Lelia Lawson, Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Zylotex Inc.

As the textile industry prepares for a shift beyond wood-based cellulose, agricultural feedstocks are emerging as viable — but technically demanding — alternatives. Yet transitioning from forest resources to non-wood feedstocks introduces a new set of engineering realities that are often underestimated.

This session provides a technical deep dive into the material and process requirements necessary to convert agricultural cellulose into solvent-spun regenerated fibres. Drawing from recent laboratory pulping optimization, fibre spinning trials, and commercialization efforts, the presentation will examine the critical variables that determine whether a pulp is truly “spinnable.”

Attendees will gain practical insight into the balance between cellulose preservation and delignification, why yield alone is not a reliable indicator of fibre readiness, how pulping severity influences molecular weight and downstream performance and more.

Moving beyond proof-of-concept discussions, this session focuses on the engineering decisions required to prepare next-generation feedstocks for manufacturing environments. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how alternative cellulose sources are evaluated, optimized, and advanced toward production — and what this emerging feedstock transition may mean for the future of textile supply chains.