Acrylic fiber

Strong and warm, acrylic fiber is often used for sweaters and tracksuits and as linings for boots and gloves, as well as in furnishing fabrics and carpets.

It is manufactured as a filament, then cut into short staple lengths similar to wool hairs, and spun into yarn.

End-uses of modacrylic include faux fur, wigs, hair extensions, and protective clothing.

Production of acrylic fibers is centered in the Far East, Turkey, India, Mexico, and South America, though a number of European producers still continue to operate, including Dralon and Fisipe.

[citation needed] In the late 1950s, Courtaulds Ltd began investigating the production of an acrylic fiber later to be called "Courtelle" by a process of solvent polymerization.

A great deal of research in the chemical engineering laboratory in Lockhurst Lane, Coventry, and on the pre-production pilot plant at Little Heath overcame the recycling problems.

End-uses include socks, hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, home furnishing fabrics, and awnings.

The fiber requires heat to "relax" or set the shape of the finished garment, and it isn't as warm when wet as alternatives like wool.

[4][5][6][7] Research by ecologist Mark Browne showed synthetic fibre waste over coastlines at a global scale, with the greatest concentration near sewage outflows.

[8] In the middle of the 20th century, the DuPont Company (USA) was actively developing a new material that could compete with the then-popular nylon in quality and properties.

A distinctive feature of the acrylic fiber is its burning behavior; it melts and emits acrid smoke with a sour smell.