Fabrication of a low-cost, small-footprint modular lab-scale wet spinning system

Textile production is one of the largest industries on the planet. Global annual fibre production was over 113 million tonnes (Mt) in 2021 and is predicted to increase to 149 Mt by 2030. Research into this area has potential to have huge economic and environmental impacts, however the equipment needed to perform this research is often prohibitively expensive and only available on large scale, with quoted ‘lab-scale’ equipment still taking up the footprint of a small laboratory and costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. This paper details the design and fabrication of a truly lab-scale, modular wet spinning system for rapid first principle research into wet spun fibres. The total fabrication costs for this system are in the region of £500–700 and the total footprint required is <1m2. The system also packs down for easy transportation and storage and requires a singles mains plug socket to operate. This system has already been used to explore a variety of wet spun fibres including cellulosics, alginates and caseins and has been used to develop new, novel dyeing systems for wet spun fibres as published in ASC Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c07437.