A dyeing and welding process may be configured to convert a substrate into a welded substrate having at least some color imparted thereto via a dye and/or coloring agent by applying a process solvent having a dye and/or coloring agent therein to the substrate, wherein the process solvent interrupts one or more intermolecular force between one or more component in the substrate. The substrate may be configured as a natural fiber, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses, and silk. The process solvent may include a binder, such as dissolved biopolymer (e.g., cellulose). After application of a process solvent comprised of a dye and/or coloring agent, the substrate may be exposed to a second application of a process solvent comprised of a binder, which second application may occur before or after a process temperature/pressure zone, process solvent recovery zone, and/or drying zone.

A method includes charging PET bottle flakes having particular characteristics as a raw material into a crystallizer to generate a crystalline version thereof, drying the crystalline version with dehumidified air at a temperature of 160-180° C. and with a dew point of −40° C. to bring down a moisture level thereof below 100 ppm, melting the dried crystalline version through an extruder configured to have a temperature therein maintained at 285-295° C., and feeding the melted raw material into a spin beam. The method also includes generating, through a spinneret, a number of filaments based on extruding, through the spinneret, the melted raw material fed into the spin beam, forming a yarn based on combining the number of filaments, and winding the formed yarn to generate a spool of Partially Oriented Yarn (POY) configured to be utilized as another raw material to generate a Draw Texturized Yarn (DTY).

A method includes charging PET bottle flakes having particular characteristics as a raw material into a crystallizer to generate a crystalline version thereof, drying the crystalline version with dehumidified air at a temperature of 160-180° C. and with a dew point of −40° C. to bring down a moisture level thereof below 100 ppm, melting the dried crystalline version through an extruder configured to have a temperature therein maintained at 285-295° C., and feeding the melted raw material into a spin beam. The method also includes generating, through a spinneret, a number of filaments based on extruding, through the spinneret, the melted raw material fed into the spin beam, forming a yarn based on combining the number of filaments, and winding the formed yarn to generate a spool of Partially Oriented Yarn (POY) configured to be utilized as another raw material to generate a Draw Texturized Yarn (DTY).

A welded yarn may have a cross section about a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the welded yarn wherein the cross-sectional area is comprised of two or more distinct portions, wherein the degree of welding in each portion is different, which may also result in different fiber volume ratios compared to raw yarn substrates.

A welded yarn may have a cross section about a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the welded yarn wherein the cross-sectional area is comprised of two or more distinct portions, wherein the degree of welding in each portion is different, which may also result in different fiber volume ratios compared to raw yarn substrates.

The described incandescent tension annealing processes involve thermally annealing twisted or coiled carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns at high-temperatures (1000 C. to 3000 C.) while these yarns are under tensile loads. These processes can be used for increasing yarn modulus and strength and for stabilizing both twisted and coiled CNT yarns with respect to unwanted irreversible untwist, thereby avoiding the need to tether torsional and tensile artificial muscles, and increasing the mechanical loads that can be moved by these muscles.

The described incandescent tension annealing processes involve thermally annealing twisted or coiled carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns at high-temperatures (1000 C. to 3000 C.) while these yarns are under tensile loads. These processes can be used for increasing yarn modulus and strength and for stabilizing both twisted and coiled CNT yarns with respect to unwanted irreversible untwist, thereby avoiding the need to tether torsional and tensile artificial muscles, and increasing the mechanical loads that can be moved by these muscles.

The present invention is directed to a composite elastic yarn, including a core section including an elastic core filament, and a sheath section including staple fibers surrounding the core section, wherein the elastic core filament has a low cohesion property in which the inter-filament cohesion thereof is within the range of 9 to 198 mg when measured according to the ASTM D3822 method, and is also directed to a fabric, and a method for manufacturing a composite elastic yarn. According to the present invention, it is possible to solve a puckering problem occurring on the surface of a denim fabric, thereby improving a touch sensation and the quality of a final product.

The present invention is directed to a composite elastic yarn, including a core section including an elastic core filament, and a sheath section including staple fibers surrounding the core section, wherein the elastic core filament has a low cohesion property in which the inter-filament cohesion thereof is within the range of 9 to 198 mg when measured according to the ASTM D3822 method, and is also directed to a fabric, and a method for manufacturing a composite elastic yarn. According to the present invention, it is possible to solve a puckering problem occurring on the surface of a denim fabric, thereby improving a touch sensation and the quality of a final product.

Provided herein are scalable methods of spinning fiber comprising bi-constituent blends of cellulose and recombinant spider silk polypeptides. Also provided are compositions comprising blended fibers of cellulose and recombinant spider silk polypeptides.