Validated performance: recycled PBO & PBI vs. virgin materials
Independent laboratory test data for R&D engineers and safety managers specifying recycled high-performance fibers
Do recycled PBO and PBI textiles offer comparable performance to virgin materials?
Yes. While many in the industry assume that recycling high-performance fibers leads to a loss of protection, technical evaluations prove otherwise. Hilaturas Arnau subjects its recycled PBO and PBI blends to rigorous standardised testing to ensure they meet or exceed the performance of traditional virgin textiles.
Certified thermal and flame resistance
Our recycled fiber solutions are not just “sustainable alternatives” — they are independently certified high-performance materials. In laboratory testing conducted by LEITAT (Report IN-02811/2025-1), our PBO/PREOX/PARA blends demonstrated elite-level performance under the EN ISO 11612:2015 standard for protective clothing against heat and flame.
Limited flame spread (ISO 15025:2016): Achieved Code A1 — zero afterflame time, no hole formation, no flaming debris.
Radiant heat resistance (EN ISO 6942:2022): Achieved Code C4 — the highest performance level — with a Radiant Heat Transfer Index (RHTI 24) of 124.1 seconds.
Structural integrity: No flaming debris or melting observed during exposure — maintaining the critical barrier required for life-safety applications.
The performance of recycled PBO and PBI depends on precision spinning. By carefully managing yarn structure and fabric construction, we ensure that mechanical stability and thermal resistance are tailored to professional-use requirements. For engineers and safety managers, this means adopting a circular economy model without compromising on end-user safety.
At Hilaturas Arnau, we provide full transparency by making our ISO textile resistance test results available to our partners — proving that sustainability and high-level protection can coexist.
