Oerlikon presented new staple fibre process at ITMA 2023

EvoSteam process paves the way for more sustainable staple fibre production.

World premiere at the international ITMA trade fair in Milan: for the first time, Oerlikon presented its innovative new development, the EvoSteam, for manufacturing PET staple fibres. Visitors to the Oerlikon trade fair stand were extremely interested in the new, innovative technology, with business discussions very clearly showing that the new development fulfills the needs of potential clients. The EvoSteam process convinces both in terms of its energy, water and raw material savings and also with regards to lowering operating expenses and the carbon footprint – simultaneously with excellent fiber qualities.

Visitors to the trade fair spoke about a pioneer for more sustainable staple fiber production. “This shows that our customers have understood that the EvoSteam process has tremendous potential and represents a huge step forward”, comments Martin Rademacher, Head of Sales Oerlikon Neumag, thrilled by the across-the-board positive trade fair feedback in Milan.

Performance in numbers

When developing the EvoSteam process, our engineers focused both on fibre quality and in particular also on sustainability, energy efficiency and reducing the consumption of resources. Compared to conventional staple fibre systems, an increase in efficiency of up to 12 per cent, a reduction in production waste of up to 50 per cent along with energy savings of up to 8 per cent speak a very clear language. With water savings of up to 10 million litres per annum and a lowering of the carbon footprint by up to 20 per cent, this Oerlikon system helps fibre manufacturers achieve their sustainability targets.

EvoSteam process dispenses with liquid baths

10 million litres less water: the function of the immersion bath is assumed by a carefully-coordinated set- up comprising godets and pulsed spray nozzles. Consequently, moisture is precision-metered and added to the process as required. Completely dispensing with liquid baths generates significant savings in terms of water, energy and spin finish, while simultaneously also increasing occupational safety and cleanliness at the production line. “In conventional drawing processes, large volumes of water are used to control the temperature and provide the requisite moisture in the fibre tow. At the end of the process, this water must be removed from the tow again, which is a very resource- and energy-intensive process”, states Martin Rademacher. “The sparing utilisation of water enables a significant reduction in the requisite drying energy, which translates into a tremendous cost benefit for our customers.”

Optimised draw point release and improved drive concept

Up to 12 per cent superior efficiency: the new, optimised draw point release permits higher production speeds and hence increased production volumes. The fibre draw point is released by a precisely-focused vapor curtain, is now carried out more evenly and dramatically minimises the friction between the filaments in the tow. In addition, an innovative drive concept reduces yarn slippage on the godets, improves the process stability and hence increases system availability. Both technological innovations improve the yarn quality demanded by the downstream processes and which play a decisive role for manufacturers’ margins.

Spotlight on reducing waste

The development focused not only on resource-efficient fiber production and improving the fibre qualities, it has also been designed to dramatically reduce the waste generated when manufacturing with this system concept. Martin Rademacher comments on this: “With all the optimisations, we promise a 50 per cent reduction in production waste.”