New Cellulosic Materials Produced by Thermoplastic Processing of Silylcellulose

The application of melt spinning processes for the production of cellulosic fibres would be a significant sign of progress for economic and environmental reasons. A process for melt spinning of trimethyl-silycellulose (TMSC) was developed. Bis(trimethyl-)silylcarbamate (BSC) was found to be excellent for the silylation of cellulose due to good swelling and penetration into cellulose. The synthesis could be performed without catalyst and absolutely salt free. For this reason silylcellulose had superior melt processing properties and could be melt spun without any additives at temperatures below 250°C with spinning speeds up to 1000m/min. Pure cellulosic fibres were obtained after hydrolysis of the silylgroups. Hexamethy-disiloxane formed could be recycled by catalysed insertion of isocyanuric acid which was received by thermal decomposition of urea. The resulting fibres properties were close to tyre cord yarns. All process chemicals were recycled. It was Thought that the process is still on a laboratory scale so that there is potential for launching the pilot plant scale due to the high productivity of the process. __________________________________________________