Understand The Research Report Of Regenerated Cellulose Fiber With Data

As a very important category of chemical fiber "big family", how about the application of regenerated cellulose fiber in cotton textile field? Recently, China Chemical Fiber Industry Association and China Cotton Textile Industry Association jointly released a research report. The report mainly involves conventional products viscose staple fiber and new product Lyocell fiber.

It is understood that from 2017 to 2021, under the support of the Green Development Alliance (CV alliance) of the renewable cellulose fiber industry, the two associations conducted three surveys on the application status and application prospect of regenerated cellulose fiber in cotton textile enterprises.

Among them, the survey in 2021 covers a large number of cotton textile enterprises, whose total production capacity exceeds 20 million spindles, and the total consumption of regenerated cellulose fiber exceeds 1 million tons, accounting for about 30% of the total demand of regenerated cellulose fiber in the spinning field in China; At the same time, it covers about 95% of the enterprises engaged in the production and sales of regenerated cellulose fiber in China.

Application status

The proportion of viscose staple fiber is decreasing

Regenerated cellulose fiber is a kind of textile raw material formed by dissolving natural cellulose (cotton, wood, bamboo, hemp, etc.). Regenerated cellulose fiber is the chemical fiber product with the closest performance to cotton fiber. Its hygroscopicity, air permeability and dyeability are even better than those of cotton fiber, and have good skin affinity and water absorption.

According to the data of National Bureau of statistics and China Chemical Fiber Industry Association, the output of regenerated cellulose fiber in China will be 4 million tons in 2020, including 3.835 million tons of short fiber. With the increase of market demand and the development of chemical fiber technology, the application of regenerated cellulose fiber in cotton textile enterprises continues to grow.

According to the data of China Cotton Textile Industry Association, in 2020, the amount of regenerated cellulose fiber for cotton spinning in China will be 3.17 million tons, 2.1 times of that in 2010, accounting for 28.1% of the consumption of non cotton fiber, which is 13.9% and 4.3% higher than that in 2010 and 2015 respectively.

From the survey data, cotton textile enterprises use the most conventional viscose staple fiber. However, with the development of cotton textile industry to high quality and the upgrading of market consumption demand, the consumption proportion of conventional viscose staple fiber is decreasing, while that of Lyocell, modal and other new fibers is increasing. The research shows that the proportion of conventional viscose staple fiber in the total amount of regenerated cellulose fiber is as high as 87%, but it shows a downward trend, while the amount of new fibers such as lyocell and modal has increased.

According to the data of the fiber year 2021, the global production of Lyocell fiber will be about 250000-300000 tons in 2020, accounting for 4.6% of the total output of regenerated cellulose fiber.

Its application shows three characteristics: first, the amount of Lyocell fiber reaches about 6.2% of the total amount of regenerated cellulose fiber, which is mainly used in large-scale enterprises and plays a greater role in product innovation and development; Second, green sustainable development has become a new wind vane of textile industry, and the concept of "green fiber" of Lyocell fiber is being recognized by consumers; Third, the wearability of Lyocell fiber can promote product innovation to a certain extent, and is conducive to market promotion and technology reserve.

A number of product quality indicators have been significantly improved

In the investigation, cotton textile enterprises evaluated the product quality of regenerated cellulose fiber enterprises, including fiber strength, blending, defects, batch stability, moisture regain and finish.

Fiber strength: fiber strength is the reflection of the internal quality of the fiber, and is a necessary condition for the processing performance and end use of the fiber. The strength and elongation of regenerated cellulose fiber can be controlled during processing. In addition to tensile fracture characteristics, the deformation recovery ability of fiber under external force will affect the dimensional stability and service life of textiles.

Compared with that in 2019, the survey results in 2021 show that the proportion of cotton textile enterprises that think the fiber strength index is good has decreased by 7 percentage points, which reflects that the requirements of cotton textile enterprises on the index have been improved or the strength of the fiber itself has decreased. Fiber manufacturers should pay more attention to the core index of fiber strength.

Blending, defects and batch stability: in 2021, cotton textile enterprises' Evaluation on the three indicators of blending, defects and batch stability mainly includes two aspects. First, the proportion of enterprises that think the indicators of silk blending and defects are good has increased by 6 percentage points to 65% compared with 59% in 2019, but the evaluation is still low compared with other quality indicators. Second, the evaluation of batch stability index of cotton textile enterprises has been significantly improved. In 2019, 58% of the enterprises thought the index was good, and it increased to 72% in 2021; However, the proportion of enterprises that think the index is poor also rises, from 3% in 2019 to 7% in 2021. Overall, cotton textile enterprises have improved the evaluation of these three indicators, but fiber enterprises still need to make efforts in quality control.

Moisture regain: in the production process of viscose staple fiber, moisture regain index is always the most sensitive indicator for production and user response, and the control of moisture regain has always been one of the difficult problems for fiber manufacturers. In 2021, the recognition degree of moisture regain index of cotton textile enterprises is significantly improved, and the proportion of enterprises that think the moisture regain index is good increases by 13 percentage points to 75% compared with 62% in 2019; For example, the proportion of enterprises that think the moisture regain rate is moderate will drop from 29% in 2019 to 19% in 2021. This shows that the measures of controlling moisture regain have achieved certain effect by combining with production practice.

Finish: viscose staple fiber finish is an important chemical agent in fiber post-treatment process. It can increase the lubricity of the fiber, reduce the electrostatic effect of the fiber, increase the cohesion of the fiber, increase the strength and wear resistance of the yarn, and reduce the loss of twisting strength. Cotton textile enterprises have the highest recognition of fiber finish index, and the proportion has also increased, which is conducive to improving the spinnability and applicability of spinning enterprises. However, 23% of enterprises still think that there is a gap in the quality of fiber finishes.

Supply stability and after-sales service still need to be improved

The survey also evaluated the service satisfaction of renewable cellulose fiber suppliers, including three aspects: supply stability, package weight stability and after-sales service.

The survey results show that in 2021, 65% of cotton textile enterprises think that the supply stability of renewable cellulose fiber enterprises is good, which is 16% lower than that of 81% in 2019, and the satisfaction is low. A good fiber production enterprise, only with sustained competitiveness, is conducive to improving the economic and social benefits of the enterprise. Fiber production enterprises should not only improve the stability of supply, but also ensure the timeliness of supply.

Cotton textile enterprises are most satisfied with the stability of bale weight. In 2021, 82% of cotton textile enterprises believe that the package weight stability of regenerated cellulose fiber enterprises is good, which is 11% higher than that in 2019. The stability of package weight is closely related to moisture regain. With the improvement of moisture regain control, the stability of package weight is improved.

In terms of after-sales service, in 2021, the satisfaction of cotton textile enterprises to the after-sales service of regenerated cellulose fiber enterprises will decrease. Among them, the proportion of enterprises that think the after-sales service is good will decrease by 5 percentage points to 74% from 79% in 2019; It is considered that the proportion of general enterprises will decrease by 2 percentage points to 18% from 20% in 2019; The number of enterprises with poor performance increased by 7 percentage points to 8% from 1% in 2019.

After sales service can best reflect the service quality of fiber production enterprises, and will also affect the long-term development of fiber production enterprises. If the quality of after-sales service declines, it is easy to cause the loss of orders, so the service awareness of fiber manufacturers needs to be improved.

The ability to develop new products has been enhanced

From the source of raw materials, in addition to the traditional cotton pulp, wood pulp and bamboo pulp, with the gradual industrialization of recycled cotton textile pulping technology, the recycling of regenerated cellulose fiber has also been successfully introduced to the market, and the functional products of regenerated cellulose short fiber are further expanded. The customized fiber products developed by fiber enterprises for different textile equipment have further improved the downstream production efficiency and product quality, and have been widely welcomed by the downstream market.

The high praise of cotton textile enterprises on the development capacity of regenerated cellulose fiber enterprises has been significantly improved, mainly in two aspects.

First, the ability to develop new products has been enhanced. In 2021, 61% of the downstream enterprises think that the new products of fiber enterprises are good, which is 14% higher than 47% in 2019; However, 39% of the enterprises still think that the product development ability of fiber enterprises is general or poor. This shows that there is still a lot of room for improvement in the development of regenerated cellulose fiber products.

Second, the enthusiasm for cooperative development has been greatly increased. In 2021, 69% of the cotton textile enterprises think that fiber enterprises have high enthusiasm for cooperative development, which is 17% higher than that of 52% in 2019. The cooperative development of products between regenerated cellulose fiber enterprises and cotton textile enterprises can give full play to their respective advantages, help to strengthen the communication between the two sides, make full use of the resources of all parties, and develop more products that meet the market demand.

Generally speaking, in the spinning application, the cotton textile enterprises have outstanding opinions on the fiber strength, blending, defects, batch stability, supply stability, after-sales service and new product types of regenerated cellulose fiber, and there are obvious differences among different fiber enterprises in these six aspects.

Price fluctuation of viscose staple fiber affects downstream procurement

In addition to product quality, service satisfaction and product development ability, price is also an important factor for cotton textile enterprises to consider when using raw materials. Cotton, polyester staple fiber and viscose staple fiber are the three major raw materials in cotton spinning industry. The price trend in recent five years mainly has the following characteristics: first, the three have a certain degree of correlation, and the overall trend tends to be consistent; Second, since 2020, under the influence of trade friction between China and the United States and the epidemic situation of new crown pneumonia, the price of raw materials fluctuated significantly. In March 2021, the price of viscose staple fiber was even higher than that of cotton in the same period; Third, compared with cotton and viscose staple fiber, the price trend of polyester staple fiber is relatively stable.

The price fluctuation of viscose staple fiber is not only related to market demand, but also affected by the industry's own production capacity and output. In 2017, the inventory of viscose fiber industry was at a historical low level, and supply shortage supported the price rise of viscose staple fiber; In the same period, the price of viscose staple fiber was 15785 yuan / ton, which was basically the same as the price of 15911 yuan / ton of standard grade cotton.

Data source: China Cotton Textile Industry Association

Since 2018, the production capacity of viscose fiber industry has gradually released, and the contradiction between supply and demand has become prominent. Since then, on the basis of the contradiction between supply and demand, the impact of trade friction between China and the United States on China's downstream textile demand has led to a decline in the price of viscose staple fiber. From 2018 to 2019, the prices are 14546 yuan / ton and 11605 yuan / ton respectively. In 2020, combined with the impact of the new coronal pneumonia epidemic, its price will drop to the low point in recent years, which is 9376 yuan / ton. However, from August 2020, with the improvement of supply side margin, the demand side will increase and the price will gradually rise; The price will rise to the peak in March 2021; Since then, affected by the sluggish downstream demand, prices fell. In the whole year of 2021, the price will rise sharply to 13578 yuan / ton compared with 2020. 　

Lessel fiber enterprises should vigorously develop new products

In recent years, domestic Lyocell fiber has gradually developed and matured, and formed a certain scale. In this investigation, in addition to conventional viscose staple fiber, cotton textile enterprises also evaluated domestic Lyocell fiber.

Most cotton textile enterprises are satisfied with the strength index of Lyocell fiber, which is mainly due to the intrinsic characteristics of the fiber; The moisture regain and finish index of the fiber are also good, and some indexes are even better than the conventional viscose staple fiber; However, the problems of silk blending and defects are more prominent.

Cotton textile enterprises are satisfied with the stability of supply and the stability of package weight. This is mainly due to the rapid growth of the production capacity of Lyocell fiber industry in recent years, and the industry inventory is high, which can ensure the downstream demand; The evaluation of package weight stability is higher, thanks to the supply concept of fiber manufacturers, the packaging equipment applied by enterprises is basically new equipment in the industry, and the control of package weight is relatively better.

The two aspects that cotton textile enterprises have the lowest evaluation on China's Lyocell fiber enterprises are new product types and cooperative development enthusiasm. This shows that the products of Lyocell fiber manufacturers in China are relatively single, and most of them are conventional Lyocell short fibers (non crosslinked), while the cross-linked and semi crosslinked products are not mature.

Correspondingly, the development time of China's Lyocell fiber industry is relatively short, and the talents who can support the industrial chain cooperation and development are relatively scarce. Spinning technology and printing and dyeing technology are still the bottlenecks restricting the later application of Lyocell textiles. In the next step, the key to further expand the downstream demand of Lyocell fiber is to break through the key technology bottleneck through industrial chain cooperation.

Challenges and Prospects

The upgrading of industrial chain still faces three challenges

Through the investigation, it is found that in recent years, the development of regenerated cellulose fiber industry has experienced certain fluctuations due to the complex interweaving of multiple factors, but on the whole, breakthroughs have been made in many aspects, especially in actively practicing green development. However, the industrial chain still faces some challenges, which are embodied in the following three aspects.

First, the imbalance of supply and demand structure. With the continuous progress of regenerated cellulose fiber industry technology, viscose staple fiber single line production capacity increased rapidly, and Lyocell fiber technology achieved a breakthrough. During the 13th Five Year Plan period, the capacity of regenerated cellulose fiber industry increased rapidly, with viscose staple fiber capacity increasing by more than one million tons, and the production capacity of Lyocell fiber exceeded 200000 tons. However, due to a series of factors such as Sino US trade friction, industrial transfer and new crown pneumonia epidemic, there is a big gap in the downstream demand growth compared with the capacity expansion speed of upstream fiber enterprises. Affected by the mismatch between supply and demand, the capacity utilization rate of regenerated cellulose fiber industry has remained low in recent years, and enterprises are facing severe survival challenges.

Second, green sustainable attribute has not been transformed into product competitiveness. Lyocell fiber is known as a new generation of "green fiber" innovative products. However, due to the characteristics of the product itself and the difference between the subsequent processing and conventional viscose staple fiber, Lyocell fiber is generally regarded as an independent product in terms of market sales and terminal demand. Downstream customers purchase raw materials, the main factors considered include price, processing costs, product quality, after-sales service and terminal demand. At present, the market competitiveness of domestic Lyocell fiber is often focused on product quality and price. In the short term, the actual value of "green fiber" has not significantly promoted the downstream procurement.

Third, product quality and R & D efforts still need to be improved. In the survey, the cotton textile enterprises reflected that although China's renewable cellulose fiber production enterprises have made significant progress in product quality, new product research and development capacity, and cooperation and development enthusiasm, there is still a large room for improvement.

It is worth noting that some enterprises have gone ahead. For example, in addition to modal, high white fiber, functional fiber and other differentiated products, in order to improve the quality of yarn products, some renewable cellulose fiber enterprises are in-depth research on customized products more suitable for specific spinning machines. Some enterprises also optimize the performance of fibers in spinning by means of fine tuning production parameters and adjusting finishes, so as to support downstream customers to improve yarn cohesion and speed.

Three aspects should be grasped in the future development

In the new development stage, if the regenerated cellulose fiber industry and industrial chain enterprises want to continue to promote high-quality development, they need to grasp the following points.

One is to continue to build a green and sustainable industrial chain. As a renewable raw material and degradable fiber product, regenerated cellulose fiber has green and sustainable properties. With the increasing demand of terminal clothing brands for "sustainable raw materials", the industrial chain needs to further strengthen cooperation, jointly build a green and sustainable industrial chain, and provide sustainable and high-quality green textile raw materials "from nature and return to nature". At the same time, the industrial chain also needs to form a joint force to further strengthen the promotion, so that downstream enterprises and end consumers can truly understand and understand the regenerated cellulose fiber, and feel the charm of regenerated cellulose fiber.

Second, increase product development and application expansion. With the upgrading of consumption, renewable cellulose fiber products are more and more favored by consumers. The industry needs to continue to tap product characteristics, increase market development and supporting services, develop and customize differentiated products, further expand downstream applications and expand product usage. At the same time, enterprises should pay attention to the tracing technology of products, brand building of sustainable viscose staple fiber, R & D of cross-linked Lyocell fiber, spinning and dyeing technology of Lyocell fiber.

Third, give full play to the role of relevant industry associations and CV alliances. The commercial environment of the industrial chain, the green development of viscose fiber, and the technical bottleneck of spinning and printing and dyeing of Lyocell fiber belong to the common problems of the industry. Next, the regenerated cellulose fiber industry chain to promote high-quality development, need to solve these common problems. In this process, in addition to the enterprise's own efforts, it is also necessary to give full play to the leading role of relevant industry associations, CV alliance and other organizations, continue to strengthen industry exchanges and cooperation, and jointly explore feasible solutions.

(source: China Textile News)