The Roica Division of Asahi Kasei Corporation has announced plans to produce more sustainable stretch fibers for sportswear and other textiles, as well as reduce CO2 emissions by half by using renewable feedstock in tandem with BASF’s biomass balanced tetrahydrofuran (THF BMB).
Roica also announced plans to increase its use of renewable feedstock in the textile value chain as a whole. This is in response to the increasing global demand for more sustainable textiles.
THF BMB, also known as oxolane, is a low viscosity solvent used as a precursor to polymers, the units that make up polyester. It is being supplied to Asahi Kasei by BASF and will be used in the formulation of a new sustainable premium stretch fiber Asahi Kasei will market this under the Roica brand, which fashion players such as Everlane have incorporated into their denim. It will be made available in the Japanese multi-national’s entire portfolio of stretch fibers.
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BASF’s THF BMB is known for a carbon footprint that is much smaller than that of standard grade THF products because it uses renewable feedstock in place of some of the fossil fuel raw materials. Asahi Kasei claims that using BASF’s THF BMB can result in 25 percent less CO2 emissions than from other products. Asahi Kasei plans to further reduce CO2 emissions by introducing its own mass balance approach and using renewable energy in existing products, which would result in a total CO2 reduction of 50 percent compared to Asahi Kasei’s other products in the range. BASF’s THF BMB drop-in solution guarantees quality and properties that are identical to the standard product.
Choon Nga Phua, BASF’s director of business management diols and derivatives, intermediates Asia Pacific, said this development reflects a greater trend in the market toward adopting more sustainable raw materials and that together the German and Japanese companies have made remarkable progress in their sustainability collaboration.
“As a pioneer in the development of the biomass balance approach, we will support our customers in accelerating the transition to lower-carbon, circular bio-economy and help consumers make informed purchasing decisions about more sustainable products, thereby fashioning a more sustainable textile value chain,” Phua said.
THF is a colorless liquid with an ether-like odor that has the same consistency of water. In the case of the BASF-Asahi Kasei collaboration, THF is used to make polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF), a raw material that goes into highly elastic spandex and elastane fibers. The THF works like an organic solvent with intermediate polarity for organic substances and is used as a reaction medium or starting material for various chemical compounds.
According to Takehiro Kamiyama, senior executive manager of Roica division, this collaboration is a step forward in reinforcing the company’s sustainability brief. “As one of the global leaders in the development and manufacturing of innovative materials, we view this as another step in our efforts to bring our business pillar of originality and sustainability together,” he said.
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