SPINNING PROCESS

TABLE OFCONTENT

Spinning process
Melt spinning
Solution spinning
Wet spinning
Dry spinning
Gel spinning
Dry jet wet spinning
Electrospinning
 SPINNINGPROCESS
❑ Spinning is a manufacturing process for creating polymer fibers. It is a
specialized form of extrusion that uses a spinneret to form multiple
continuous filaments.
❑ There are many types of spinning: wet, dry, dry jet-wet, melt, gel, and
electrospinning.
❑ First, the polymer being spun must be converted into a fluid state.
❑ The polymer can be simply melted, otherwise it is dissolved in a solvent or
chemically treated to form soluble or thermoplastic derivatives.
❑ The molten polymer is then forced through the spinneret, then it cools to a
rubbery state, and then a solidified state.
❑ If a polymer solution is used, then the solvent is removed after being
forced through the spinneret.
 MELT SPINNING
A polymer is melted and heated to a suitable viscosity for fiber production.
The melted polymer is pushed through a spinneret, which is a type of die
consisting of several small holes.
Each hole produces an individual fiber, and the number of holes on a
spinneret defines the number of fibers in the yarn.
The melted polymer fibers then passes through a cooling region and the
fibers are combined to form a yarn and a spin finish is applied.
The yarn is then drawn using several godets rolls with very good speed and
temperature control to orient the molecules in the fibers and eliminate voids,
making the yarn stronger.
If the polymer is thermoplastic, then melt spinning should be used for higher
productivity.
P olyester, polypropylene, nylon and PGA, are produced using melt spinning.
REQUIREMENTS OF MELT SPINNING :
The polymer should not be volatile.
The polymer should not decompose in the molten state
Polymer should be processed at 30 degree centigrade less than its
decomposition temperature.

FIBER WHICH PROCESSED BY MELT SPINNING :

Polyester, Nylons, Olefins, Polypropylene, Saran, Sulfar etc.
Process Flow Chart of Melt Spinning
Feeding (Polymer chips)
↓
Melting
↓
Metered extrusion
↓
Cooling and solidification by cold air
↓
Moisture conditioning
↓
Lubrication
↓
Yarn driving
↓
Packaging
 ADVANTAGES OF MELT SPINNING :
Can b e used for both staple a n d continuous filament.
Direct a n d simple process.
No environment pollution.
No solvent required.
Non toxicity a n d no risk of explosion.
High production speed ( 2500 – 3000 ft/min ).
Low investment cost.

DISADVANTAGES :
Required more proper maintenance of the Moisture content.
Heat of input is high.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn6K1m7yH0I
 SOLUTION SPINNING
In solution spinning, a polymer is dissolved in a suitable solvent and is
extruded inside a coagulation bath containing a non-solvent (immersion-
jet wet spinning) or into a heated chamber of air (dry spinning).
 WETSPINNING

❑ These processes are used for thermoset polymers such as acrylic, liquid
crystalline polymers (Kevlar and Nomex), and polyurethane.

❑ In wet spinning, the polymer is dissolved in a solvent at a target

concentration to make a polymer solution with the desired viscosity.

❑ This polymer solution is then extruded under heat (if needed) and pressure
into a liquid coagulation bath.

❑ Then fibers are combined as yarn and the yarn is drawn, with very good
controls, to orient the molecules in the fibers so that it becomes stronger.
 Working Flow Chart of Wet Spinning Process
At first solid polymer and suitable solvent is dissolved in a solution vessel.
↓
The solution is then heated in heat exchanger.
↓
The solution is passed/extruded to spinneret which immersed in a coagulation
bath/spin bath by pump.
↓
The polymer is chemically regenerated and it is converted into the filament of solid form.
↓
The filament is converged and wound on bobbin.
↓
The wended filament is then drawn and finally it is washed & dried and is also
wound on suitable package.
↓
Delivery
ADVANTAGES OF WET SPINNING :
Large tows can be handled.
Better than melt and dry spinning for temperature sensitive polymers.

DISADVANTAGES
Slow process ( 70 – 150 yd/min ).
Washing to remove impurities.
Solvent and chemical recovery is costly.
Lower production rates than melt or dry spinning due to viscous drag.

TYPICAL WET SPUN FIBERS:

Viscose ( Rayon )
Cuprammonium rayon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0VFeMTSIb4
 DRYSPINNING
❑ Dry spinning is used to form polymeric fibers from solution. The polymer is
dissolved in a volatile solvent and the solution is pumped through a spinneret
(die).

❑ As the fibers exit the spinneret, air is used to evaporate the solvent so that the
fibers solidify and can be collected.

❑ Stretching of the fibers provides for orientation of the polymer chains along
the fiber axis.
❑ Cellulose acetate (acetone solvent) is an example of a polymer which is dry
spun commercially in large volumes.
❑ Due to safety and environmental concerns associated with solvent handling
this technique is used only for polymers which cannot be melt spun.
 Process Flow Chart of Dry Spinning
Feed
↓
Metered extrusion
↓
Solidification by solvent
↓
Evaporation
↓
Lubrication
↓
Yarn driving
↓
Packaging
ADVANTAGES OF DRY SPINNING:
It is suitable for heat sensitive polymer.
The post spinning operation is simple.
High spinning speeds can be easily achieved.
Moderate concentration of polymer is required.
It is relatively flexible process and spinning conditions can be modified.
Suitable for producing fine denier fibers.
No need to wash the fiber.

DISADVANTAGES:
Investment cost is high, slow process
Difficult to achieve exact cross section of fibers.
Additional post spinning process isrequired.
Toxic and risk of explosion, heat input is very high.
Can not be used for staple fiber production.
POLYMERS AND SOLVENTS IN DRYSPINNING
POLYMER SOLVENT BOILING POINT SOLVENT
Cellulose Acetate Acetone 56 d e g
Cellulose Triacetate Methyl chloride 41 d e g
PVC Acetone 56 d e g
PAN DMF 153 d e g
PU DMF 153 d e g

PROPERTIESOF SOLVENT:
Solvent should b e volatile.
It should b e organic.
It should have low boiling point.
It should b e comparatively cheap.
It should b e thermally stabilized.
 GEL SPINNING
❑ Gel (semi-melting) spinning is a special process used to obtain high
strength or other special fiber properties.
❑ The polymer is not in a true liquid state during extrusion. Not completely
separated, as they would be in a true solution, the polymer chains are
bound together at various points in liquid crystal form.
❑ This produces strong inter-chain forces in the resulting filaments that can
significantly increase the tensile strength of the fibers.
❑ In addition, the liquid crystals are aligned along the fiber axis by the shear
forces during extrusion.
❑ The filaments emerge with an unusually high degree of orientation relative
to each other, further enhancing strength.
❑ The filaments first pass through air and then are cooled further in a liquid
bath.
❑ Some high-strength polyethylene and aramid fibers are produced by gel
spinning.
ADVANTAGES OF GEL SPINNING :

Medium speed ( up to 1500 m/min).

Suitable for liquid crystalline polymers.

DISADVANTAGES OF GEL SPINNING :

Environmental pollution hazards.

Purification of the filament is needed.
Cumbersome technology.
 DRY JET WET SPINNING
In this method the polymer is dissolved in an appropriate solvent to make
the fibre solution. This solution is then extruded under heat and pressure into
an air gap before it enters a coagulation bath. The produced fibre is then
washed and dried before it is heat treated and drawn.
This is an alternative method to wet spinning and is required as spinning
directing into the bath, for some fibres, creates microvoids that negatively
affect the fibre properties, this is due to the solvent being drawn out of the
liquid too quickly. An inert atmosphere may be required to prevent
oxidisation in some polymers, if so fibres are extruded into a nitrogen
atmosphere.
This method is often required for high performance fibres with a liquid crystal
structure. Due to their structural properties their melt temperature is either
the same as, or dangerously close to their decomposition temperature,
therefore they must be dissolved in an appropriate solvent and extruded in
this manner.
ADVANTAGES OF DRY JET WETSPINNING :
High speed of spinning than wet spinning.
High concentration of dope.
High degree of jet stretch ratio.
A greater percentage of solids can be tolerated in spinning solution.
The solvent is removed to greater extent by evaporation into air.
Control of coagulation kinetics by monitoring coagulation bath parameters.

DISADVANTAGES OF DRY JETWETSPINNING :

Due to large amount of heat, it can affect adversely the properties of the
produced filaments. It may give a colour effect.
Turbulence in air flow can disturb the regular filament.
 ELECTROSPINNING
Electrospinning is a fiber production method which uses electric force to
draw charged threads of polymer solutions or polymer melts up to fiber
diameters in the order of some hundred nanometers.
Electrospinning shares characteristics of both electrospraying and
conventional solution dry spinning of fibers.
The process does not require the use of coagulation chemistry or
high temperatures to produce solid threads from solution.
This makes the process particularly suited to the production of fibers
using large and complex molecules.
Electrospinning from molten precursors is also practiced; this method
ensures that no solvent can be carried over into the final product.
 STEPS OF PROCESSING
When a sufficiently high voltage is applied to a liquid droplet, the body of
the liquid becomes charged, and electrostatic repulsion counteracts the
surface tension and the droplet is stretched; at a critical point a stream of
liquid erupts from the surface. This point of eruption is known as the Taylor
cone.
If the molecular cohesion of the liquid is sufficiently high, stream breakup
does not occur ( if it does, droplets are electrosprayed ) and a charged
liquid jet is formed.
As the jet dries in flight, the mode of current flow changes from ohmic to
convective as the charge migrates to the surface of the fiber.
The jet is then elongated by a whipping process caused by electrostatic
repulsion initiated at small bends in the fiber, until it is finally deposited on
the grounded collector.
The elongation and thinning of the fiber resulting from this bending
instability leads to the formation of uniform fibers with nanometer-scale
diameters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGXR14a3nRI
 PARAMETERS OFELECTROSPINNING
Molecular weight, molecular-weight
distribution and architecture (branched,
linear etc.) of the polymer
Solution properties (viscosity, conductivity
and surface tension)
Electric potential, flow rate and
concentration
Distance between the capillary and
collection screen
Ambient parameters (temperature,
humidity and air velocity in the chamber)
Motion and size of target screen
(collector)
Needle gauge
APPLICATIONS OF
ELECTROSPINNING