#Yarn & Fiber

2019-11-21

Toray creates world’s first porous carbon fiber with continuous pore structure

Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has created the world’s first porous carbon fiber with a nanosized continuous pore structure. Using this fiber as a support layer could lighten advanced membranes used in greenhouse gas separation and hydrogen production and make them more compact, thereby enhancing performance.

New material could benefit environment by enhancing performance of advanced gas separation membranes

The company will keep pushing ahead with R&D for this new material to foster carbon recycling, collaborating with other entities in developing applications to sustainably tap hydrogen energy and shrink environmental footprints.

Absorption- and adsorption-based facilities conventionally separate carbon dioxide, biogas, hydrogen, and other gases. The issue with such setups, however, is that they are large and consume a lot of energy, resulting in heavy carbon dioxide emissions. Gas separation methods employing membranes have thus attracted considerable attention. But despite ongoing research, no membranes have yet combined satisfactory gas separation performance and durability.

Image of porous Carbon Fiber with Continuous Pore Structure (c) 2019 Toray

Toray’s new material is chemically stable because it comprises carbon, and offers outstanding gas permeability. The material employs thin, flexible fibers, so when it is used to support gas membranes a module can house many of them. Modules can thus be compact and light. Such support makes it possible to combine a range of gas separation layers.

Toray looks to contribute to the swift commercialization of advanced separation membranes that are vital to materializing eco-friendly natural gas and biogas purification and hydrogen production.

Toray innovated its new material by combining its outstanding polymer technology with its market share-leading carbon fiber technologies and water treatment and other separation membrane technologies.

Harnessing its polymer technology enabled the company to create a porous carbon fiber with uniformly continuous pores and carbon. It is possible to set nano- through micro-level pore sizes for porous structures. Another possibility is to create a hollow fiber-shaped porous carbon fiber in the center of a fiber.

Prospective applications leveraging the excellent adsorption of Toray’s new material include electrode materials and catalyst carriers (base substances for fixing other substances) in high-performance batteries.

Toray will open its R&D Innovation Center for the Future in December this year. The new facility will serve as a global headquarters for strategic innovations by engaging with academic institutions and key partners from diverse fields. The company will collaborate with several partners in efforts leveraging its new material in a drive to commercialize more advanced gas separation membranes.

Under the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, the company looks to keep developing technologies that help materialize low-carbon economies by 2050 by contributing to resolutions of environmental, resources, and energy issues.

Hollow porous carbon fiber and internal porous structure (c) 2019 Toray

HEAD launches more sustainable(1) BOOM RAW racquet on Earth Day by using Toray’s bio-circular carbon fibers

HEAD continues to innovate with the launch of the BOOM RAW tennis racquet, an encouraging development in the search for a more sustainable future for racquet sports. All of the carbon fibers are bio-circular carbon fibers in the limited-edition and highly innovative BOOM RAW racquet, which offers the same explosive power - along with the same fun, feel and easy playability - as the regular, in-line BOOM racquet. The bio-circular carbon fibers are manufactured by Toray and its subsidiary Toray Carbon Fibers Europe.

Toray develops durable reverse osmosis membrane

Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed a highly durable reverse osmosis (RO) membrane (see glossary note 1). This innovative offering guarantees the long-term provision of high-quality water. It also maintains the superior removal performance of Toray’s existing membranes vital for reusing industrial wastewater and treating sewage.

Toray develops revolutionary Ion-Conductive polymer membrane for batteries that could dramatically extend vehicular cruise ranges

Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has developed an ion-conductive polymer membrane that delivers 10-fold the ion conductivity of predecessors. This new offering could accelerate the deployment of solid-state batteries (see glossary note 1), air batteries (glossary note 2), and other lithium metal batteries, greatly expanding the cruising ranges of electric vehicles, industrial drones, urban air mobility systems, and other transportation modes.

Better, faster, bio-based: Functional new Plastic alternatives

How can new bio-based and biohybrid materials with improved features be developed faster? Six Fraunhofer institutes are jointly exploring this question in the SUBI²MA flagship project, using an innovative bio-based polyamide developed by Fraunhofer researchers as a model. Its specific properties make it a promising alternative to fossil-based plastics.

TEXTILCOLOR AG launches strategic collaboration with Alpex, Majocchi, and Trans-Textil in the field of Pyroshell™ flame protection

TEXTILCOLOR AG, a leading provider of innovative solutions in textile chemistry, today announces the start of a strategic collaboration with Alpex Protection, Majocchi, and Trans-Textil. Starting November 1, 2025, the partners will jointly advance the flame-retardant finishing of textiles using the patented Pyroshell™ technology at production sites in Germany, France, and Italy.

Huntsman and Steitz Secura deliver breakthrough in sustainable safety footwear

Huntsman, in collaboration with Steitz Secura, has developed a breakthrough polyurethane (PU) solution that can help improve the circularity of safety footwear. Together, the two companies have created a DALTOPED® polyurethane midsole system that can incorporate recycled content without compromising performance – setting a new benchmark in protective footwear production.

T-CAN – Revolutionizing can transport

In virtually all spinning mills, transporting sliver cans is still done manually. Rising labor costs, lack of operators and increasing quality requirements make this a growing challenge. With T-CAN, Trützschler introduces a practical solution: a fully automated can transport system that will be presented live at ITMA ASIA 2025 in Singapore.

Francois Guetat joins Suominen as COO

Francois Guetat brings over two decades of global experience in operations, supply chain, and manufacturing excellence. Most recently, he served as SVP of Integrated Supply Chain at Kalmar, where he led business across sourcing, manufacturing, logistics and strategy. His leadership has been shaped by 22 years at Volvo, where he held key roles in Sweden, USA, and Poland.