The “Carbon Cycle: From CO2 to Polyester” project jointly submitted by BIFT and its partner enterprises won the International Textile Manufacturers Federation's Sustainability & Innovation Award at the ITMF Annual Conference & IAF World Fashion Convention 2024, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from Sept 8 -12.

Professor Wang Rui of BIFT introduces the research project at the ITMF Annual Conference & IAF World Fashion Convention 2024.

A group photo of the award-winning project presenters at the conference.

The certificate of the ITMF Award 2024 for Sustainability & Innovation.

A group photo of representatives of the award winners.

Only three projects won the award this year, and the award BIFT and its partners brought back home is also the only award China won this year. Professor Wang Rui of School of Materials Design and Engineering of BIFT was invited to introduce the project research results at the conference.

ITMF was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. As an important platform for enhancing industry consensus and strengthening global value chain cooperation, the organization is committed to gathering the constructive forces of the textile industries of various countries and regions and effectively promoting the openness, integration, innovation and sustainable development of the global textile industry.

The ITMF Sustainability & Innovation Award was established in 2021 with the approval of ITMF board. It is awarded annually to recognize the sustainable and innovative achievements of the textile industry and is awarded to companies/organizations or individuals that have significantly improved the textile manufacturing industry in the comprehensive fields of innovation and sustainable development.

Guided by China’s carbon reduction goals, Professor Wang Rui’s team actively focuses on the sustainable development and green and low-carbon model transformation of the textile fiber industry, especially the polyester fiber manufacturing industry chain.

Representatives of award winning units take a group photo with senior members of China National Textile And Apparel Council.

Wang led the team’s key members including Zhu Zhiguo, Guan Yuepeng, Wang Wenqing, Wei Jianfei, and Dong Zhenfeng to carry out multi-year cooperation with Shenghong Group’s Jiangsu Guowang High-tech Fiber Co., Ltd., realizing low-carbon circular green production from carbon dioxide to polyester fiber.

This technology is able to gather carbon dioxide emitted from industrial production, further convert it into fiber-grade ethylene glycol through chemical reactions, and prepare functional polyester fibers through esterification-polycondensation-melt direct spinning process, which are used in the textile and clothing fields.

Polyester fiber (polyester) is the chemical fiber material with the largest output, with an annual global output of more than 67 million tons. This project aims to develop low-carbon and sustainable engineering technology for the polyester industry. It converts CO2 from industrial waste gas into high-purity ethylene glycol as a raw material for polyester synthesis, reducing net greenhouse gas emissions while achieving carbon resource recycling.

The technology can help greatly promote the textile industry's transformation to a green and low-carbon production mode, which is in line with the global consensus on sustainable development of industrial manufacturing and the urgent need to address climate change.

Reportedly, Hongsheng Group will expand its production capacity in stages. In the first phase, it will complete an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons of carbon recycled polyester fiber, which will play a leading and exemplary role in the sustainable development of the textile and garment industry.

Because of the carbon cycle concept of this project and its innovative contribution to the sustainable development of the polyester industry chain, China’s national TV network, CCTV-13 reported on the winning project in its Morning News on Sept.