Teijin Aramid demonstrates potential of circular high-performance fibers

Arnhem, The Netherlands, October 26, 2021 – Teijin Aramid, a world leader in aramid, has achieved yarn-to-yarn recycling for its flagship product Twaron®. The organization is now partnering with FibreMax and Hampidjan to demonstrate the performance of the resulting circular Twaron® fiber. Aligning with Teijin Aramid’s belief in taking responsibility for the environmental impact of its material flows, this development is a key step toward its goal of supplying fully circular high-performance fiber.

For more than 20 years, Teijin Aramid has been recycling aramids such as its Twaron® fiber into pulp, which is then used in automotive brake pads and gaskets. Now, for the first time, its Research and Innovation Center in Arnhem, the Netherlands, has successfully achieved yarn-to-yarn recycling using feedstocks from end-of-life materials.

Several hundred kilograms of Twaron® yarn have now been produced from materials of various recycling statuses. The properties of this circular Twaron® fiber are excellent, and its performance is equal to that of standard Twaron® fiber. Teijin Aramid has a patent pending for this breakthrough technology.

Performance testing in real-life

Teijin Aramid has now partnered with FibreMax, from the Netherlands, and Hampidjan, based in Iceland, to demonstrate the performance in demanding real-life applications. Using the circular Twaron® fiber, FibreMax will produce crane pendants and Hampidjan will produce slings for the offshore and shipping markets. In both applications, Twaron® will make up more than 90% of the final product’s weight. These partners are confident that Teijin Aramid’s new technology will enable circularity in high-performance applications and help to tackle the issue of waste from end-of-life products.

Next steps

In line with its belief that circular products will be the ‘new normal’, Teijin Aramid will also be scaling up production of its fully circular high-performance fiber, with the aim for circular Twaron® to be commercially available in 2024.

Jan Roos, Director Sustainability Teijin Aramid: “Our goal is a fully circular aramid value chain that works toward zero emissions. Our vision is a sustainable alliance of partners and customers that use aramid for different applications and retrieve it at the end of the products’ lifetime to close the aramid loop. Our new ability to re-spin yarn using recycled material is a game-changer for circularity in high-performance aramid fibers.”

About Teijin Aramid

Teijin Aramid is a subsidiary of the Teijin Group and world leader in aramids. Its aramid products Twaron®, Teijinconex®, Technora® and its ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) Endumax® are renowned for their strength, sustainability, safety, heat resistance and low weight and are used in a variety of markets and segments, including automotive, safety and life protection, aerospace and a wide range of industrial applications. These high-performance materials are produced in the Netherlands, Thailand and Japan.

For more information: www.teijinaramid.com

About the Teijin Group

Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the fields of environmental value; safety, security and disaster mitigation; and demographic change and increased health consciousness. Originally established as Japan’s first rayon manufacturer in 1918, Teijin has evolved into a unique enterprise encompassing three core business domains: high-performance materials, including aramid, carbon fibers and composites, and also resin and plastic processing, films, polyester fibers and products converting; healthcare, including pharmaceuticals and home healthcare equipment for bone/joint, respiratory and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, nursing care and pre-symptomatic healthcare; and IT, including B2B solutions for medical, corporate and public systems as well as packaged software and B2C online services for digital entertainment. Deeply committed to its stakeholders, as expressed in the brand statement “Human Chemistry, Human Solutions”, Teijin aims to be a company that supports the society of the future. The group comprises more than 170 companies and employs some 20,000 people across 20 countries worldwide. Teijin posted consolidated sales of JPY 836.5 billion (USD 7.7 billion) and total assets of JPY 1,036.4 billion (USD 9.5 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2021. For more information, please visit www.teijin.com

About FibreMax

FibreMax produces lightweight precision cables using a unique and one-of-a-kind production process. All cables are produced with their patented endless winding technology, which is a totally automated process of continuous winding of parallel strands of fibres around two end fittings until the right cable strength or required cable stretch has been reached. After the required length has been programmed, the EWR (endless winding robot) computer calculates the amount of fibres and the amount of loops required for the specified cable. During the winding process the EWR maintains an equal tension in all fibres. This results in the highest break load, lowest stretch and lowest possible diameter. It also ensures that cables are produced with high repeatability; when producing multiple cables, all cables will have exactly the same specifications. These precision cables are 85% percent lighter than the steel equivalent, require no maintenance and have a much longer lifespan.

For more information, please visit www.fibremax.nl

About Hampidjan

The Hampidjan Group has been producing ropes, nets, and slings for the shipping, offshore, and fishing industries since 1934, as well as making technical material recommendations. Today, its 28 companies serve the world’s fishing fleets at 35 locations around the world, from Dutch Harbor in Alaska to Nelson in New Zealand. Hampidjan sees innovation as the key to facing new challenges, and increasingly focuses on developing more sustainable solutions.  For more information, please visit www.hampidjan.com