For more than a century, rayon and other man-made cellulose fibers have been staples of the global textile industry. While the fibers themselves are derived from renewable plant material and are biodegradable, the industrial processes used to make them have long depended on large volumes of toxic and energy-intensive solvents. A new study from the University of British Columbia suggests that this trade-off may no longer be necessary.
Liu, H., Sun, H., Plaza, C. C., Sun, X., Hua, Q., & Jiang, F. (2025). Turning microfibrillated cellulose into continuous filaments through interfacial binding with dissolved cellulose. Chem Circularity, 100002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.checir.2025.100002
The research, led by Dr. Feng Jiang, an associate professor in UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, with doctoral researcher Huayu Liu, presents a method for producing continuous cellulose fibers while using significantly less chemical solvent than conventional rayon manufacturing. The work focuses on rethinking how cellulose needs to behave during fiber spinning, rather than redesigning the final material itself.
Dr. Feng Jiang from University of British Columbia stated,
“We hope these fibers will eventually be used for sustainable clothing and fabric manufacturing. This research shows that a more circular, lower-carbon pathway for textiles is possible.”
Traditional rayon production relies on fully dissolving cellulose pulp using harsh chemical systems. These solvents allow cellulose chains to flow and align during spinning, but they also introduce environmental and health concerns, from hazardous waste streams to high energy demand during solvent recovery. Many newer “greener” cellulose fibers still depend on complete dissolution, limiting how much the overall process can be simplified.
The UBC team took a different approach by starting with microfibrillated cellulose, or MFC. These microscopic strands are produced through mechanical grinding of pulp and require far fewer chemical inputs. MFC is already widely studied for packaging, composites, and bio-based materials, but it has typically been unsuitable for fiber spinning because it does not flow easily through spinnerets.
To overcome this limitation, the researchers introduced a small fraction of dissolved cellulose into the MFC suspension. Rather than serving as the main structural component, this dissolved portion acts as a binding phase, allowing the microfibers to move past one another, align, and twist into a continuous thread during spinning. The result is a stable, strong fiber that can be handled using conventional textile processes such as weaving and knitting.
By dissolving only a portion of the cellulose instead of all of it, the method reduces solvent use by up to 70 percent compared to traditional rayon processes. Just as importantly, the solvent used in the process can be fully recovered and reused, further lowering environmental impact. The approach also avoids the need for highly refined dissolving pulp, eliminating several upstream steps that typically involve bleaching and aggressive chemical treatment.
From an engineering perspective, the significance of the work lies in process efficiency rather than material novelty. The resulting fibers behave similarly to existing rayon-type fibers, which means adoption would not require major changes to downstream textile manufacturing infrastructure. This compatibility is often a critical barrier for sustainable materials entering established industries.
The research also aligns with broader efforts in textile engineering to move toward circular production systems. Rayon consumption continues to grow globally, particularly as brands seek alternatives to petroleum-based synthetic fibers. However, concerns over chemical pollution and worker safety have limited how sustainable rayon can realistically be considered. Incremental improvements to manufacturing chemistry, such as reducing solvent volume and simplifying feedstock preparation, can have large cumulative effects at scale.
At present, the fibers have been produced at laboratory scale. The UBC team is now exploring pathways toward larger-scale production and real-world textile testing. Collaborations with fashion and textile design researchers are already underway to assess how the fibers perform in knitted and woven fabrics.
While further development is needed before industrial adoption, the study demonstrates that cellulose fiber production does not have to rely on fully dissolving plant material to achieve usable results. By rethinking the role of solvents in fiber formation, the researchers offer a practical route toward cleaner textile manufacturing that builds on existing materials rather than replacing them entirely.
For an industry under increasing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, approaches like this suggest that meaningful gains can come from engineering the process as carefully as the product itself.
Adrian graduated with a Masters Degree (1st Class Honours) in Chemical Engineering from Chester University along with Harris. His master’s research aimed to develop a standardadised clean water oxygenation transfer procedure to test bubble diffusers that are currently used in the wastewater industry commercial market. He has also undergone placments in both US and China primarely focused within the R&D department and is an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
