Nonwovens

Nonwoven textiles are those which are neither woven nor knit, for example felt. General
use hyphenates the word, but industrial use spells it as one word. Non-wovens are
typically not strong (unless reinforced by a backing or densified). In recent years, non-
woven material has become an alternative to polyurethane foam.

Non-woven fabric is typically manufactured by putting small fibers together in the form
of a sheet or web, and then binding them either mechanically (as in the case of felt, by
interlocking them with serrated needles such that the inter-fiber friction results in a
stronger fabric), with an adhesive, or thermally (by applying binder (in the form of
powder, paste, or polymer melt) and melting the binder onto the web by increasing
temperature).

Contents
 1 Applications
o 1.1 Hygiene
o 1.2 Medical
o 1.3 Technical
o 1.4 Filters
o 1.5 Geotextiles
o 1.6 Other
 2 Manufacturing processes
o 2.1 Staple non-wovens
o 2.2 Spunlaid non-wovens
o 2.3 Other
o 2.4 Bonding

 3 External links

Applications
Non-woven materials are nowadays mainly produced from man-made fibers. Two
synthetic polymers dominate the market: polypropylene (PP) and polyesters (mainly
PET). Nonwovens are often application-designated as either durable or disposable. For
example, nonwovens used as housewraps to prevent water infiltration are durable
nonwovens. Nonwovens used as facings on baby diapers are disposable or single-use
nonwovens.

Non-woven materials are used in numerous applications, including:

Hygiene
  baby diapers
 feminine hygiene
 adult incontinence products
 wipes
 bandages and wound dressings

Medical

 isolation gowns
 surgical gowns
 surgical drapes and covers
 surgical scrub suits
 caps

Technical

 roll roofing and shingle reinforcement

 insulation backing
 battery electrode separators
 vinyl flooring reinforcement
 plastic surface reinforcement (veils)
 wall coverings
 honeycomb structural components
 ceiling tile facings
 circuit board reinforcement
 electrical insulation

Filters

 gasoline, oil and air - including HEPA high efficiency particulate air filtration
 water, coffee, tea bags

Geotextiles

 soil stabilizers and roadway underlayment

 agriculture mulch
 pond and canal water barriers
 sand infiltration barrier for drainage tile

Other

 carpet backing, primary and secondary

 composites
o marine sail laminates
o tablecover laminates
 backing/stabilizer for machine embroidery
  insulation (fiberglass batting)
 pillows, cushions, and upholstery padding
 batting in quilts or comforters. In quilting, batting is a layer of insulation between
a top layer of patchwork and a layer of backing material
 consumer and medical face masks
 tarps, tenting and transportation (lumber, steel) wrapping
 disposable clothing (foot coverings, coveralls)

Manufacturing processes
Staple non-wovens

Staple non-wovens are made in two steps. Fibers are first spun, cut to a few centimeters
length, and put into bales. These bales are then dispersed on a conveyor belt, and the
fibers are spread in a uniform web by a wetlaid process or by carding. Wetlaid operations
typically use 1/4" to 3/4" long fibers, but sometimes longer if the fiber is stiff or thick.
Carding operations typically use ~1.5" long fibers. Rayon used to be a common fiber in
nonwovens, now greatly replaced by PET and PP. Fiberglass is wetlaid into mats for use
in roofing and shingles. Synthetic fiber blends are wetlaid along with cellulose for single-
use fabrics. Staple nonwovens are bonded by using either resin or thermally. Bonding can
be throughout the web by resin saturation or overall thermal bonding or in a distinct
pattern via resin printing or thermal spot bonding. Coforming with staple fibers usually
refers to a combination with meltblown, often used in high-end textile insulations.

Spunlaid non-wovens

Spunlaid non-wovens are made in one continuous process. Fibers are spun and then
directly dispersed into a web by deflectors or can be directed with air streams. This
technique leads to faster belt speeds, and cheaper costs. Several variants of this concept
are available, but the leading technology is the REICOFIL machinery, manufactured by
Reifenhäuser REICOFIL GmbH & Co. KG[1] (Germany). PP spunbonds run faster and
at lower temperatures than PET spunbonds, mostly due to the difference in melting
points. Spunbond has been combined with meltblown nonwovens, coforming them into a
layered product called SMS (spun-melt-spun). Meltblown nonwovens have extremely
fine fiber diameters but are not strong fabrics. SMS fabrics, made completely from PP are
water-repellent and fine enough to serve as disposable fabrics. Meltblown is often used as
filter media, being able to capture very fine particles. Spunlaid is bonded by either resin
or thermally.

Other

Nonwovens can also start with films and fibrillate, serrate or vacuum-form them with
patterned holes. Fiberglass nonwovens are of two basic types. Wet laid mat or "glass
tissue" use wet-chopped, heavy denier fibers in the 6 to 20 micrometre diameter range.
Flame attenuated mats or "batts" use discontinuous fine denier fibers in the 0.1 to 6 range.
The latter is similar, though run at much higher temperatures, to meltblown thermoplastic
nonwovens. Wet laid mat is almost always wet resin bonded with a curtain coater, while
batts are usually spray bonded with wet or dry resin. An unusual process produces
polyethylene fibrils in a Freon-like fluid, forming them into a paper-like product and then
calendering them to create Tyvek.

Bonding

Both staple and spunlaid non-wovens would have no mechanical resistance, per se,
without the bonding step. Several methods can be used:

 thermal bonding
o using a large oven for curing
o calendering through heated rollers (called spunbond when combined with
spunlaid), calenders can be smooth faced for an overall bond or patterned
for a softer, more tear resistant bond
 hydro-entanglement: mechanical intertwining of fibers by water jets (called
spunlace)
 ultrasonic pattern bonding, often used in high-loft or fabric
insulation/quilts/bedding
 needlefelt: mechanical intertwining of fibers by needles
 chemical bonding (wetlaid process): use of binders (such as latex emulsion or
solution polymers) to chemically join the fibers. A more expensive route uses
binder fibers or powders that soften and melt to hold other non-melting fibers
together
 one type of cotton staple nonwoven is treated with sodium hydroxide to shrink
bond the mat, the caustic causes the cellulose-based fibers to curl and shrink
around one another as the bonding technique
 meltblown is very weakly bonded from the air attenuated fibers intertangling with
themselves during web formation as well as the temporary tackiness when they
are forming
 one unusual polyamide spunbond (Cerex) is self-bonded with gas-phase acid

Tyvek
Tyvek house wrap

Tyvek suit

Tyvek USPS Express Mail Envelope

Tyvek is a brand of flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers, a synthetic material; the

name is a registered trademark of the DuPont Company. The material is very strong; it is
difficult to tear but can easily be cut with scissors or any other sharp object. Water vapor
can pass through Tyvek, but not liquid water, so the material lends itself to a variety of
applications: medical packaging, envelopes, car covers, air and water intrusion barriers
(housewrap) under house siding, labels, wristbands, mycology, and graphics. Tyvek is
sometimes erroneously referred to as "Tyvex."
Tyvek has been used by the United States Postal Service for some of its Priority Mail and
Express Mail packages and for banknotes in some countries. New Zealand has also used
it for their driver's licences from 1986 to 1999[1].

Many lightweight backpackers are now using homemade Tyvek groundcloths, finding
that they are lighter, cheaper, and pack smaller than the traditional blue plastic tarps.

Tyvek coveralls are one-piece jumpsuits made of Tyvek, usually white in color. They are
often worn by mechanics over their clothes to avoid contact with oil and fuel. They can
also be worn for painting to protect skin and clothes from splattered paint, for installation
of fiberglass insulation, by workers in laboratories and clean rooms, and any other use
where a disposable, one-time use coverall is needed. Tyvek coveralls are also used for
some light hazardous materials applications but do not provide the level of protection of a
full hazmat suit. Tychem is a sub-brand of Tyvek rated for a higher level of protection.
DuPont makes Tyvek clothing in different styles from lab coats and aprons to complete
head-to-toe coveralls with hoods and booties.

Tyvek can also be used to make CD and DVD sleeves, due to its useful properties that
give the disc sufficient protection. Netflix uses Tyvek sleeves for its DVD rental sleeves.

Tyvek superficially resembles paper; for example, it can be written and printed on.
However, it cannot be recycled as paper. Instead, DuPont runs a program in the United
States where disposable clothing, coveralls, lab coats, and other Tyvek disposable
garments can be recycled.

Tyvek is manufactured at the Spruance plant in Richmond, Virginia and in Luxembourg