ANDRITZ Expands End-to-End Bast Fiber Processing for Industrial Nonwovens – Polymer Price Trends
Bast fiber processing – Full price table (13/07/2026 →20/07/2026)
| ITEM | 13/07/2026 | 20/07/2026 | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottle grade PET chips domestic market | 7,200 yuan/ton | 7,530 yuan/ton | +330 |
| Chinese bottle-grade PET chips FOB export price | 980 $/ton | 1,000 $/ton | +20 |
| LDPE CFR Est China | 1,350 $/ton | 1,200 $/ton | -150 |
| PET Semidull — Fiber chips | 6,800 yuan/ton | 7,100 yuan/ton | +300 |
| PET Bright — Fiber chips | 6,850 yuan/ton | 7,150 yuan/ton | +300 |
| Pure Terephthalic Acid PTA domestic market | 5,880 yuan/ton | 6,050 yuan/ton | +170 |
| Pure Terephthalic Acid PTA FOB China | 780 $/ton | 815 $/ton | +35 |
| Monoethyleneglycol (MEG) South China | 4,527 yuan/ton | 4,971 yuan/ton | +444 |
| Monoethyleneglycol (MEG) CFR China | 550 $/ton | 605 $/ton | +55 |
| Paraxylene PX FOB Taiwan market | 1,007 $/ton | 1,043 $/ton | +36 |
| Paraxylene PX FOB South-Korea market | 996 $/ton | 1,032 $/ton | +36 |
| Paraxylene PX FOB EU market | 1,134 $/ton | 1,291 $/ton | +157 |
| Polyester filament POY 150D/48F domestic market | 8,050 yuan/ton | 8,400 yuan/ton | +350 |
| Recycled Polyester filament POY 150/48F domestic market | 7,000 yuan/ton | 7,000 yuan/ton | – |
| Polyester filament DTY 150D/48F domestic market | 9,100 yuan/ton | 9,400 yuan/ton | +200 |
| Polyester filament FDY 68D/24F | 8,950 yuan/ton | 9,200 yuan/ton | +250 |
| Polyester filament FDY 150D/96F domestic market | 8.300 yuan/ton | 8,550 yuan/ton | +250 |
| Polyester staple fiber 1.4D 38mm domestic market | 7,350 yuan/ton | 7,650 yuan/ton | +300 |
| Caprolactam (CPL) domestic market | 11,400 yuan/ton | 11,950 yuan/ton | +550 |
| Caprolactam (CPL) CFR China | 1,48 $/ton | 1,5 $/ton | +20 |
| Nylon 6 chips overseas market | CFR China / Northeast Asia : $1,710 to $1,750 /ton
Southeast Asia Index : $1,740 to $1,780 /ton North America Spot : $2,640 to $2,700 /ton Europe Spot (FD Germany) : $2,100 to $2,150 /ton |
North America — US$ 2.67/kg Europe — US$ 2.12/kg Northeast Asia — US$ 1.73/kg Southeast Asia — US$ 1.76/kg Middle East — US$ 1.82/kg
|
– |
| Nylon 6 chips conventional spinning domestic market | 11,900 yuan/ton | 12,150 yuan/ton | +250 |
| Nylon 6 chips high speed spinning domestic market | 12,000 yuan/ton | 12,400 yuan/ton | +400 |
| Nylon 6.6 chips domestic market | 16,000 yuan/ton | 16,500 yuan/ton | +500 |
| Nylon6 Filament POY 86D/24F domestic market | 13,400 yuan/ton | 13,400 yuan/ton | – |
| Nylon6 Filament DTY 70D/24F domestic market | 15,800 yuan/ton | 15,800 yuan/ton | – |
| Nylon6 Filament FDY 70D/24F | 13,600 yuan/ton | 13,600 yuan/ton | – |
| Spandex 20D domestic market | 31,700 yuan/ton | 31,700 yuan/ton | – |
| Spandex 30D domestic market | 31,200 yuan/ton | 31,200 yuan/ton | – |
| Spandex 40D domestic market | 28,500 yuan/ton | 28,500 yuan/ton | – |
| Adipic Acid China domestic market | 7,800 yuan/ton | 7,900 yuan/ton | +100 |
| Adipic Acid Europe market | 1,930 $/ton | 1,77 $/ton | -16 |
| Benzene domestic market East China | 7,500 yuan/ton | 8,500 yuan/ton | +1,000 |
| Benzene CFR China | 900 $/ton | 967 $/ton | +67 |
| Ethylene South East market | 810 $/ton | 840 $/ton | +30 |
| Ethylene NWE market CIF | 739 $/ton | 774 $/ton | +35 |
| Acrylonitrile (ACN) domestic market | 9,350 yuan/ton | 10,000 yuan/ton | +650 |
| Acrylonitrile ACN Southeast Asia | 1,530 $/ton | 1,460 $/ton | -70 |
| Acrylic staple fiber (ASF) CFR China | 15,855 yuan/ton | 15,885 yuan/ton | – |
| VSF viscose staple fiber | 14,200 yuan/ton | 14,200 yuan/ton | – |
| PP Powder domestic market | 9,500 yuan/ton | 10,200 yuan/ton | +700 |
| Naphtha overseas market | 655 $/ton | 712 $/ton | +57 |
| Phenol domestic market (Jinan Dezheng / Yanshan Petrochemical, Shandong) | 8,100 yuan/ton | 8,200 yuan/ton | +100 |
| Recycled PET | 4,200 yuan/ton | 4,200 yuan/ton | – |
ANDRITZ Expands End-to-End Bast Fiber Processing for Industrial Nonwovens
Natural fibers are moving beyond traditional textiles and into a growing range of engineered products. Manufacturers are now using hemp, flax, jute and coir in automotive components, insulation, construction materials, geotextiles, furniture and technical composites.
This transition creates a significant processing challenge. Agricultural fibers are naturally variable, and their quality can change according to crop conditions, harvesting methods, moisture levels and initial preparation. Producing a stable industrial material therefore requires more than an efficient web-forming machine. It requires control over the entire process, beginning with the raw plant material.
ANDRITZ is addressing this requirement with an integrated technology portfolio covering bast fiber preparation, decortication, refining, cottonizing, airlay web formation and carding.
Why bast fiber processing is becoming more important
Bast fibers are extracted from the stems of plants such as hemp, flax, jute and kenaf. Their combination of low density, mechanical strength and renewable origin makes them attractive for applications in which manufacturers want to reduce weight or replace part of a conventional synthetic material.
Each fiber, however, behaves differently during processing.
Hemp offers high tensile strength and durability, making it suitable for automotive interiors, insulation and composite structures. Flax provides a strong stiffness-to-weight ratio and is increasingly considered for lightweight components, furniture panels and acoustic products.
Jute remains widely used in packaging, carpet backing, erosion-control products and geotextiles. Coir, obtained from coconut husks, is valued for its resilience and natural resistance to moisture, particularly in bedding, horticultural products, cushioning and erosion-control mats.
These advantages do not automatically translate into a consistent finished product. Dust, shives, fiber-length variations and residual impurities can interfere with blending, web formation and bonding. The quality of the final nonwoven therefore depends heavily on how effectively the fibers are prepared.
An integrated process beginning with the bale
ANDRITZ’s approach starts before the material reaches the airlay or carding section.
Its bast fiber systems are designed to open straw, separate fibers from woody shives, remove contaminants and refine the recovered material for subsequent processing. Depending on the application, the fibers can also be cottonized to create shorter and more individualized fibers.
This preparation stage is essential because downstream machinery performs more consistently when fiber length, cleanliness and moisture are controlled within an appropriate range.
ANDRITZ states that its teXline bast fiber configuration can combine dry cleaning, decortication and refining in one industrial process. The modular concept allows manufacturers to select a capacity suited to local crop volumes and expand the installation as demand develops.
For hemp applications, the output is not limited to the principal fiber fraction. Cleaned shives can also become useful raw materials for construction products, animal bedding or horticultural applications. Very short fibers and other fractions may similarly be directed toward appropriate secondary uses.
This ability to use several fractions of the plant can improve the economics of a processing facility while reducing the amount of agricultural material treated as waste.
From prepared fibers to a uniform web
Once the fibers have been cleaned and refined, they must be distributed into a stable web.
ANDRITZ offers both airlay and carding systems for this stage. The appropriate technology depends on the type of fiber, its length, the required basis weight and the intended properties of the final product.
Carding generally provides a high degree of fiber orientation and is suitable for applications requiring controlled textile characteristics. Airlay technology distributes fibers through an air stream and can accommodate blends containing fibers of different lengths, shapes and origins.
This flexibility is particularly relevant for natural fibers, which are less uniform than many manufactured fibers.
Airlay systems can process natural, recycled and reclaimed textile materials in different combinations. Manufacturers can therefore develop products that combine bast fibers with recycled fibers, thermoplastic bonding fibers or other functional components.
Typical applications include thermal and acoustic insulation, automotive interior parts, furniture components, mattress layers, carpet underlay, horticultural materials, filtration products and geotextiles.
Supporting heavier technical products
Airlay technology is especially useful for comparatively thick or high-basis-weight products.
In these applications, uniform fiber distribution is important because variations across the web can produce weak areas, inconsistent density or uneven thermal and acoustic performance. Stable feeding and blending must therefore be combined with precise web formation and suitable consolidation.
Depending on the product, the resulting mat may be consolidated through needlepunching, thermal bonding, chemical bonding or another finishing process.
By coordinating preparation, web formation and bonding as parts of a single production concept, manufacturers can reduce the technical risk created when separate machines are selected without considering how their operating parameters interact. bast fiber processing
France remains central to natural fiber expertise
France has a particularly strong connection with flax and hemp.
Normandy and northern France form part of Europe’s principal flax-growing region, supported by established agricultural knowledge, processing infrastructure and technical expertise. French industry also has a long history of working with hemp for ropes, fabrics and other durable products.
ANDRITZ currently operates three French technical locations associated with its nonwoven and textile activities: Elbeuf, Cours and Montbonnot.
These facilities allow customers to evaluate fibers, processing configurations and potential products before committing to a commercial installation. Trials under production-oriented conditions are particularly valuable for natural materials because results obtained with one crop, supplier or harvest may not transfer directly to another.
Testing can help determine the required opening intensity, cleaning sequence, fiber blend, web-forming method and consolidation technology.
Local processing can strengthen the value chain
The industrial use of bast fibers is closely connected to geography.
Transporting bulky, unprocessed straw over long distances can be inefficient. Decortication facilities are consequently most effective when positioned reasonably close to cultivation areas.
A regional processing network can create several sources of value. Farmers gain access to an industrial market, processors recover fibers and useful co-products, and downstream manufacturers obtain a more traceable raw material.
Further transformation within the same region can increase this benefit. Instead of exporting minimally processed fiber, local operators can convert it into insulation, automotive mats, construction products or other higher-value materials.
This model can also make quality control easier by connecting agricultural practices, initial fiber separation and final product manufacturing.
Industrial consistency remains the decisive factor
Interest in renewable materials alone is not enough to establish a successful production line.
Automotive, construction and technical-textile customers require repeatable specifications, predictable mechanical behavior and dependable delivery. Natural fiber processors must therefore manage variability at every stage.
Moisture control, contamination removal, fiber preservation and accurate blending all influence whether the finished material meets its target properties. Excessively aggressive opening can damage valuable fibers, while insufficient refining can leave shives that disrupt web formation or appear as defects in the finished surface.
Integrated process engineering helps operators balance these competing requirements.
It also simplifies responsibility during installation and commissioning. When preparation, web formation, bonding and finishing are engineered together, operating parameters can be coordinated around the final product rather than optimized separately for each machine.
A platform for natural and recycled materials
The commercial opportunity extends beyond products made exclusively from virgin plant fibers.
Many manufacturers are investigating hybrid structures that combine hemp or flax with recycled textiles, reclaimed production waste or thermoplastic fibers. These blends can be designed to provide specific mechanical, acoustic, thermal or forming characteristics.
The compatibility of airlay and carding systems with different raw materials gives producers greater freedom to adjust formulations as markets and material supplies evolve.
It also supports a broader circular-manufacturing strategy. A production line capable of working with natural and recycled fibers is less dependent on one feedstock and can serve several end markets.
From plant material to industrial product
The expansion of natural fibers into demanding applications will depend on reliable processing as much as on material availability.
ANDRITZ’s end-to-end concept connects the agricultural feedstock with the final nonwoven through decortication, cleaning, refining, cottonizing, web formation, bonding and finishing.
For manufacturers, the main advantage is not simply access to several machines from one supplier. It is the ability to develop the entire production process around the properties of the available fiber and the performance required from the finished product.
As flax, hemp, jute and other renewable fibers gain a larger role in automotive, construction, insulation and technical textiles, integrated bast fiber processing could become a critical link between sustainable material ambitions and repeatable industrial production.
Andritz Unveils Sustainable Nonwovens and Recycling Technologies at INDEX 26
