Define Acetate Tow

Cigarette Filters
Provide good air permeability and tar filtration capabilities, soft feel, and excellent rolling performance.

Eco-Friendly Filter Media
Applied in air purifiers, water treatment equipment, and industrial dust removal systems.

Hygiene & Medical
Used for masks, absorbent pads, medical absorbent materials, etc.

Raw Material Preparation

The main raw material is natural plant cellulose, usually derived from wood pulp or cotton linter pulp:

High-purity α-cellulose (>95%) is required

Wood pulp is pre-treated by drying and crushing

Acetylation Reaction

Mix cellulose with acetic acid, acetic anhydride, and catalyst (sulfuric acid) in a stirred reactor to cause an esterification reaction:

Cellulose+Acetic Anhydride→Cellulose Acetate+
By-products
Cellulose+Acetic Anhydride→Cellulose Acetate+By-products
Control the reaction temperature at 30~60℃

The reaction time is usually 2~4 hours

Obtain the primary product: cellulose acetate solution

Neutralization and Washing

By adding water, acetic acid and other neutralizing agents, the residual acidic substances in the reaction system are neutralized, and washed with water multiple times to remove by-products:

Ensure product purity

After washing, a wet cellulose gel is formed

Spinning (Tow Formation)

Wet cellulose gel is extruded through the spinneret, solidified and stretched in air or liquid to form filaments:

Dry spinning or wet spinning is used

Each bundle contains tens of thousands of filaments (usually 2,000~30,000+)

Control the denier and filament diameter of the bundle

Crimping

Mechanical heating and mechanical compression of the filaments create a spiral crimped shape, improving formability and volume.

Improves filtration efficiency

Improves crimping performance

Adjustable crimp parameters (number of crimps/cm)

Drying & Setting

The wet curled yarn is dried with hot air and heat-set to ensure the stability of size and physical properties:

Control the moisture content to ≤5%

Prevent adhesion and deformation