Viscose fibre
A fibre regenerated from wood pulp with caustic soda, carbon disulphide and sulphuric acid; the largest man-made cellulosic, led by China and India's Birla Cellulose.
Pseudo-commodities · Resins & fibres · No. 64
- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Crops and biomass
- about 6.7 Mt viscose (2024, derived: 80% of 8.4 Mt MMCF); MMCF grew 6.4% in 2024
- 3.4 t CO₂e per t
- HS 550410
Your soft viscose dress began as a eucalyptus or beech tree, dissolved in caustic soda and carbon disulphide.
Chart: Illustration: Viscose fibre
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Dissolving wood pulp is steeped in caustic soda, reacted with carbon disulphide and pushed through spinnerets into an acid bath, where the cellulose re-forms as fibre.
Three things to know
- Man-made cellulosic fibres reached 8.4 Mt in 2024, 6% of all fibre, and viscose is about 80% of that.
- Only about 1.1% of these fibres, roughly 90 kt, came from recycled textiles in 2024.
- Viscose absorbs moisture like cotton, with a regain of about 11-13%, but its wet strength is only about 50-60% of its dry strength.
The journey
- 1 ForestEucalyptus, beech, pine or bamboo
- 2 Dissolving pulpCellulose purity above about 90%
- 3 XanthationCaustic soda, then carbon disulphide
- 4 Acid bathDope spun and regenerated as fibre
- 5 Staple or yarnCut, washed, baled for spinning mills