Dr. John F. Kadla
Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

"Developing an Environmentally-Safe Process for Producing High Strength Natural Fibers to Replace Rayon"

(Category: Conservation of Plant Resources)

The present process for producing rayon involves using high concentrations of hazardous chemicals that are environmentally damaging. It is predicted that within 10 years, rayon production will be phased out in the United States due to environmental pressures, causing a serious product loss. Cellulose, which can be obtained either from dissolving pulp, wood pulp, recycled paper or cotton linters, is the most abundant renewable resource for replacing this product. Presently there is only one commercial process for spinning regenerated cellulose fibers that meets today's environmental requirements, however, the solvent used in this spinning process forms explosive peroxides and the resulting fibers are weak. Dr. Kadla's goal is to research and test a plan to use "melt spinning" to develop a high-strength, natural fiber from cellulose, a renewable resource, in an environmentally safe process that also has lower energy demands. This process has the potential to become a major breakthrough in the use of cellulose. Not only would this process benefit the surrounding wildlife and ecosystems by eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals, but it would also improve the health and lives of the people involved in manufacturing regenerated cellulose fibers, thereby creating local and global benefits.