Professor Wang Fumei from Donghua University has been engaged in kapok fiber technology research and development for eight years. According to her introduction, kapok fibers are natural superfine and highly hollow fibers. Their hollowness reaches 86%, far surpassing other fibers. They possess characteristics such as smoothness, antibacterial properties, moth resistance, mildew resistance, softness, resistance to tangling, water impermeability, and heat insulation. These features make them widely applicable in the aviation, pharmaceutical, textile, papermaking, and construction industries.
Kapok fibers, known as "plant soft gold," are currently the finest, lightest, most hollow, and most insulating natural fiber materials. After more than eight years of research and development, their application in the textile field has become increasingly extensive. As a new ecological textile material, kapok fibers have gained more attention amidst the current scarcity of fiber resources.
Additionally, kapok fibers exhibit better moisture absorption than cotton fibers, with a standard regain rate of 10% to 10.73%. Their average refractive index is 1.718, slightly higher than the average refractive index of cotton fibers at 1.596. Kapok fibers show good acid and alkali resistance, remaining unaffected by dilute acids and weak alkalis at room temperature. The fibers come in white, yellow, and yellow-brown colors and can be dyed using direct dyes.
Shanghai Pandah Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest domestic companies involved in kapok cultivation and textile production. Its founder Yan Guoxin, in collaboration with Donghua University and the Shanghai Textile Research Institute, has conducted research on kapok series material applications and technological development, filing seven invention patents. They successfully developed a new spinning technology that overturned the conclusion that kapok was only suitable as filler and not for spinning. Their kapok spinning technology, evaluated by authoritative experts from the China Textile Industry Association and Donghua University, partially filled a national gap. In October 2008, this technology won the sole gold award in the textile category at the International Invention Exhibition in China. Shanghai Pandah Group successfully spun ring-spun and air-jet spun yarns from kapok fibers and established a kapok tree plantation base in Gejiu, Yunnan, laying the foundation for large-scale and technological development of the kapok industry.
Kapok fibers are derived from the fruits of the kapok tree, adhering to the inner walls of the fruit capsule. Due to their weak attachment to the fruit, no special primary processing equipment is usually required; simply shaking a sieve allows the seeds to sink, yielding the kapok fibers. Kapok fibers are natural cellulose fibers, belonging to the same single-cell fiber category as cotton fibers. However, they possess unique features: their fineness is only half that of cotton fibers, while their hollowness reaches over 86%, two to three times that of ordinary cotton fibers. This means that kapok underwear is lighter, thinner, and provides better thermal insulation compared to regular fiber-made undergarments. Kapok fibers are shorter, ranging from 8mm to 34mm in length, with diameters between 20μm and 45μm in the middle section, and linear densities of 0.9~1.2 dtex. In terms of strength and elongation, kapok fibers have low strength and limited elongation capacity, with an average single-fiber strength of 1.4~1.7cN, a specific fiber strength of 0.8~1.3cN/dtex, and a breaking elongation rate of 1.5%~3.0%.
In recent years, with the advancement of new spinning technologies and efforts by researchers, breakthroughs in kapok fiber spinning technology have been achieved continuously.
Currently, preparations are underway for the establishment of the Kapok Technology Innovation and Industrial Development Strategic Alliance. Industry leaders and experts such as Academician Yao Mu of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Vice President Xu Wenyng of the China Textile Industry Association, President Zhu Beina of the China Cotton Textile Industry Association, Director An Chengxin of the China Desertification Control Foundation, and Professor Wang Fumei of Donghua University are all involved. Companies like Jin Kola Apparel Co., Ltd. and Ji Hua Company also actively support the initiative. Establishing a strategic alliance for industrial development will significantly contribute to utilizing natural kapok fibers for textile product development and promoting rapid growth of the kapok industry. Following more than eight years of technological research and exploration, the kapok industry is poised to enter a stage of vigorous development.