A new technology for the production of wood-based textile fiber industry is quietly emerging. The production process is not only lower in cost than natural fibers and man-made fibers, but also has a much smaller impact on the environment. Given these broad prospects and the growing demand for people, this wood-based fiber production technology is attracting large-scale investments in Western markets.

A joint venture between the Mets? Group and Itochu is the evidence of this European papermaking trend. The two companies worked together to set up a pilot plant with an annual output of 500 tons of textile fibers for converting wet pulp into textile fiber products. The plant is located in Finland-nekoski, near the Forest Group, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Business Finland, a Finnish government fund agency, provided 40 million euros in financing for the project.

The main challenge for wood-based textile fiber technology remains how to make cellulose pulp and the pulp dissolution process. The solubility of pulp is controlled by a series of very complex interactions between kinetic and thermodynamic parameters, primarily influenced by the composition and degree of polymerization of the carbohydrate. The correct pretreatment method, or more accurately, the combination of pretreatments, is to satisfy the solubility index and increase the stability of the cellulose gum.