Lyocell fiber

Abstract

This invention relates to a lyocell fiber and, more specifically, to a lyocell fiber exhibiting the same or improved physical properties even if used in a lesser amount, compared to a conventional lyocell fiber, by controlling the shape of the section of a monofilament included in the lyocell fiber to increase the specific surface area of the fiber.

1 . A lyocell fiber comprising:
 a lyocell multifilament manufactured by spinning a lyocell spinning dope including a cellulose pulp and an N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) aqueous solution,   wherein the multifilament includes a monofilament having a multi-lobal section, the multi-lobal section includes a plurality of projections, and the plurality of projections comes into contact with a first virtual circle and a second virtual circle, included in the first virtual circle, is integrally formed with the second virtual circle, serving as a core, and comes into contact with the first virtual circle at ends thereof.   
     
     
         2 . The lyocell fiber of  claim 1 , wherein the lyocell spinning dope includes 6 to 16 wt % of the cellulose pulp and 84 to 94 wt % of the N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide aqueous solution. 
     
     
         3 . The lyocell fiber of  claim 2 , wherein the cellulose pulp has an alpha-cellulose content of 85 to 97 wt % and a degree of polymerization (DPw) of 600 to 1700. 
     
     
         4 . The lyocell fiber of  claim 1 , wherein a space occupancy ratio defined in a following Equation 1 is 150 to 400%:
   Space occupancy ratio (%)=(Area of first virtual circle/sectional area of monofilament included in lyocell fiber)×100.  <Equation 1>
   
     
     
         5 . The lyocell fiber of  claim 1 , wherein the first virtual circle has a radius of 8 to 30 μm. 
     
     
         6 . The lyocell fiber of  claim 1 , wherein the second virtual circle has a radius of 3 to 12 μm. 
     
     
         7 . The lyocell fiber of  claim 1 , wherein the first virtual circle and the second virtual circle are concentric.