This technology is an alginate composition and the extruded fiber produced from it, incorporated into yarn, knit, and woven fabrics as a plant-based, compostable alternative to petrochemical textile polymers.
The textile industry relies heavily on petroleum-derived fibers such as polyester and nylon, which persist in the environment and carry a substantial carbon footprint. Cotton and other agricultural fibers require arable land, freshwater irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides. Alginate is a polysaccharide extracted from kelp and other brown algae, and kelp is among the fastest growing and most rapidly replenishing organisms on earth, cultivated without any of these inputs. Conventional alginate fibers, however, have not met the requirements of industrial textile production, losing tensile strength when hydrated and turning brittle when dehydrated.
This technology is an alginate-based fiber whose composition combines sodium alginate with methyl cellulose and a glycerol plasticizer. The blend is extruded into a calcium chloride bath, where the alginate is cured into continuous filaments. The plasticizer reduces brittleness, and the ratio of alginate to methyl cellulose governs the strength, stiffness, and toughness of the resulting fiber. Composition and bath concentration are defined ranges, allowing mechanical properties to be tuned across the working window.
Extruded fibers have been produced and characterized. Available data cover tensile properties across a range of alginate to methyl cellulose ratios and curing bath concentrations, fiber morphology and elemental composition including calcium uptake during curing, linear mass density, and drying behavior.
Theanne Schiros, Ph.D.
Patent Issued (US12,644,206)
IR CU19029
Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu
