S2T - Straw To Textile

Purpose and goal

The project aims to reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry by using Lixea’s Dendronic® technology to convert wheat straw, provided by Tolefors Gård, into high-quality dissolving pulp. This pulp will be used by TreeToTextile to create man-made cellulosic fibers, providing an eco-friendly alternative to polyester and chemically-intensive viscose. The initiative promotes the use of agricultural residues and advances the shift toward a climate-neutral, circular bioeconomy.

Expected effects and result

Textiles are used globally in large quantities and have a significant climate footprint. The project will help demonstrate a completely new, globally scalable, Swedish-developed value chain based on Lixea´s technology to produce cellulose from agricultural residues from Tolefors farm and TreeToTextile´s process for producing textile fibers. If successful, this value chain can be scaled up globally and make a substantial difference in reducing the world’s climate footprint from textiles.

Planned approach and implementation

The project involves: • Raw material preparation and analysis of wheat straw from Tolefors farm • Fractionation of straw into its components: cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose derivatives in Lixea´s pilot plant in Bäckhammar • Analysis of cellulose, dissolution, spinning, and yarn preparation at TreeToTextile´s pilot plant in Mölndal • Evaluation of techno-economics, scalability, and risks with the help of Lixea, TreeToTextile, and Agtech Sweden