Fabrication and Characterization of Alginate Fibers by Wet-Spinning

Alginate fibers were prepared by extruding a concentrated sodium alginate solution into calcium chloride coagulation bath. The rheological behavior of different concentrations of sodium alginate solutions were investigated to evaluate the spinnability. The effect of dope concentration on the morphologies and mechanical properties of resulting alginate fibers were examined. The results showed that sodium alginate solutions were pseudoplastic fluid and had good spinnability with concentration ranging in 1.5%-3.5%. Moreover, the morphology of obtained fibers became smoother with increasing sodium alginate concentrations. When the sodium alginate concentration was 3.5%, the tensile strength and elongation at break of alginate fibers reach to 13.6±1.2 cN/tex and 8±0.5%, respectively.