The Lenzing Group (Lenzing) unveiled new plans to enhance its LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fiber offerings with the introduction of new grades, namely LENZING™ Lyocell EF fibers, and LENZING™ Lyocell Fibrillated fibers, within its range of fibers and to triple LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fiber production capacity at its Lenzing Fibers Grimsby Factory in the UK from early 2020.
These milestones are testaments to Lenzing’s commitment to enhancing product offerings of the LENZING™ brand, foster closer connection with brand partners, remain competitive in the constantly evolving business environment, and drive greater market demand on sustainable fiber adoption.
Smart solution
With the introduction of new grades in LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fiber offering, Lenzing is keen to provide smart solutions.
The fibrillar microstructure of LENZING™ Lyocell fibers helps to enhance sheet properties including physical performance, thermal stability, and chemical resistance properties of filter sheets.
Filtration efficiency
The energy required to fibrillate LENZING™ Lyocell EF fibers and the refining time can be reduced by as much as 50%
LENZING™ Lyocell EF (Enhanced Fibrillation) fibers exhibit enhanced fibrillation characteristics during the refining stage of the papermaking or wet lay nonwoven web formation process. Fibrils are liberated from the fiber surface during wet abrasion in the refining process, enhancing the fine particle filtration efficiency of filter media.
The extent of fibril formation is accelerated when compared to existing grades of LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fibers. This reduces the energy required to fibrillate LENZING™ Lyocell EF fibers to a target freeness value, and the refining time can be reduced by as much as 50%.
Environmentally responsible options
LENZING™ Lyocell Fibrillated fibers are supplied as ready-to-use fibrillated Lyocell fibers at a target degree of freeness.
“The new grades and enhanced properties of LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fibers will help broaden the appeal of these cellulosic fibers, addressing various needs of papermakers and filter media producers,” stated Andy Slater, Product Development Manager for Industrial Applications of Lenzing.
Made using environmentally responsible production processes, the high performance and high purity fibers have been widely recognized as key components of filter media and specialty papers.
Increased capacity for sustainable fibers
To pursue Lenzing’s ambitious initiatives, a capital expenditure project is underway at the Lenzing Fibers Grimsby factory in the UK, to extend and improve production capabilities for LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fibers.
The company plans to triple its production of LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fibers starting within the first weeks of 2020. In addition to the capacity expansion of LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fibers, improvements will also be implemented to the packaging of the specialty fiber grades to increase the damage resistance of small packages and reduce waste from used packaging materials.
Increased production capacity
Encouraging investment will enhance the production capacity & flexibility of the plant, support longer-term business growth “Our Grimsby plant is an important asset for Lenzing as it offers a wide range of specialty products that can appropriately address the needs of our customers. Such encouraging investment will enhance the production capacity and flexibility of the plant, support longer-term business growth, and increase the market share of specialty fibers in Lenzing,” said Marco Schlimpert, Senior Vice President of Europe & Americas of Lenzing.
“One of Lenzing’s many strong points is our dedication to develop environmentally responsible fibers. Today, we are one of the leading sought-after partners when it comes to high-quality sustainable fibers,” said Bernard Alowonou, Lenzing’s Vice President of Global Business Management New Business Areas.
Maintaining environmental balance
“The expansion of the Lyocell Shortcut fiber range and increased production capacity aligns with Lenzing’s sCore TEN strategies to offer specialty cellulosic fibers that are produced with a low environmental impact and provide clearly differentiated benefits.”
“In future, we anticipate an increasing demand for fibers, which are produced in an environmentally responsible manufacturing process and thus help to maintain environmental balance. LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fibers are biodegradable and compostable and can fully revert back to nature.”
Fiber standards
LENZING™ Lyocell Shortcut fibers are produced using manufacturing processes configured for accurate cutting of fiber lengths down to 2 mm. They are derived from the raw material wood that is harvested from certified and controlled sources following the stringent guidelines of the Lenzing Wood and Pulp Policy.
These fibers are also available with FSC® certification upon request. All LENZING™ Lyocell standard fiber types have been certified as compostable and biodegradable under industrial, home, soil, and marine conditions, thus they can fully revert back to nature.
