6/16/2010 Nizam Yaquby - Bahrain 1

Lyocell
Imrananwar_112ntu@yahoo.com

NATIONAL TEXTILE UNIVERSITY

FAISALABAD

PAKISTAN
 Introduction Of Presentation
Manufacturing
Properties
Pretreatment
Fiberillation
Dyeing
Processing Routes
End uses
References
 Lyocell Manufacturing
Lyocell is defined as
a regenerated cellulosic fiber obtain by
spinning of dissolved wood pulp in an organic
solvent (NMMO).
It is 100% natural regentrated fiber from wood
sources
Solvent spinning used for process of
manufacturing
 Lyocell Manufacturing
Main ingredient for Lyocell
Wood from oak tree or bich
An amine oxide(N-methylmorpholine N-oxide(NMMO)
Water
A finishing agent such as silicon based lubricant

NMMO is used to dissolve the wood pulp obtain from self

sustaining resources of harvested trees and it is non toxic
and recycled with in the process leading to minimal and
harmless effluent
Lyocell Manufacturing

Oak Logs Birch Logs

Lyocell Manufacturing
The Manufacturing Process involve steps
Preparing the wood pulp
Dissolving the cellulose in NMMO
Filtering
Solvent Spinning (immersed in amine oxide after spinning)
Drying and finishing
Cutting staple form and baled
Recovery of the solvent
Lyocell Manufacturing
Lyocell Manufacturing
Some brand name of lyocell
Tencell (first Lyocell commercially manufacture by Acrodis
in 1988(Courtaulds plc))
Tencell100 (non fibrillating)( Courtaulds/ Acrodis)
NewCell (Akzo Nobel)
Lenzing Lyocell(Lenzing)
Alceru (TITK)
Cocel (Hanil)
Lyocell Manufacturing
Process route differenceof tencell and lenzing lyocell
Lyocell Manufacturing
Some properties of lyecell
High strength and tenacity both wet and
dry state than viscose and cotton
High incidence of crystalline area and
degree of orientation
Low shrinkage in water and good
dimension stability of garments
Unique property of fibrillation
LYOCELL MANUFACTURING
High dyeability than cotton and viscose
High strength to alkali than viscose
High swelling capacity that increase with NaOH
and decrease with polycarboxylic treatment
Can absorb excess liquid and quickly release it to
the atmosphere
High suitability for creation of mill wash , sand
wash, used look or peach skin look fabric
Lyocell Manufacturing
Lyocell have good comfort due to less resistance to thermal
transmission and higher vapour permeability (good thermal
management and moisture management)

Strength and elongation comparison of tencell with other fibres

Property Tencell Viscose Cotton Polyester

Dry tenacity(cN/Tex) 38-42 22-26 20-24 55-60

Wet tenacity(cN/Tex)
34-38 10-15 26-30 54-58

Dry elongation(%) 14-16 20-25 7-9 25-30

Wet elongation(%)
16-18 25-30 12-14 25-30
 Lyocell Manufacturing

Tencell absorb 50% more moisture than cotton

25

20

15

MR%
10

0
Tencell Viscose cotton polyester
Lyocell Manufacturing
Lyocell key characteristics
Distinctive soft handle
Excellent drape
Silky luster
High strength
Good wash ability
Pretreatment of Lyocell
Why Pretreatment?
As lyocell contains impurities as other natural
fiber have; so for achieving desirable properties
we have to treat the fiber with preliminary
processes. Pretreatment, basically removes the
undesirable contents of fiber and modifies the
fiber in such a way that further following steps are
done with great ease.
 Pretreatment of Lyocell
Contaminations in Lyocell
Following are the impurities of great importance in lyocell
fiber:

Contaminations Tencel A100

Total Ash Content (%) 1.41

Acid insoluble Ash (ppm) 143

Sodium (ppm) 89

Calcium (ppm) 760

Magnesium (ppm) 720

 Pretreatment of Lyocell
Comparison of Contaminations
Following table gives a comparison chart of
contaminations lyocell with cotton and modal:

Cotton Tencel A100 Modal

Total Ash Content (%) 1.41 0.11 0.21

Acid insoluble Ash (ppm) 143 23 37

Sodium (ppm) 89 590 840

Calcium (ppm) 760 16 20

Magnesium (ppm) 720 4 8

Pretreatment of Lyocell
General Requirements in pretreatment
General Requirements in Pre-treatment of woven
lyocell include:
Complete removal of size
Good absorbency
Adequate whiteness
Good dyeability
Good dimensional stability
Crease-free fabric
No abrasion marks
End-to-end and side-centre-side levelness of
treatment
Good reproducibility
Pretreatment of Lyocell
Singeing and Desizing
Lyocell fabrics are singed to remove the
protruding fibers and simplify the de-fibrillation
process later on. Desizing is normally done in
open-width. If the fabric contains only water-
soluble sizes, it is washed-only on open-width
washing machine or jigger. If starch is present,
desizing may be done by enzymatically or
oxidatively using cold pad-batch method, open-
width washing machine or jigger .
 Pretreatment of Lyocell
Examples of typical desizing processes
Size Process Ingredients Conditions
Type

Continuous 2-5 ml/l Wetting agent/ Detergent Temperature 80-95C

Water-soluble sizes Starch/ Water-insoluble

open-width 1-2 ml/l Sequestrant Time 1-4 minutes

washing X g/l Soda Ash or Caustic Soda (depending on Final hot rinse
machine type of size)

Jigger 1-2 ml/l Wetting agent/ Detergent Liquor ratio 1:5

1-2 ml/l Sequestrant Temperature 80-90C
X g/l Soda Ash or Caustic Soda (depending on No. of passes 4 or minimum 30 minutes
type of size) Final hot rinse

Cold Pad-batch 2-6 ml/l Amylases Enzyme Impregnation at 20-60C

Enzymatic 3-5 ml/l Wetting agent/ Detergent Pick-up 100%
Desizing 1-2 ml/l Sequestrant Dwell time 4-24 hours
Final Hot rinse
Size

Jigger 2-4 ml/l Amylases Enzyme Liquor ratio 1:5

1-2 ml/l Wetting agent/ Detergent Temperature depending on type of enzyme used
1-2 ml/l Sequestrant Time minimum 30 minutes
Addition of enzyme only when suitable
temperature reached
Final hot rinse
 Pretreatment of Lyocell
Three-in-One (T-I-O)
Three-in-One (T-I-O) process Oxidative
desizing
Bleaching
may be used for oxidative
desizing, bleaching and
Caustisizing
causticizing in one step .

T-I-O
Pretreatment of Lyocell
The position of T-I-O process in the overall processing route is given as follows:

Singeing

T-I-O pre-treatment process primary

fibrillation

enzymatic de-fibrillation

Dyeing

Finishing
Pretreatment of Lyocell
T-I-O process consists of impregnating the fabric at room
temperature with
8-15 ml/kg H2O2 (35%)
40 g/kg NaOH (100%)
8-12 ml/kg Tinoclarite CBB
3-6 ml/kg Invatex CRA
The pick up is adjusted to 100% and the impregnated
fabric is batched to dwell for 4-24 hours before a hot wash.
It has been found that fabrics undergone T-I-O process exhibit
better colour yield as compared to enzymatically desized
fabrics.
Pretreatment of Lyocell
Mercerization
Mercerization with NaOH causes increase in
degree of lyocell swelling. However, there is
a notable decrease in tensile strength when
lyocell is treated with strong alkali solutions
higher than 7.5 wt% while Mercerization at
10 wt% causes more than 10% weight loss
in lyocell fibres.
 Pretreatment of Lyocell
Effect of concentaration of NaOH on dyeability
Pretreatment of Lyocell
Fibrillation
Fibrillation is the partial detachment of microfibrills from
the fibers. These microfibrills are typically less than 1 to 4
microns in diameter and give, on one hand, a white
frosty appearance to the fabric and, on the other had,
special peach-skin soft handle. Main causes of lyocell
fibrillation tendency are the high wet swelling (approx.
65% increase in volume) of lyocell and weak lateral links
between the crystallites rendering it susceptible to
mechanical abrasion.
Pretreatment of Lyocell
Primary Fibrillation
Primary fibrillation often results in the presence of long
fibrils which are able to entangle and result in fabric
pilling.
A guide process for primary fibrillation is as follows:
load the goods in a suitable jet.
Pour in 2 g/l suitable lubricant while setting the bath at 60C.
Add 2 g/l crease inhibitor and 2-3 g/l soda ash or caustic soda
lye.
Increase the temperature to 80-95C. Treat the goods for 60-
120 minutes.
Drain off the bath, rinse and neutralize.
Pretreatment of Lyocell
Defibrillation or Enzyme Clean
Defibrillation can be done on the jet
machines using acid cellulases enzymes.
The process is carried out using a suitable
cellulases enzyme (1-3% o.w.f.)
2 g/l crease inhibitor and 2 g/l lubricant at a
liquor ratio of 5:1-10:1
A strict control of temperature and pH (using
buffer system) is ensured before the addition
of enzyme.
Pretreatment of Lyocell
The pH and temperature is set as per the enzyme
manufacturers recommendations.
The treatment is carried out for 45-90 minutes
and then the enzyme is denatured either by
raising the temperature or pH by using sodium
bicarbonate or sodium carbonate.
The bath is drained off and the goods are given a
final hot rinse.
Pretreatment of Lyocell
The benefits of cellulases treatment include:
Improved softness and surface smoothness
De-fuzzing
De-pilling
Pill prevention
Improved drapability
Improved surface appearance after
repeated laundering
Reduced tendency to fibrillate
Pretreatment of Lyocell
Secondary Fibrillation
Unlike long-staple irregular primary fibrillation,
secondary fibrillation results in the presence of short
fibrils which are not usually able to entangle and cause
pilling. Secondary fibrillation is usually done after
dyeing and finishing.
Two main effects of the secondary fibrillation are:
A small pile created on the surface of the fabric, giving
the fabric a peach-skin hand
Fibrils, being a fraction of the size of the fibers, appear
much lighter in color than the fibers even when they
contain the same amount of dye. This optical effect
gives the dusted or mill-wash appearance to the fabric.
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Exhaust
Method

Lyocell fabrics can be dyed by using same

classes of dyes and methods as are used
for other cellulosic fibers. However, the
dyeability of lyocell is higher as
compared to that of other conventional
cellulosic fibers.
 Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Exhaust
Method
Dye ability of Lyocell vs. Other Cellulosic Fibers
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Exhaust
Method
Dye Selection
Appropriate dye selection is important keeping in view the fact
that natural affinity of reactive dyes for lyocell is greater than that
for cotton. Those reactive dyes are suitable which are
characterized by:
Excellent exhaustion and fixation
Good migration properties
Excellent level dyeing
Robustness to process variables
Easy wash-off profile
Bi-functional and tri-functional reactive dyes have been reported
to improve the wet abrasion strength of lyocell while non-cross-
linking mono-functional dyes are ineffective in that respect.
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Exhaust
Method
Main parameters for dyeing lyocell in
rope form
Fabric tube/rope diameter
Fabric speed
Rope circulation time
Differential pressure
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Exhaust
Method
Liquor add-on (in aerodynamic systems),
which depends on
Fabric type (woven or knitted)
Fabric density
Fabric GSM (grams per square meter)
The final fabric appearance required
Difference in winch speed and fabric speed
Higher speed differences may cause over-
fibrillation
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Exhaust
Method
Auxiliaries
Wetting agent (may be omitted if appropriate emulsifiable
yarn lubricants are used)
Sequestering agent to sequester alkaline earth metals that
may be introduced by water or electrolyte
Electrolyte to increase exhaustion (note: due to high affinity
of reactive dyes for lyocell than for cotton, the electrolyte
requirement for dyeing lyocell is less than that for dyeing
cotton)
Fabric lubricant with good emulsifying properties
Alkali for dye fixation
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Cold Pad-batch Method

Cold pad-batch method has the

following characteristics:
High productivity as compared to exhaust
method
Low energy costs
Low water costs (around 60 l/kg or less as
compared to >100 l/kg in exhaust dyeing)
No use of salt
Low effluent load
Limited fibrillation
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Cold Pad-batch Method

No abrasion marks
Less crease marks
Long fixation times
High cost of correcting faulty shades
Risk of tailing
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Cold Pad-batch Method

Conditions in pad batch dyeing

Good fabric hydrophilicity for ensuring uniform dye uptake
Freedom from residues
Uniform moisture content and temperature (20-25C) of the
fabric throughout the length and width of the fabric
Small liquor trough for ensuring rapid liquor exchange (in less
than 3 minutes), particularly for dyes of low liquor stability, in
order to prevent premature dye hydrolysis and reduce risk of
tailing
Good control of temperature of dye and alkali liquors and the
trough temperature for ensuring bath stability
Dyeing of Lyocell Fabrics by Cold Pad-batch Method

Use of trichromatic combinations with similar substantivity

Optimum fabric speed to ensure fabric immersion time of
about 1 sec.
Liquor pick-up of 85-100%
Approximately 30-60 sec. air passage after padding and
before batching up, to minimize pressure on the batching roll
due to lyocell swelling
Use of relatively high-diameter foam-covered batching rolls,
to provide room for fibre swelling while on the batcher
A centre wind to ensure constant winding tension on the
batching roll
Processing of Lyocell in Garment Form
Processing of lyocell in garment form can be done
to obtain different effects such as:
Mill-wash appearance
Excellent hand
Bulk

Main processing routes for processing lyocell

garments are:
Indigo garment wash
Piece dye for garment wash
Garment dye
Processing of Lyocell in Garment Form
Garment Dyeing

Route 1:
Primary fibrillation of
garment De-fibrillation with
enzymes Dyeing (where
secondary fibrillation occurs)
Route 2:
Dyeing (where primary
fibrillation occurs) de-
fibrillation with enzymes
Secondary fibrillation

Characteristics of Route 1: Characteristics of Route 2:

Peach-skin hand Peach-skin hand
Classic appearance Distressed look
Good batch to batch Poor shade
shade reproducibility reproducibility due to use
of enzyme after dyeing
Fastness Properties of Dyed Lyocell
Fabrics

Washing fastness is comparable with the

fastness properties achieved by same
dyes on fabrics made from other
cellulosic fibers. However, a poor rating
may be obtained as compared to other
cellulosic fabrics because of fabric
fibrillation.
Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics
There are tree processing routes for Lyocell
1. Open-width desizing, scouring Primary fibrillation in a suitable
jet with 1-5 g/l Sodium Carbonate at 90-120C Rinsing De-
fibrillation with cellulase enzymes (typically with 2-4 % o.w.f. at
pH 4.5-5, 55C ) Denaturing of Enzyme by increasing
temperature up to 80C Rinsing Dyeing (with reactive dyes
of low reactivity and low-to-medium substantivity) + Secondary
Fibrillation Rinsing Soaping/Washing-off Rinsing
Softening Tumble Drying (to enhance peach-skin effect)
Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics

1. Typical Processing Route for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics

Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics

2. Open-width desizing, scouring Combined primary

fibrillation and Dyeing (at 130C using high-
temperature stable reactive dyes) Rinsing
Washing-off/Soaping Rinsing Enzyme wash/
De-fibrillation (typically at 55C) Denaturing of
enzyme (by raising temperature to 80C) +
Secondary fibrillation Rinsing Softening
Tumble Drying (to enhance peach-skin effect)
Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics
2. Alternative Route for Processing 100% Lyocell
Woven Fabrics, Combining Primary Fibrillation &
Dyeing
Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics

Open-width desizing, scouring Combined dye

exhaustion (of reactive dyes stable at 130C) and primary
fibrillation Enzyme Wash/De-fibrillation (typically at
55C) Denaturing of enzyme (by raising temperature
at 80C) + dye fixation (by adding alkali, if necessary) +
Secondary Fibrillation Rinse Washing-off/Soaping
Rinse Softening Tumble Drying (to enhance
peach-skin effect)
Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics
3. An Alternative Route for Processing 100% Lyocell Woven fabrics,
Combining Secondary Fibrillation and Dye Fixation
Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics

An Alternative Processing Route for Lyocell, including Pad-batch Dyeing

Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics
An alternative Processing Route for Lyocell without
Secondary Fibrillation
Processing Routes for 100% Lyocell Woven Fabrics

Processing Route for Non-fibrillating Lyocell

End Uses of Lyocell
Main uses for Lyocell
Apparel
Dresses
slacks
coats
jeans
End Uses of Lyocell
Lyocell is more expensive to produce than cotton or
rayon, but is included in many everyday items. Staple
fiber are used in apparel items such as
denim,
chino,
underwear
Other casual wear clothing
towels.
End Uses of Lyocell
End Uses of Lyocell
Filament fibers are used in items that have a
silkier appearance such as womens clothing
and mens dress shirts. Lyocell can be blended
with a variety of other fibers such as silk,
cotton, rayon, polyester, linen, nylon, and
wool.
End Uses of Lyocell
End Uses of Lyocell
Lyocell is also used in

Conveyer Belt
Specialty Paper
Medical Dressing
End Uses of Lyocell
Tencel is also used for making

baby diaper wipes

Costco/Kirkland is one brand that uses the
material.
References
Developments in the Processing of Lyocell Fabris By: Dr.
Tanveer Hussain
http://www.tencel.at accessed on 14-06-10
http://www.lenzing.com accessed on 14-06-10
J. M. Taylor, M. J. Bradbury and S. Moorhouse, Dyeing Tencel
and Tencel A100 with Poly-Functional Reactive Dyes, AATCC
Review, No. 10 page 21-24 (2001).
J. M. Taylor and A. L. Harnden, An Introduction to Tencel
Processing, International Dyer, August 1997, page 14.
K. Gandhi et. al., A Novel Route for Obtaining Peach Skin
Effect on Lyocell and its Blends, AATCC Review, No. 4 page
48-52 (2002)
References

B. Jakob and E. Agster, Pretreatment and Finishing of Lyocell Woven Fabrics,

International Textile Bulletin, No. 3, page 18-26 (1998).
http://www.everything2.com accessed on 14-06-10
http://www.madehow.com accessed on 14-06-10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyocell accessed on 14-06-10
http://www.fibersource.com accessed on 14-06-10