Growth of silk biopolymers linked to sustainable textiles

30 Oct '19

1 min read

Pic: AMSilk

The most obvious applications of silk biopolymers are related to textiles, but the range of future applications includes automotive, workwear, building and manufacturing, according to German company AMSilk’s fibre business head Severin Bertsch, who said the growth of this product’s market is linked to the search for sustainable textile solutions.

AMSilk produces its raw silk material at scale using bacterial fermentation techniques.

“We provide a sugar source to genetically modified E. coli bacteria, which then start to produce our silk material. We spray dry the material to produce 100 per cent silk in a white powder form, which is then put into a water-based solution. The liquid is then pushed through a spinneret to create the biosteel filaments, which form the base of the biosteel fibre. The result is a sustainable product, consisting of amino acids and completely biodegradable,” he told Fibre2Fashion in an interview.

The natural product is tough, lightweight, skin-friendly biocompatible, he added.

For the full interview, please click here.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

More Textiles News - Germany...