Production and use of chemical fibers in 2010

Abstract

The 8.6% increase the manufacture of natural and chemical fibers from 2009 to 2010 made it possible to reach a record level of production - 80.8 million tons. That milestone in turn made it possible for the average per capita consumption of all types of fibers throughout the world to reach 11.8 kg a year [1]. Figure 1 shows that the worldwide breakdown of fiber production by type of fiber is now 56% synthetic fibers, 5% cellulose fibers, and 39% natural fibers. At the same time, while double-digit increases in output were seen for the first two types of fibers just mentioned, the volume of production of natural fibers rose just 2% from the previous year. There was a substantial increase in the manufacture of most classes of chemical fibers, except for polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyester (PES) fibers. The output of technical fibers jumped 37%, and viscose fibers also registered a record rise in production - 17%.