16/05/2025 – Sustainable Textile Production
Bailu to explore new pathways for circular production
Bailu Group (Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co.) has launched a small-scale pilot production line for Next Gen viscose fibre at its new BylurRecel facility. The line will focus on producing regenerated cellulosic fibre using recovered textiles, the majority of which are post-consumer materials such as discarded hotel linens.
From left: Mr. Zixin ZHANG, Director of the Science and Technology Department, CCFA; Mr. Dinesh J. Dhankani, Chairman, Liberty Group; Ms. Shan HUA, Director, Chinese Textiles Economy Research Center, CNTAC; Mr. Changjin SHAO, Chairman, Xinxiang Chemical Fiber; Mr. Xinwei CHEN, President, CCFA; Mr. Yudong JI, Vice Chairman and General Manager, Xinxiang Chemical Fiber; Mr. Yueting XIE, Chief Engineer of Xinxiang Chemical Fiber, and President of the Bailu New Materials Institute. © Canopy/Bailu
The BylurRecel line features a simplified production process that skips the traditional dissolving pulp stage, instead using a direct-dissolution method. While still in the early stages, this method offers potential environmental benefits by reducing energy, water, and chemical use.
The project is an important step in the transition of China’s MMCF sector
The pilot facility has an initial annual capacity of 1,000 tonnes/yr of viscose staple fibre, with a second line under development for 1,000 tonnes/yr of viscose filament fibre. Bailu anticipates producing approximately 600 tonnes of Next Gen fibre in 2025. Given the early stage of this in-house technology, scale-up targets will be set pending operational performance of the pilot mills and supply chain logistics. “Congratulations to Bailu Group on the commissioning of its BylurRecel pilot facility. While still early in its development, this project is a noteworthy step in the transition of China’s MMCF sector to more circular and Next Gen production,” said Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director of Canopy. “Bailu Group’s investment to develop in-house technology for repurposing post-consumer textiles while eliminating the pulp-making stage is a promising approach that will take the pressure off of vital forest ecosystems. We look forward to seeing how this technology performs and how quickly Bailu can bring it to commercial scale.”
At scale, BylurRecel will meaningfully contribute to China’s national target to reduce textile waste by 30% by 2030, and is designed to align with a closed-loop model of “textiles – consumption – reuse”. This new offering complements Bailu’s Bailu-Eco viscose filament yarn made with Södra’s OnceMore recycled pulp. The company is based in Henan Province and has a total capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year.
