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How does wet spinning produce man-made textile fibres?
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man-made fibre
Figure 1: Three common polymer structures. The linear, branched, and network architectures are represented (from top), respectively, by high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and phenol formaldehyde (PF). The chemical structure and molecular structure of highlighted regions are also shown.
Wet spinning is a form of solution spinning used to produce man-made textile fibres. The process involves the following steps:
- Extrusion: A viscous polymer solution is pumped through a spinnerette, which contains fine holes. The spinnerette is typically submerged in a coagulation bath, known as a spin bath.1
- Coagulation: Within the bath, the solvent diffuses out of the extruded material while a nonsolvent (usually water) diffuses into it. This causes the polymer to coagulate into a gel.1
- Stretching and Washing: The resulting gel may be stretched to orient the molecules either during coagulation or after removal from the bath. The fibre is then washed with a nonsolvent to remove remaining chemicals.1
- Finishing and Drying: A lubricant, or fibre finish, is applied before the fibre is dried on large, heated drum rolls.1
- Collection: The final fibre is either wound onto spindles as continuous filaments or cut into shorter lengths known as staple.1
Wet spinning is highly economical because it allows for the production of large bundles of fibres, called tow, from a single spinnerette.1