A key problem in the production of man-made fibres based on synthetic polymers is the dependence on fossil raw materials, which are subject to various ecological and, in the long term, economic and political risks due to their finite nature. Polymers based on renewable raw materials represent an alternative. To establish biobased polymers in the textile industry and to demonstrate their full potential is the aim of project BioBase. The cooperation between research institutes and industry partners runs through the complete textile value chain of the respective benchmark products to develop viable biobased alternatives. Industrially produced demonstrators for four key sectors of the textile industry in Germany (automotive, sportswear, interiors and geo) are being created to demonstrate the potential of the biobased polymers available on the market.

As part of the BioBase project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, interior textiles made from biopolymers are being developed together with Krall+Roth Produktions GmbH. In order to investigate the substitution potential of different biopolymers, an established, petroleum-based product is being modelled with polymers based on renewable raw materials. Therefore, commercially available bio-based polymers are selected, melt-spun into filament yarns, then air-texturised and further processed into fabrics. The manufacturing processes and machine settings along the textile value chain must be adapted to the respective material behaviour of the biopolymers. Using this process, fabrics made from four different (partially) bio-based polyamides were successfully realised for the interior sector.