Spinning

The term spinning defines the extrusion process through bored devices (spinnerets) of fluid
polymer masses which are able to solidify in a continuous flow.
The polymer processing from the solid to the fluid state can take place with two methods:
A) By melting: this method can be applied on thermoplastic polymers which show stable
performances at the processing temperatures (this method is used by 70% of the fibres)
B) By solution: the polymer is solved in variable concentrations according to the kind of
polymer and of solvent, anyhow such as to produce a sufficiently viscous liquid (dope) (this
method is used by 30% of the fibres.
Spinneret
A nozzle or plate provided with fine holes or slits through which a fibre forming solution or melt is
extruded in fibre manufacturing is called spinneret. This is the most important part of the m/c. The
no. of holes, their sizes and shapes vary with the filament desired. The holes are drilled through the
metal plates usually of corrosion resistant, stainless steel, nickel alloy, platinum, and gold to
withstand high pressure.

Spinneret configurations:
➢ Spinneret length = 10-25 mm
➢ Spinneret diameter = 30-200 mm
➢ Spinneret thickness = 3 mm
➢ Spinneret hole dia = 0.1-0.8 mm
➢ inneret hole depth = 0.2 x 2D
 Number of holes in spinneret:
➢ 1-3 = for monofilament
➢ 10-100 = for multifilament (apparel use)
➢ 100-1000 = for multifilament (industrial use)
➢ Up to 50,000 = filament tow

Hole shape: Tri-lobal, cross, round, oval, pentacle, Tee, star etc.

Features:
➢ Spinneret holes are slightly wider at the entry than the exit
➢ The denier of filament extruded through a hole does not depend upon its size, but on the
through put rate and draw down at wind up.
➢ Special spinnerets are required for the production of hollow fibres and bi-component fibres.
➢ After long use the spinnerets get chocked (blocked) and it is essential to clean them.
➢ The spinneret holes may be broken, clogged or spotted.
Spinneret cleaning method:
➢ Salt bath method
➢ Sample burning
➢ Vacuum system
➢ Solvent cleaning
➢ Fluidized bed system

Description of Different Spinning Method:

Melt Spinning
Melt spinning process is used for those polymers that can be melted without undergoing thermal
degradation can be spun into fibres/filaments using this process. Some of the typical examples are
nylon-6, nylon 66, poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(propylene).
A typical melt spinning setup consists of a melting device-normally an extruder, a manifold-
distribution arrangement for the melt, a metering pump- device to regulate polymer flow rate, a
spin-pack- arrangement to filter and extrude the polymer through fine holes, a quench duct- cooling
zone for the extruded polymer filament to turn solid, and a winder- a device to pull and wind the
solidified filament. This arrangement is shown schematically in Figure-01. The entire line from
extruder output to the spin pack are maintained at a constant temperature, which is called the
spinning temperature.
➢ The polymer is taken in chip form, which is a cylindrical form. A polymer chip is first
subjected to an extruder. Dried polymer chips are electrically heated and melted at a
temperature some 15-25 °C above its crystalline melting temperature (Tm) in a screw
extruder. This converts the solid polymers into a viscous liquid. The melt or viscous liquid
passes from the extruder under a positive back pressure into the melt block. A coarse screen
filter is interposed between the end of the screw extruder and the block. Because sometimes
polymer gels, agglomerated additives, contamination, etc. may block the process.

Figure 01: Schematic diagram of Melt spinning

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➢ Each pipe is connected to one metering pump. Metering pump has a very important function
in spinning as it regulates the throughput of the polymer from the spinneret. Throughput
rate and the winding speed (i.e. take-up speed) together decide the denier(finer/coarser) of
the spun filament.
➢ Spin pack is the heart of the spinning system. It has a reservoir of polymeric fluid, a filter
pack- that removes the solid particles from the melt. Normally a filter is a set of filters
containing 3-5 individual filter meshes, where the first filter is a coarser filter followed by
the finer ones. The lowest filter is the finest of all which makes sure that no particle other
than those desired is pushed through the spinneret hole. Sometimes sand or carbon filters
are also used. The last but also the most important of all components in the spin-pack is a
spinneret plate. It is simply a thick metal plate with fine holes drilled through them. The
hole has larger diameter towards the inside surface with conical entry. The conical entrance
facilitates the melt to enter without much force. The main role of a spinneret is to impart
cross sectional shape to the extruded filaments.
➢ The extruded filament from the spinneret is allowed to pass through an air quench zone (or
chamber). This has mild flow of cooling air at a low temperature (~15- 30 °C) with low to
moderate relative humidity. The cooling air when comes in contact with the spun filaments,
takes away their heat and facilitates their solidification. Here polymer reaches its glass
transition temperature. As soon as the glass transition temperature is reached, the spinning

is considered to be complete. The filaments are given a spin finish at the end of the spinning
line (just after the glass transition is reached).
➢ The next important device is the take-up winder. Usually, the yarn is not wound directly on
the winder but is passed through a take-up godet, or a set of godet rollers. This breaks the
vertical path of the spinning and allows the winder to be adjusted comfortably in the
available space.

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Advantages of melt spinning
➢ The process is simple and economical.
➢ There is no requirement of solvent or chemical, and its recovery and treatment.
➢ Production rate can be adjusted with minor changes.
➢ The properties of the finished product can be controlled by suitable manipulation.
➢ The process is more versatile.

Disadvantages of melt spinning

➢ Only limited polymers (PE, PES, PA) can undergo melt spinning.
➢ Structural development in fibre is poor in case of faster solidification rate.
➢ Because of inadequate structural development, optimum strength cannot be achieved.
➢ Accurate temperature control is very critical for uniform and optimum properties.
Typical melt spun fibres
Polymer Melting point (oC) Spinning temp (oC)
Nylon 6 6 264 280-290
Nylon 6 220 270-280
Polyester (PET) 264 280-300
Polyethylene 115-125 250-300
Polypropylene 167 250-300

Solution Spinning
Solution spinning is carried in which polymers are difficult to melt or degrade at high or melting
temperature. Such polymers are spun into fibres using the methods of solution spinning, which are
much more complex processes than the melt spinning.
There are principally two types of solution spinning methods-
a) wet spinning and
(b) dry spinning
(c) a variation of wet spinning is dry-jet wet spinning.
Steps of solution spinning:
a. Dope preparation
b. Spinning

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 Dope preparation:
In solution spinning first polymer solution, which is also called dope, is prepared by mixing
powdered polymer into a solvent. If the required quantity of high molecular weight polymer
powder is added at a time in a solvent, polymer particles swell and agglomerate to make lumps.
This makes the direct dissolution extremely difficult. Therefore, different strategies are often
employed to enable dissolution of high molecular weight polymers.

The approaches may involve

a) Dispersing the polymer particles in a solvent at a low temperature (as in the case of PAN
in DMF or DMSO). At low temperature solvating power of the solvent is low and it allows
dispersion of particles without their sticking to each other. After proper dispersion, the
temperature is slowly increased to dissolve the polymer particles.
b) Dispersing the polymer particles in a solvent-nonsolvent mixture (such as cellulose
inNMMO-water mixture). Since at these conditions, solvation power of the solvent is again
very low, the particles are easily dispersed in the solvent medium without undergoing
swelling or agglomeration. Thereafter, the dissolution is initiated, under high agitation, by
increasing the solvation power of the solvent by heating the solvent (in PAN-DMF system)
or by removing nonsolvent through evaporation (as in cellulose-NMMO-water system).
This initiates dissolution of individual particles without agglomeration, and a homogeneous
dope is formed.

c) In some cases, the polymer has to be modified in order to make it soluble in a common
solvent. For example, to make cellulosic fibres, alkaline cellulose is xanthated (reacted with
CS2 to form sodium cellulose xanthate), which is soluble in dilute aqueous NaOH solution
and can be easily spun by wet spinning process into a regeneration cum coagulation bath.

Wet spinning

Wet spinning is the oldest process. It is used for fibre forming substances which do not melt and
dissolve only in non-volatile or thermally unstable solvents.
Process:
1. At first, the solid polymer & solvent is dissolved in the solution vessel to form the spinning
solution which is forcedly fed to the spinneret. A metering pump is used similar to that in melt
spinning to regulate the flow of the polymersolution to the spinneret.
2. In the way to spinneret it is purified by filter. the dope solution is filtered to remove gel particles
or anysolid impurity and deaerated to remove trapped air/gasses

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 Figure 03: Schematic diagram of wet spinning

3. Thus the filaments are extruded from the spinneret. The spinneret plate, in solution spinning, is
made of a soft corrosion resistant material, suchas special grade SS or platinum. It is usually thin with
diameter of individual spinneret holes in the range of 0.025 – 0.1 mm. Both the diameter of the
spinneret and the length of the spinneret are much smaller than those kept in melt spinning.
4. At last, the filaments are strengthened to solid form by extraction of solvent instead of vaporizing
used in dry spinning. The extraction of solvent is done simply by washing it out or by chemical
reactions between the polymer solution & the reagent in the spinning bath. Attempts are made to
maintain concentration of coagulation bath by constantly removing a certain amount of spent
coagulation fluid and replacing it with fresh coagulation fluid.
5. Temperature is another important parameter in wet spinning. Both the temperature of extruded fluid
and that of coagulation bath are maintained separately. Usually, dope temperature is kept higher to
avoid fluid flow problems as discussed later, while the coagulation bath temperature is kept towards
low to control coagulation rate and improve cohesiveness of the spinning line.
6. Finally, we get the undrawn yarn for next process.The fibre from the coagulation bath is washed
several times, stretched, crimped, and/or heat-set (as may be required for a particular fibre) before
winding it as a filament or cutting it into staple fibres.

Advantages of wet spinning

➢ It can be used for most polymers, even melt spun polymers like PE, PP, PA to obtain high
molecular orientation.
➢ Fibres can attain maximum strength

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Disadvantages of wet spinning
➢ The bulk production is low.
➢ One or more bath is required for complete removal of the solvent from the fibres.
➢ Post spinning operations are lengthy.
➢ Because of lengthier process, it is costlier.
➢ The achievement of exact fibre cross section is difficult due to inward and outward mass
transfer process.
Typical wet spinning solvents and coagulants

Fibre Solvent Coagulant

Water (Sodium salt of xanthate Dilute sulphuric acid + sodium
Viscose rayon
ester of cellulose) sulphate + zinc sulphate
Poly(vinyl alcohol) Water Aquous sodium sulphates
Aqueous DMF
Dimethyl formaldehyde (DMF)
Poly(acrylonitrile) Hot kerosene
Dimethylacetamide Aquous DMF
Acrylonitrile Aquous Acrylonitrile
Modacrylic fibre
Acetone Water
Poly (Vinyl Water+ isopropanol +
Cyclohexane
Chloride) cyclohexane
Spandex DMF Water

Dry Spinning
➢ When a polymer is soluble in a volatile solvent (e.g., ether, acetone, lower alcohol,
tetrahydrofuran), a dry spinning procedure is applied.
➢ In dry spinning, the polymer dope solution is metered using a metering pump and after
filtration and deaeration pushed through a multihole spinneret into a closed spinning
chamber/tower circulated with heated air/gas.

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 Figure 04: Schematic diagram of dry spinning

➢ The solvent from the extruded filaments evaporates due to the high surrounding temperature
of the gas and is carried out of the spinning chamber by the circulating hot gas.
➢ The solvent and the gas are separated and recycled back into the spinning system.
➢ The solidified filament is collected on a bobbin or guided through a set of godets to washing
baths to remove traces of the solvent present inside the spun filaments. The filaments are
subsequently drawn, dried, crimped, heat-set and cut to staple fibres as required.
➢ Dry spinning is widely used for the manufacturing of fibres from cellulose acetate triacetate,
acrylic and modacrylic, polymers and co-polymers of vinyl chloride, spandex and others.
Polymers and solvents used in dry spinning
Polymer Solvent Boiling point of the solvent(oC)
Cellulose acetate Acetone 56
Cellulose triacetate Methyl chloride 41
PVC Acetone 56
PAN, PU Di-methyl formamide (DMF) 153
PVA Water 100

Advantages of dry spinning

➢ It is recommended process for heat sensitive polymers.
➢ High spinning speed can be achieved.
➢ Lower solvent is required because of high polymer concentration in the spinning dope.
Disadvantages of dry spinning
➢ The process requires solvent and hence solvent recovery process.

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 ➢ Because of the presence of the solvents, there is a limit to maximum spinning speed.
➢ As the evaporation rate of the solvent is higher than the diffusion rate, a circular cross-
section of the fibre is difficult to achieve.
➢ Additional post spinning operation is required to complete solvent removal.
➢ Low number of ends and the small deniers should be preferred to avoid fibre coalescence.
Comparison between different spinning systems

Parameters Melt Solution

Dry Wet
Principle Thermic exchange at Thermal exchange + Mass exchange
temperature higher than mass exchange
melting point
Polymer mass High Medium
viscosity
Operating pressure High (100-300 bar) Medium – low pressure up to 20 bar
Investment cost Low High Low
Hazard Non-toxic Toxic and risk of Toxic
explosion
Heat input in High Very high Low
spinning
Spinning dope 100% (polymer) 25-35% (polymer) 20-28% (polymer)
concentration
Range of solvent No solvent Organic only Organic as well as
inorganic
Spinneret Steel of proper In various mtls (steel, In various mtls
thickness (2 mm or noble metals, glass), (steel, noble metals,
more), Hole dia: 0.1 - Hole dia: 0.025 - 0.15 glass), Hole dia:
0.8 mm, Hole no.: 2 – mm, Hole no.: 0.025 – 0.15 mm,
many thousand 20,000-75,000 Hole no.: 300 – 900
Spinning speed 500-1500 m/min 200-500 m/min 10-25 m/min
(before stretching)
Production High Low Low
Application Continuous filaments Continuous filaments Continuous
or staple only filaments or staple
Solidification By cooling By evaporation By coagulation
Structure Compact structure with Micro porous with Micro porous with
smooth surface compact surface rough surface
Example Nylon, Polyester, Cellulose Viscose Rayon,
Polyethylene, Acetate/Triacetate, PVA, PAN,
Polypropylene PVC, PAN, PU Modacrylic,
Spandex

Dry jet wet spinning

➢ Dry jet wet spinning, is a modification of wet spinning, where the spinneret is kept just
outside the surface of coagulation bath. In this case, the fibre is extruded into air/gaseous

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 environment and then is pulled inside a coagulation bath. Mostly the baths are deep to allow
vertical movement and coagulation of extruded fibre before it touches a guide roller.

Figure 05: Schematic diagram of dry-jet wet spinning

➢ The gap between the spinneret and the coagulation bath surface, called air gap, varies with
the type of polymer and technology being used.
➢ This small difference in arrangement of spinneret (i.e. placing it outside the coagulation
bath) brings about significant difference in spinning performance and ultimate structure of
the fibre. It is often said that dry-jet wet spinning imbibes the benefits of both dry spinning
and wet spinning. Some of the benefits of dry-jet wet spinning are (a) high speed of
spinning, (b) high concentration of dope, (c) high degrees of jet-stretch ratios.

Minor Spinning Methods

1. Reaction (chemical) spinning
2. Emulsion and suspension spinning
3. Dispersion spinning
4. Gel spinning
5. Electro spinning technique (Nano-fibres)

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