We have a holistic approach towards sustainable manufacturing of viscose fibre. We apply the best combination of best in class technology, global benchmark management practices and a well skilled and trained operations team to deliver the highest quality fiber in safe and environment friendly manner.
By continuously innovating the processes and technology, we have been able to significantly reduce the resource consumption. This has not only makes our plants more efficient but also helps the economics of the process by making our products more competitive.
Birla Cellulose has been consistently taking steps to attain global benchmarks in manufacturing man-made cellulosic fibres (MMCF), by consistently improving sourcing and manufacturing practices. The benchmarks also serve as moving targets for us, and once they are achieved, we work towards establishing newer, more innovative benchmarks.
Dissolving wood pulp (DWP) is the purified form of cellulose and is used in a variety of applications. Wood is the key raw material for making pulp, which is sourced from certified and sustainable forests and is converted to products with the strong environmental profile.
The dissolving wood pulp here becomes the main raw material. The pulp, which is in the form of sheets, is dissolved to make a viscous solution called viscose, called cellulose xanthate. This is done to convert the cellulose contained in the sheets into fibers. In the next step, the viscose solution is extruded through micron sized jets to make fibres, these jets are inside a bath called a spin bath, containing dilute sulphuric acid, zinc and sodium sulphate. The regenerated fibres are cut, washed and dried and packed in bales.
Lyocell fibre is produced by solvent spinning process which is entirely different than viscose/modal process. What sets this process apart from classic viscose process is the direct dissolution of cellulose or pulp in organic solvent called N-Methyl Morpholine N-Oxide (NMMO) without use of any other chemicals / solvents and hence there are no gaseous emissions from the process.
We strive to adopt standards & systems accepted and recognized globally. Our collaboration with experts, external agencies, and reference systems like the EU BAT are some of the steps to make our processes more environmental friendly.
Our manufacturing units in China and Thailand comply adhere to most stringent environment norms and are EUBAT complaint, implying our responsibility towards reuse and recycling of effluents.
Birla Cellulose started its self-assessment journey with Higg Index FEM 2.0 and adopted FEM 3.0 that links manufacturers, brands and retailers together on measuring the impacts on an industrial scale. The aim is to effectively utilize FEM 3.0 version at all manufacturing units to create opportunities for open conversations among supply chain partners.
Birla Cellulose is a member of ZDHC and has contributed in formulating the guidelines for MMCF. The guidelines offer unified criteria for measuring output indicators with 3 level approach namely Foundational, Progressive and Aspirational. VSF producers are required to meet wastewater target by 2021 & air emission target by 2023.
During the regeneration of cellulose in VSF manufacturing, CS2 is liberated and part of it gets converted to H2S. A part of CS2 is recovered in CS2 Recovery Trough, while the rest, along with H2S in diluted form is exhausted through the chimney. The challenge was to curb emissions by improving recovery.
Read MOREHigh amounts of caustic go into making viscose fibre. The demand increases together with the production and the waste generated lead to environmental challenges, and hence a need was felt to reduce its consumption. Overall caustic consumption in all units was as high as 500-550 kg per ton of fibre in FY 2015-16.
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For any further information, please feel free to contact us on birlacellulose@adityabirla.com