Kelheim Tests IR-Reflecting Fiber

Kelheim Fibres, a leading producer of specialty viscose fibers based in Germany, recently announced it has completed testing of its new viscose infrared-reflecting (IR-reflecting) fiber. The company began working on the fiber roughly two years ago after a textile customer sought a specific IR-reflecting additive integrated in a viscose fiber for a special application, according to Dr. Daniela Bauer of Kelheim Fibres’ R&D team. “Kelheim Fibres was very fascinated from the IR-reflecting topic and decided to develop an IR-reflecting fiber by themselves for other applications,” she adds. Kelheim tested the incorporation of mineral IR-reflecting particles in several spinning trials in recent months. The company tested various levels of the particles inside the fiber’s core, preserving the fiber’s inherent properties, rather than adding them as a topical finish using additives based on titanium oxide or other metal-based compounds. Dr. Bauer explains that