related experiments in the laboratory. Photograph provided by respondents

　　 "You can't imagine the fun of the textile world"

He wore a white lab suit, a clean cut head, and a pair of rimless glasses. Sun Shiyuan, whose ancestral home is Shandong, has the forthrightness and enthusiasm of northerners. "The office is a bit messy, and you can sit at will." Sun Shiyuan felt a little "embarrassed" when the reporter came in.

Looking around, Sun Shiyuan's words are not polite. The desks, cabinets, and floors are full of textile yarns, fiber materials, and flocs wherever they can put things.

In 1976, Sun Shiyuan was born in Yimeng Mountain Area, Shandong Province. Like most rural children, he jumped out of the agricultural door through the college entrance examination and was admitted to the textile materials and textile design major of Qingdao University. At first, Sun Shiyuan didn't like this major and felt that the textile industry had no prospects. But because I didn't want to cram, I had to "reluctantly" read on.

Professional courses gradually eliminated Sun Shiyuan's "misunderstanding" of textile. "You can't imagine the fun of the textile world." Today's Sun Shiyuan talks about weaving and excitedly seems to be showing off a treasure - "Do you know that the flag displayed on Chang'e 6 on the moon back was embroidered with rocks," "artificial blood vessels were made of synthetic fibers," "parachutes for aerospace use were also made of special fiber materials"

After graduating from university, Sun Shiyuan studied for a master's degree and a doctor's degree in textile. In 2013, he was introduced to Jiaxing Food and Drug Quality Inspection Institute as a high-end talent and became the first doctor of the institute. "Jiaxing is the 'home of silk', and the textile and clothing industry has distinctive characteristics," Sun Shiyuan said.

Jiaxing Institute of Food and Drug Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine "favored" the doctor, and invested 1 million yuan to build a 100 square meter laboratory for Sun Shiyuan to continue the relevant scientific research during his doctoral period. "Mainly study the surface modification treatment of textile materials to help textile enterprises save energy and reduce consumption." This move has strengthened Sun Shiyuan's determination to take root in Jiaxing.

However, many people feel "regrettable". Dr. Sun Shiyuan studied in Donghua University, a top textile university in China. After graduation, he can choose to stay in school or find a research institute in a big city to do scientific research. "I want to be closer to the enterprise and the market, create more economic value for the enterprise with my own scientific research achievements, and try to use standards to clean up the mess for the industry." Sun Shiyuan said frankly. In recent three years, he has helped hundreds of enterprises, standardized the concept, technical requirements and testing methods of domestic heating underwear, and led the implementation of innovative technical projects such as cowhide fiber development and standardization.

　　 "Competing" with waste cowhide for six years

Sun Shiyuan checks the thickness of textile yarn in the office. Photographed by our reporter Wang Yuhong

Cowhide fiber is an important part of Sun Shiyuan's scientific research career.

"Your clothes and socks may be made of cowhide." Sun Shiyuan sold a trick, then took out a hard cowhide and a pair of soft socks from the cabinet. With Sun Shiyuan's explanation, these two seemingly unrelated objects gradually become related.

"After being crushed by machine, the cowhide is softened by adding biological additives, and then dried, loosened, impurities removed, spinning and other processes, and finally woven into a pair of socks." Sun Shiyuan said lightly, but from cowhide to socks, he has studied for nearly six years.

We should start with a visit to the enterprise. In 2017, when Sun Shiyuan went to an enterprise in Jiaxing to carry out "consultation" services, he learned that Founder was exploring to extract fiber from leather waste. But their fiber quality is not high enough to meet the requirements of clothing and textile raw materials. At that time, the enterprise had invested more than 10 million yuan in research and development, but it could not bring economic benefits, which worried the person in charge of the enterprise. Before leaving, Sun Shiyuan took some cow hides with him and planned to go back to the laboratory to do feasibility analysis first.

At the moment when the analysis report came out, Sun Shiyuan seemed to discover a "new continent". "Cowhide fiber not only has an antibacterial rate of more than 99%, but also is mildew resistant and flame retardant, with good sweat absorption and air permeability." Sun Shiyuan said that the main component of cowhide fiber is collagen, which is the same as the main component of human skin, so the processed fabric is more skin friendly.

Although it was difficult to extract cowhide fiber and other processes, no one set foot in the world at that time, Sun Shiyuan recognized it as a "potential stock" and soon reached cooperation with the enterprise.

Since then, Sun Shiyuan has led his team members to soak in the laboratory almost every day and "compete with a piece of scrap cow hide". They repeated hundreds of experiments just to lengthen the length of the cowhide fiber. Now, the length of cowhide fiber has increased from less than 20 mm to 30 mm, and the yarn made of cowhide fiber has also increased from 8 metric fibers to 60 metric fibers. The larger the number of metric fibers, the thinner the yarn.

Fiber separation, length improvement, extraction rate improvement... One technical difficulty has been overcome. The cowhide fiber developed by Sun Shiyuan and his team members has finally met the application requirements in the textile and clothing field, especially in high-end fashion, underwear fabrics, etc.

The key to the successful extraction and preparation of cowhide fiber is to open the market. Sun Shiyuan, who came out of the laboratory, started to run to the enterprise every three days to help improve equipment and test product performance.

"Cowhide collagen fiber socks brought 10 million yuan of income to enterprises in the year they were launched." Sun Shiyuan was very proud. They also cooperated with other enterprises in Jiaxing to launch cowhide collagen woolen overcoats, knitted underwear and other products in succession. Five of these products were recognized as new industrial products at the provincial level, reaching the international leading level. Cowhide fiber research and development projects also received three invention patents.

　　 Not only solve difficult problems, but also set standards

The story of Sun Shiyuan extracting fiber from waste cow hide has gradually spread in the industry. Now, Sun Shiyuan receives calls from textile enterprises all over the country every day, either seeking cooperation or consulting technical problems.

However, compared with solving enterprise technical problems, Sun Shiyuan hopes to use technical standards to promote industry quality and efficiency.

Taking heating underwear as an example, Sun Shiyuan led the team to guide relevant enterprises and formulated the enterprise standard of Light Absorbing Heating Multifunctional Knitted Underwear. This is the first standard set up for this product in China, and also a "sample" for the group standard of Light Absorbing and Heating Knitted Underwear formulated by China Textile Commerce Association.

In addition, Sun Shiyuan also determined the relevant definitions, technical requirements, key assessment indicators, test methods, etc. for coarse yak cashmere related products. "Yak hair is a kind of rare textile raw material, and the main production area of China is in the northwest." Sun Shiyuan said that combed yak hair accounts for about 60% of the total output of yak hair, but because of fiber quality, insufficient development and other reasons, most of them are only processed as low-grade raw materials for low value-added products.

To this end, Sun Shiyuan, together with the enterprise, is developing two industry standards, namely, "Rough Yak Hair Woven Yarn" and "Rough Yak Hair Fabric". "Once released and implemented, it will speed up the development of new products, improve the added value and market competitiveness of yak hair products, and drive herdsmen in the west to increase their income and become rich." Sun Shiyuan's "fiber feelings" read a lot of people.

Now, Sun Shiyuan has set his sights on home textile. "Washable quilts have become very popular in recent years, but the quality of the products is mixed, and most of them are still 'once washed'." Sun Shiyuan started from the raw materials of the products, optimized the ratio of corn fiber, cotton fiber, and other fibers, and changed the structure of cotton batting pieces through physical methods, so that the quilt can be washed many times without deformation.

"We also comprehensively considered the key factors such as washing equipment, temperature, detergent, etc., and formulated a test method for the washing resistance of cotton wadding flakes, providing a test basis for relevant enterprises." In Sun Shiyuan's view, the joy of formulating a product standard is far greater than winning an invention patent.

It is Sun Shiyuan's simple dream to "weave" the laboratory and the enterprise more closely through a thread.

Person name card: Sun Shiyuan, Director of Scientific Research Service Department of Jiaxing Food, Drug and Product Quality Inspection and Testing Institute, Discipline Leader of Zhejiang Market Supervision System, Leader of Zhejiang Market Supervision Textile New Materials and Testing Technology Innovation Team, Scientific and Technological Leader of Zhejiang Market Supervision System, engaged in textile plasma ecological processing technology Research and development of textile testing technology and new textile materials, presided over and participated in 24 scientific research projects at national, provincial and ministerial levels, led and participated in the formulation of 2 textile industry standards, 28 group standards, and applied for 10 authorized invention patents.

(Source: Zhejiang Daily)