Challenging the Powerful Japanese Chemical Fiber Groups!

Dr. Xu Qingzhou and his dozen or so students gathered around Gao Yuan, each pulling up a chair to sit in a small circle.

Gao Yuan swept his gaze across the crowd and said with a smile, "Currently, there are five development routes for thermal fiber worldwide."

"The first is far-infrared fiber. By incorporating aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, or titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, and so on into the fiber material, we can enhance its absorption of external infrared rays like sunlight, thereby achieving heat storage and insulation. Simply put, it absorbs heat from nature."

"In this field, our Japanese counterparts are in an absolute leading position. Japanese Kanebo's Ceramino technology, Komatsu Seiren's DynaLive, Fujibo's INSERARED, and Kuraray's LONWAVE have already captured almost all global market share."

"Secondly, there are near-infrared fibers. The principle is also to absorb light and heat from nature, and the dominant players are also Japanese companies: Unichika's Thermotron, Mitsubishi Rayon's Thermocatch, and Toray's Torayheat."

"Because the three major near-infrared fibers all start with the letter T, they are also known as the 3Ts. Regardless of whether the products marketed as far-infrared or near-infrared are Huaxia brands or French brands, consumers ultimately end up buying Japanese fibers."

A sigh rippled through the room as Gao Yuan reached this point.

Ordinary people only knew about common chemical fiber products like acrylic fiber and spandex. Yes, our country could produce these common chemical fibers, and in huge quantities.

But those at the pinnacle of the pyramid, the most profitable and technologically advanced products, were the domain of Japan, South Korea, Europe, and America. The sheer number and high quality of their products filled the domestic chemical fiber students with despair.

"The third is electrothermal heating, which generates heat through conductive fibers and a built-in energy source. This technology has a very high ceiling and could potentially challenge ultra-low temperatures of around minus one hundred degrees Celsius in the future."

"However, it's a pity that a prerequisite technology tree has not yet been unlocked: large-scale graphene preparation technology. Without graphene technology, the efficiency of electrothermal heating is simply too low, so it's not within our scope of consideration."

The students nodded in agreement.

In reality, if large-scale graphene preparation technology were to emerge, it would solve far more than just the problem of thermal fibers; it could resolve most of the issues in the field of materials science in one fell swoop!

This was the magic of strong fundamental disciplines!

Once a foundational research breakthrough was made, the entire world would benefit!

"The fourth is phase change temperature regulation technology," Gao Yuan continued at a rapid pace. "It utilizes the principle of absorbing or releasing heat during a change in the substance's phase. It absorbs heat when the ambient temperature is high and releases heat when the ambient temperature is low."

"This technology is quite difficult and costly. Currently, only one company leads in this area: Outlast fiber, produced and registered in North America by Germany's Oetotherm Group. I've studied it carefully, and I believe the path of phase change temperature regulation technology is likely a dead end. Just know about it, but don't dwell on it."

"Now, for the main event: the fifth major technological route in the field of thermal fibers, moisture-wicking thermal fiber technology. It's the closest technology to nature. For example, the well-known wool fiber is a typical example of moisture-wicking thermal properties. When wool encounters moisture, the fiber molecules and water molecules attract and bind to each other, the kinetic energy of the water molecules rapidly decreases, and it is converted into thermal energy and released."

"Every winter, we love to wear sweaters, thinking they're warmer. Why is that?"

"It's precisely because of the moisture-wicking thermal properties of wool fibers. They can magically absorb moisture from the body and convert it into heat."

"Unfortunately, in the field of moisture-wicking thermal fibers, Japanese companies still hold the leading position. Japan's Toyobo's eks fiber, under conditions of twenty degrees Celsius temperature and sixty-five percent relative humidity, can absorb moisture 3.5 times more than cotton and release twice the amount of heat as wool!"

"In addition to eks fiber, Toyobo also has the higher-end N38 product line. Toray's Softwarm fiber and Warmsensor fiber, Asahi Kasei's Thermogear fiber, and Mitsubishi Chemical's Renaissα fiber are also among the global top tier."

What the heck!

Why are the Japanese everywhere?!

This was everyone's biggest takeaway after hearing Gao Yuan's speech.

Excluding the two routes with un-unlocked prerequisite tech trees or those deemed to have limited development potential, for the remaining three major technological routes, no matter which direction they went, they would encounter strong competitors from Japan.

And these Japanese competitors weren't just one or two, but groups and piles, numbering in the dozens.

It was unavoidable. Just as the quick-drying fiber field couldn't bypass North American DuPont, in the self-heating fiber field, it was impossible to bypass Japanese conglomerates. They had already established a de facto monopoly in this area.

"As the old saying goes, good steel should be used on the blade. Even though X Fiber has strong plasticity and great potential, we cannot blindly pursue comprehensiveness," Gao Yuan said with emotion. "What if X2 Fiber could simultaneously possess far-infrared heating, near-infrared heating, phase change temperature regulation, and moisture-wicking thermal properties?"

"Of course, that would be fantastic, but we're afraid of trying to do too much and failing at all of it."

Gao Yuan's words were actually directed at himself.

A while ago, when the System activated Task 3, it also provided him with supplementary knowledge.

Relying on the knowledge provided by the System, Gao Yuan began to plan for a super all-around warm fiber, but as days passed, he still couldn't succeed.

Now, Gao Yuan finally understood that even with a System in his head, he couldn't do whatever he pleased. Meals still had to be eaten one bite at a time.

Today's meeting was to determine the final technical route. From now on, they would concentrate their efforts and attack the most critical point, no longer pursuing a comprehensive approach.

Swish, swish, swish~

Gao Yuan wrote the English word CLO on the blackboard. It stood for Tog value.

The Tog value was an internationally recognized standard. Simply put, the higher the Tog value, the better the thermal insulation performance.

For example, cotton has a Tog value of 0.4, Merino wool is 0.84, down with a fill power of 500 can reach 1.7 Tog, and top-tier down products with a fill power of 850 can achieve an astonishing 2.53 Tog!

Gao Yuan's pen continued to move, and soon the blackboard was filled with material properties and a deduction route for chemical fiber manufacturing processes.

"It's very simple. Our goal is one fiber, two forms," Gao Yuan said solemnly. "In terms of chemical composition, we want X2 Fiber to have moisture-wicking thermal properties. In terms of processing, we will improve the super honeycomb structure, transforming the originally straight fiber filaments into fluffy fiber fluff."

"Ultimately, we will use X2 Fiber filaments to compete against Toray, Asahi Kasei, Mitsubishi Chemical, Toyobo, and the entire Japanese chemical fiber conglomerate."

"And we will use X2 Fiber fluff to change the entire ecosystem of the apparel industry! To replace expensive duck down and goose down!"

As soon as Gao Yuan finished speaking, everyone began to applaud.

Often, researchers fear not hardship, but rather unclear directions or being led by amateurs, ultimately wasting time and effort in vain.

Gao Yuan had indeed taken a detour earlier, becoming overconfident with the System and blindly pursuing high-end, all-encompassing solutions.

However, fortunately, he recognized his mistakes and returned to the correct path in a timely manner after realizing the situation was not right.

No matter how many research routes for thermal fibers there were, Gao Yuan only needed the moisture-wicking thermal route.

As for X2 Fiber fluff, it was merely a process improvement.

As everyone knows, the biggest highlight of X1 Fiber was its super honeycomb structure.

If you over-expand on this foundation, allowing the super honeycomb structure to burst open like popcorn, you'll get a split fiber fluff.

Fiber fluff naturally can't be used to make fabric; it would scatter with the slightest breeze. However, it can be stuffed into fabrics as a layer or re-spun into yarn. This yarn can then be used to knit fleece clothing or sweaters.

In short, materials science is the cornerstone of all industry.

Once the problem of basic materials is solved, the possibilities become virtually endless.

Hmm, over 50,000 characters now. I feel like I'm getting into the flow.

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