R & D Status and Countermeasures of Natural Functional Kapok Fiber

Kapok fiber is getting more and more extensive attention in research and application because of its excellent natural characteristics such as its lightness, super warmth, anti-bacterial, anti-mite etc. in recent years. On the other hand, the features of short fiber length, low breaking elongation, water repellency and oil absorptive in surface, make it difficult when spinning and dyeing, and hinder its application and popularization in the field of textiles. This paper discusses the fiber structure, physical and chemical properties, spinning and dyeing process performance of kapok fiber, points out that it is up to 80% ~ 90% fiber hollowness, so very lower fiber apparent density as only 0.29g/cm3, water repellency, anti-bacterial, anti-mite, have potentially wide application. However its spinning and dyeing performance is poor, the process cost is higher and the yarn quality needs to be improved. In this paper, the main types of kapok fiber products and the reason that restricting the fiber development and application to consumption market are analyzed. Finally, the paper puts forward the countermeasures concerning the further utilization with kapok fiber characteristics, and further expanding the development as a new generation of green ecological kapok textiles in the future.