China launches scale ionic liquid cellulose plant

The Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has commenced operations at what it claims is the ‘world’s first’, large-scale, ionic liquid-based regenerated cellulose fibre plant.

The 1,000 tonne capacity plant, located in Henan Province, China, is said to be capable of producing regenerated cellulose fibres without the need for toxic or explosive solvents traditionally used in fibre production, such as carbon disulfide and N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO).