Cellulosic

Lyocell

Cellulose transformed through a solvent process.

Reviewed 2026-09-22. Evidence level: verified. Open the interactive profile and route map.

Key figures

Solvent: aqueous N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO)
Solvent recovery: above 99% reported; more than 99.8% claimed by Lenzing
Moisture regain: roughly 11% at standard conditions
Tenacity, dry vs wet (one comparison): about 32 vs 29 cN/tex
US generic name adopted: 1996 (FTC)

Approximate values under the stated conditions.

Overview

Production: about 370,000 tonnes (global lyocell production (estimate cited in a 2026 study), 2023). [5]

Regenerated cellulose produced by direct solvent dissolution, distinct from the viscose process.

Feel and behavior

Smooth and absorbent, with drape shaped by yarn and finishing.

Where you find it

Shirting, denim blends, dresses and bedding.

Source and geography

Lyocell is regenerated cellulose spun from dissolving wood pulp, like viscose, but the pulp is dissolved directly in an organic solvent instead of being converted to a chemical derivative. The solvent is N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) in water. More than one technology line exists: Courtaulds industrialized the process as Tencel, now a Lenzing brand, and the German engineering company Zimmer AG developed its own lyocell process. Research groups use the same solvent to spin fibers from bacterial cellulose, recycled textiles and additive-loaded dopes, which makes lyocell a common platform for functional cellulose fibers.

Advantages

It keeps most of its strength when wet, so it is more stable in washing than regular viscose.
It feels smooth and cool with a fluid drape and good moisture uptake.
Its solvent is recovered at a very high rate in a closed process, according to producers.
It blends well with cotton, wool and silk and suits both woven and knitted fabrics.

Drawbacks

Wet abrasion can fibrillate the surface, leaving a frosted, hairy look on dark colors.
Fabrics can stiffen after line drying and may need tumbling or steaming to soften.
It usually costs more than viscose and cotton of similar weight.
Brand names can obscure whether a product is lyocell, modal or a small-percentage blend.

Worth knowing

A 2010 life cycle study found Lenzing's Tencel, along with its Austrian-made modal and viscose, among the lowest overall impacts of the fibers it compared.
Fibrillation, usually a flaw, is deliberately induced to create the soft peach-skin or sand-washed surface on some lyocell fabrics.

Types, grades and fabrics

Types and grades

Standard lyocell fibrillates when wet-abraded, and finishers either suppress this or exploit it for a peach-skin surface. Cross-linked low-fibrillation grades are treated during fiber production so that fabrics stay smooth through garment dyeing and home laundering, suiting knitwear and bright colors. Staple lyocell is made in several finenesses and cut lengths for cotton-type or wool-type spinning, including micro grades for very soft, dense fabrics, and some producers offer filament lyocell with a silk-like luster. Dope-dyed lyocell is colored before spinning. Lenzing sells lyocell under its TENCEL brand and, under the REFIBRA name, lyocell made partly from pulp that includes cotton scraps. Other producers make generic lyocell, so the brand tag, not the fiber name, identifies Lenzing fiber.

Fabrics and products

Lyocell is widely used in denim, alone or blended with cotton, where it adds drape, a cool touch and a soft, sometimes sueded surface after enzyme or stone washing. It is woven into shirting, chambray and twill trousers, and into sateen and percale sheets marketed for cool sleep. Jersey and interlock knits appear in T-shirts, dresses and underwear, and fibrillated finishes give sand-washed blouses. It is blended with wool, silk or linen for drape and with cotton through siro spinning, where two strands are spun together, for smooth yarns. Nonwoven lyocell is used in wipes and technical products.

Buying and care

How to judge quality

Check for fibrillation on dark colors: a pale, frosted haze, especially along seams and folds, shows the finish was not controlled and will worsen with wear. A deliberate peach-skin fabric should look uniform. Smooth lyocell should feel cool, heavy and fluid rather than papery. Look at the generic name on the content line, since TENCEL can mean lyocell or modal, and treat pulp, recycling or solvent recovery statements as producer claims tied to specific fibers. For sheets, weave and yarn matter more than thread count, which is less meaningful for lyocell's smooth filaments and fine staple. Wrinkle recovery is better than viscose, but pure lyocell shirting still creases.

Care in detail

Wash lyocell at 30 C, or up to 40 C if the label allows, on a gentle cycle, inside out and in an uncrowded drum to limit the abrasion that causes fibrillation. Use a mild detergent without chlorine bleach. Tumble dry on low and remove promptly, or line dry and then soften briefly in the dryer or with steam, since line-dried lyocell can feel stiff. Iron at medium heat, about 150 C (two dots), preferably with steam or on the reverse for dark colors. Store as you would cotton. Once a frosted haze appears it cannot be reversed at home, so gentle washing from the start matters.

Care at a glance

Follow the care label and wash gently where allowed. Surface fibrillation can change the appearance of some fabrics.

Environmental and social footprint

Lyocell avoids carbon disulfide, and its NMMO solvent is recovered in a closed loop, so the main footprint questions are pulp sourcing and the energy used to evaporate and recover the solvent. In a 2010 life cycle assessment of Lenzing fibers published in Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Shen, Worrell and Patel ranked Tencel lyocell among the lowest overall impacts of the fibers studied, which also included viscose, modal, cotton, PET and polypropylene; results were specific to the plants, energy mixes and pulp supply of that producer. Canopy's Hot Button Report also covers lyocell producers' forest-sourcing risk. Lyocell made partly from cotton scraps reduces virgin pulp demand, but recycled content shares are producer claims.

Tradeoffs

Solvent recovery, energy supply and pulp origin differ among producers. Brand-specific claims should not be generalized.

A useful question to ask: Which producer made the fiber, and what recovery and forest-sourcing claims are verified?

Science

Data sheet

Property	Value	Conditions	Source
Moisture regain	about 11 %	standard conditions	[1]
Tenacity	about 31.7 dry; about 28.8 wet cN/tex	one reported comparison	[1]

Manufactured cellulose family

Regenerated cellulose or a cellulose derivative, depending on the fiber.

Structure and chemistry

The fiber is cellulose II. Because the chains are dissolved without chemical modification and are stretched in an air gap before they coagulate, they end up highly oriented and crystalline. X-ray microdiffraction of air-gap spun, lyocell-type fibers shows a skin-core structure with microfibrils about 100 nm across, built from ribbon-like elementary fibrils about 6 by 2 nm and stacked more regularly than in viscose, which underlies their higher wet strength. The cross-section is round to oval and smooth. The long, aligned fibrils are weakly bonded sideways, so under wet abrasion they split from the surface: fibrillation, the fiber's defining weakness. Carboxyl content is lower than viscose, about 15 versus 20 mmol/kg in one study.

From source to yarn

Pulp is mixed with aqueous NMMO, and water is evaporated under vacuum until the cellulose dissolves into a viscous dope; plants monitor and model this slurry step closely because the NMMO-to-cellulose ratio and temperature control dissolution. The filtered dope is extruded through spinnerets across a short air gap, where the filaments are drawn while still fluid, into a dilute aqueous NMMO bath in which cellulose precipitates (dry-jet wet spinning). Filaments are washed free of solvent, finished, dried and cut to staple or kept as filament. The solvent is recovered by evaporation and purification; recovery above 99% is reported, and Lenzing states more than 99.8% for its process. Additives such as silver particles or seaweed can be mixed into the dope.

Performance in use

Lyocell's moisture regain is roughly 11% at standard conditions, a little below viscose, and it keeps most of its strength wet: one comparison reported about 32 cN/tex dry and 29 wet, where viscose loses close to half. Fabrics are therefore more stable in washing and suit denim, shirting and bedding. It dyes with cellulose dye classes and chars rather than melts. The main problem is fibrillation during wet processing and laundering, which produces a hairy surface and can affect appearance and durability; finishers counter it with cross-linking agents, enzyme treatments and coatings, or exploit it for a soft peach-skin touch.

How it is identified

Burn tests are indicative only; lyocell burns like other cellulose, with a paper-like smell and soft ash. Microscopy shows smooth, round to oval, featureless fibers without the serrations of regular viscose, and wet rubbing may raise fine fibrils. FTIR confirms cellulose but not the process. Distinguishing lyocell from modal or cupro can require specialist microscopy or producer documentation, and brand names such as TENCEL cover more than one generic fiber, so the generic name on the label is what identifies it.

History

Timeline

1992Courtaulds petitioned the FTC for a new generic name for its solvent-spun cellulose fiber. [2]
1996The FTC approved lyocell as a name for fabric content labeling. [2]
2004Lenzing acquired the Tencel business. [3]
2010A life cycle assessment of Lenzing fibers ranked Tencel lyocell among the lowest overall impacts of the fibers compared, for that producer's plants. [4]
2023Lyocell production was about 370,000 tonnes, making it the third most produced man-made cellulosic fiber after viscose and acetate. [5]

Lyocell became commercially established later than viscose and modal, using direct solvent dissolution. Its development reflects efforts to refine cellulose-fiber processing. A generic lyocell name does not establish one producer’s exact recovery performance.

The deeper record

Direct dissolution of cellulose in amine oxides offered a route to regenerated fiber without carbon disulfide. Courtaulds brought it to commercial scale under the Tencel name in the early 1990s at Mobile, Alabama, petitioned the FTC in 1992 for a new generic name, and saw lyocell adopted in 1996. Lenzing acquired the Tencel business in 2004. The solvent platform now supports recycling research: in a 2026 study, dope-dyed viscose respun by the NMMO-lyocell route gave fibers of up to about 32 cN/tex with a color shift below Delta E 1, while the viscose route partly depolymerized the cellulose.

Labeling and law

16 CFR 303.7 allows the name lyocell, within the rayon definition, for cellulose precipitated from an organic solution in which no substitution of the hydroxyl groups takes place and no chemical intermediates are formed. The FTC approved the name in 1996 after a petition by Courtaulds. The EU lists lyocell separately under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011. Producer claims about solvent recovery, pulp sourcing or biodegradability are not part of the fiber name and must be checked against certificates for the specific product.

This describes what rules and standards cover. It is not legal advice; jurisdiction, product form and current rule text control.

Frequently asked

Is TENCEL the same as lyocell?

Not exactly. TENCEL is Lenzing's brand name, used for both its lyocell and its modal fibers. Lyocell is the generic fiber name for cellulose spun from a direct organic solvent. Check the content label: 'TENCEL lyocell' and 'TENCEL modal' are different fibers.

Why does my dark lyocell shirt look frosted?

That haze is fibrillation. Wet lyocell fibers can split into fine surface fibrils when rubbed during washing, and the fibrils scatter light, making dark colors look pale. Washing inside out, on gentle cycles and in smaller loads slows it, but it cannot be fully undone.

Is lyocell good for sheets?

Many people find lyocell sheets smooth and cool, because the fiber absorbs moisture and drapes closely. They cost more than cotton and need gentle washing to avoid fibrillation. Comparative sleep-temperature claims come mostly from sellers and have limited independent testing.

Is lyocell eco-friendly?

It can have a lower footprint than viscose or conventional cotton because its solvent is recovered and it avoids carbon disulfide. Results depend on the producer's energy, pulp source and forest certification, so check producer documentation rather than relying on the generic name.

Sources

Cite this page

Chaos. (2026). Lyocell. In Fibers of Earth: An independent textile atlas. https://www.hendrickresearch.com/fibers/materials/lyocell/