Special Processes and Plants

In addition to the processes and plants for producing man-made fibers and filaments described in Chapters 2 and 4, new products and processes are continuously being developed to meet particular requirements related to polymers, production or the properties of the end products, among others. Examples here are the short-spinning process, bicomponent spinning and micro-, super micro fibers and carbon fibers. Also, many “high tech” fibers are spun in such small quantities that laboratory or pilotsized plants are more than adequate. While l t/24 h carbon fiber is a large production rate, the required ca. 2 t/24 h PAN fiber precursor is a very low production rate for PAN, which nevertheless needs to be produced on a special plant. For medical application, special fibers are produced at a rate of only a few kg/24 h; the same applies for optical fibers. As a compilation of special processes could include as many types as one likes, and as many new processes are continuously being developed, only certain processes and plants are discussed as examples in the sections below.