I N T E R N AT I O N A L

NONWOVENS Journal
A Science and Technology Publication
Volume 11, No. 3 Fall, 2002

Role of Fiber Morphology In Thermal Bonding

Fiber Motion Near The Collector During Melt Blowing —

Part 2: Fly Formation

A Comparison of Needlepunched Nonwoven Fabrics Made From

Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Staple Fibers

Linear Low Density Polyethylene Resins

For Breathable Microporous Films

Fiberglass Vs. Synthetic Air Filtration Media

Patent Review ... Researcher’s Toolbox ...

Technology Watch ... Director’s Corner ... The Nonwoven Web

Sponsored By
The International Nonwovens Journal is brought to you from
Associations from around the world. This critical technical
publication is provided as a complimentary service to the
membership of the Associations that provided
the funding and hard work.

PUBLISHER
INDA, ASSOCIATION OF THE NONWOVEN FABRICS INDUSTRY
TED WIRTZ
PRESIDENT
P.O. BOX 1288, CARY, NC 27511
www.inda.org

SPONSOR
TAPPI, TECHNICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY
WAYNE H. GROSS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/COO
P.O. BOX 105113
ATLANTA, GA 30348-5113
www.tappi.org
 I N T E R N AT I O N A L
NONWOVENS Journal
A Science and Technology Publication
Vol. 11, No. 3 Fall, 2002
The International Nonwovens Journal Mission: To publish the best peer reviewed research journal with broad
appeal to the global nonwovens community that stimulates and fosters the advancement of nonwoven technology.

Publisher ORIGINAL PAPERS

Ted Wirtz
President Role of Fiber Morphology In Thermal Bonding
INDA, Association of the
Nonwoven Fabrics Industry
Original Paper by Subhash Chand, Gajanan S. Bhat, Joseph E. Spruiell and
Sponsors Sanjiv Malkan, University of Tennessee-Knoxville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Wayne Gross Fiber Motion Near The Collector During Melt Blowing:
Executive Director/COO
TAPPI, Technical Association of Part 2 — Fly Formation
the Pulp and Paper Industry Original Paper by Randall R. Bresee, University of Tennessee-Knoxville,
Teruo Yoshimura
Secretary General and Uzair A. Qureshi, Jentex Corp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
ANIC, Asia Nonwoven Fabrics A Comparison of Needlepunched Nonwoven Fabrics Made From
Industry Conference
Editors Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Staple Fibers
Rob Johnson Original Paper by Dr. Ian G. Carson, Shell Coordination Centre s.a., Monnet
856-256-1040
rjnonwoven@aol.com Centre – International Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
D.K. Smith Linear Low Density Polyethylene Resins For Breathable Microporous Films
480-924-0813
nonwoven@aol.com
Original Paper by W.R. Hale, E.D. Crawford, K.K. Dohrer, B.T. Duckworth,
Association Editors Eastman Chemical Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Cosmo Camelio, INDA Fiberglass Vs. Synthetic Air Filtration Media
D.V. Parikh, TAPPI
Teruo Yoshimura, ANIC Original Paper by Edward Vaughn and Gayetri Ramachandran,
Production Editor Clemson University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Michael Jacobsen
INDA Director of Publications
mjacobsen@inda.org DEPARTMENTS
Editorial 4 Nonwovens Web 54
Researcher’s Toolbox 5 Nonwovens Patents 57
Director’s Corner 7 Association News 61
Technology Watch 9 Pira Worldwide Abstracts 63
Meetings 66
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Frank Harris HDK Industries Behnam Pourdeyhimi NCSU
Chuck Allen BBA Nonwovens Albert Hoyle Hoyle Associates Art Sampson Polymer Group Inc.
Cosmo Camelio INDA Marshall Hutten Hollingsworth & Vose Robert Shambaugh Univ. of Oklahoma
Roy Broughton Auburn University Hyun Lim E.I. duPont de Nemours Ed Thomas BBA Nonwovens
Robin Dent Albany International Joe Malik AQF Technologies Albin Turbak Retired
Ed Engle Fibervisions Alan Meierhoefer Dexter Nonwovens Larry Wadsworth Univ. of Tennessee
Tushar Ghosh NCSU Michele Mlynar Rohm and Haas J. Robert Wagner Consultant
Bhuvenesh Goswami Clemson Graham Moore PIRA
Dale Grove Owens Corning D.V. Parikh U.S.D.A.–S.R.R.C.
EDITORIAL
Stealth Readers
By Rob Johnson and DK Smith
Technical Editors, International Nonwovens Journal
e know you are out there because
W our website people tells us that
each issue of the INTERNATIONAL
NONWOVENS JOURNAL receives more
than 10,000 hits during the quarter after
publication. Even more remarkable, the
older issues of the INJ still each get up
to 5,000 hits during the same period.
Yes, we know you are out there ... and
we would like to hear from you from
time to time.
The editors of the INJ currently have
plenty of contact with several groups.
There is frequent discussion with the
authors of the technical papers and with
members of our outstanding Editorial
Advisory Board who peer review these
papers every issue. We also receive sig-
nificant feedback and input from the
INDA Technical Advisory Board, whose
Mission Statement now includes the
line: “Assure that the INJ remains an
effective technical vehicle.”
What we would like, in addition to
these important elements, is input from
our readers. We need to know and
understand what you are thinking so we
can better serve you. We welcome com-
ments on any aspect of the journal, even
the stuff you don’t like about it.
Of course, the primary mission of the
INJ is to publish peer reviewed research
papers and, consequently, we consider
this the most important aspect of the
journal. Your suggestions on topics as
well as comments on the papers pub-
4 INJ Fall 2002
nonwovens and related industries. The
regular key departments include:
• Editorials
• Director’s Corner
• Researcher’s Toolbox
• The Nonwovens Web
• Technology Watch
• Worldwide Abstracts
• Organization/University Focus
• Patent Review
• Association Page
Here, again, we seek your comments
and suggestions. Are these the correct
lished to date are always welcome and subjects for departments to reflect your
can only serve to strengthen the journal.
Do you agree with the author’s results
interests and needs? What do you like?
What do you dislike? Are there topics
and conclusions? Perhaps you have for inclusion? Perhaps you have a sug-
additional insight to offer or comments gested article that can be summarized in
that might spur further research. We’ll one of the departments. Perhaps you
never know unless you tell us. feel strongly about something and want
The other key portion of the INJ con- to offer a guest editorial. Just let us
sists of the various departments where know.
our objective is to collect and dissemi- You can reach us and forward your
nate useful information pertinent to comments, suggestions and submissions
technical professionals and others in the to Rob Johnson at rjnonwoven@aol.com.
INJ’s Electronic Path
t has been almost two years since we announced the online format of the
I INTERNATIONAL NONWOVENS JOURNAL that commenced with the Spring 2001
issue. It seems that we were “ahead of the curve” at the time and it is now fully
apparent that this move was correct in that we see many journals and other pub-
lications that have followed us online.
As we stated earlier, we now get more than 10,000 hits during the quarter
after publication and we feel this compares favorably with the prior hardcopy
press run of 5000 copies. Further, the online format has provided several addi-
tional advantages, including allowing INDA and TAPPI to make the decision to
offer the INJ free to anyone in the world with Internet access.
For another, being online offers the use of color, which increases the clarity
of many tables, graphs and photos included in the journal. A good example of
this value is a paper in the Winter 2001 issue, “Use of Infrared Thermography
To Improve The Melt Spinning And Processing of Polyester Fibers” by Glenn
Gibson and Mark Tincher, Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, TN. This
paper obviously benefited from color, as much of the information would have
been lost in black and white. — RJ, DKS

RESEARCHER’S
TOOLBOX
Digital Cameras for Microscopy
Because of their convenience, flexibili-
ty, and low-cost per photo, digital cameras
have gained a great deal of popularity
among the picture-taking public.
Operation of the camera can be almost
foolproof as well as flexible, giving sur-
prisingly good results in a wide variety of
conditions. These features, coupled with
the ability to see the results immediately,
as well as a cost per shot that makes mul-
tiple exposures almost mandatory, have
made the transition to digital photography
an irresistible force.
The same movement is occurring with-
in photomicroscopy, the union of the cam-
era and the microscope. Although pho-
tomicroscopists are generally skilled pho-
tographers as well, the ease, convenience
and cost are major strong drivers for the
trend. Further, the ease of storage,
retrieval, transferral and quantitative
analysis of digital photomicrographs make
this capability a significant research tool.
With the capability of 3.3+ million pixel
CCD resolution, superb digital images are
almost guaranteed, even of very fine struc-
tures within a specimen.
Olympus Optical Co. of Hamburg,
Germany, has concentrated on the devel-
opment of a line of digital microscope
cameras. These cameras are fitted with a
universal C-mount thread, allowing
attachment to almost any microscope.
The Olympus DP 12 is a compact digi-
tal camera with 3.34 million pixel resolu-
tion. The camera system is provided with
a tilting 3.5” LCD monitor, which is inte-
grated into the control pad. This allows
adjustable observation at the ideal angle.
Real-time display of large, easy-to-see
images allow faster, more accurate focus-
ing and framing.
Date, time, shutter speed and file name
are displayed and stored together with the
image; up to 16 acquired images can be
displayed on a connected computer screen
at one time for on-screen image selection.
Sharp focusing, even at low magnifications
is made possible with an electronic focus
indicator and a 2x digital zoom function.
One touch, automatic and manual white
balance modes are available for optimal
color representation, and users can choose
1% spot and 30% exposure metering and
automatic or manual exposure modes.
Removable “SmartMedia” cards store
up to 138 MB of images, which can be
easily transferred to any PC. Optional soft-
ware allows images to be downloaded
directly from the camera to the PC.
This company has just introduced a
new, compact digital microscope camera,
the Olympus “ColorView II.” This unit
incorporates Firewire Technology, which
is similar to a USB connection, but has a
much higher data transmission rate. The
camera is wired to the LCD screen or a
computer, and transfers the photomicro-
graphic image very rapidly.
For information: Olympus Optical, D-
20097 Hamburg, Germany; 49+40/23-
7730; www.olympus-europa.com .
Coating and Laminating Equipment
New capabilities for studying CCL
processes (Coating, Combining and
Laminating processes) in the laboratory
and plant are emerging, as new small scale
and production scale equipment is devel-
oped. The following describes some
recent introductions.
American Santex has introduced their
Cavitec Modular Hot Melt Coating and
Laminating system. This system provides
for more than one application method in
the same process line. The Cavilex base
station can be equipped for three different
processes: Cavimelt engraved roll coater;
Caviroll roll coater; and the Cavislot slot
die coater. All three systems provide con-
siderable variability for suitable substrates
INJ DEPARTMENTS
and coating formulations, along with pre-
cise control of process variables.
Additional details are available from:
American Santex, Spartanburg, SC; 864-
574-7222: www.santex-group.com .
For laboratory work, the Coatema
Easycoater discontinuous lab unit offers
an economical and easy-to-operate set-up
for preparing small hand samples with
constant coating weight and thickness.
The coating head in this unit is a high-pre-
cision stainless steel Doctor Blade that can
also be used as an “Air Knife System.”
The coating head can be adjusted to vari-
ous heights and angles with a precision
screw and micrometer gauge. This unit
also has a companion mixing set-up for
preparation of 3-5 liters of coating formu-
lation. The Easymixer is fitted with an
explosion-proof motor and is scaled for
splitting batches to cover a variety of for-
mula modifications. For more: Coatema
Coating Machinery GmbH, Spartanburg,
SC; 846-582-1900.
Reliant Machinery, the major UK man-
ufacturer of flatbed laminators, has posi-
tioned its Reliant Powerbond Mark III
series unit into their line of powder, film
and adhesive web laminators. They claim
flexibility, ease of operation, maximum
production and improved quality.
It has special features such as a heat tun-
nel that adjusts from zero to 50 millimeters
for thick and thin materials, along with
standard heat tunnels from 1.7 to 5.7
meters length in 1-meter increments. The
heat tunnel can be fitted with 10-zone heat
controls; it comes in standard width of one
to three meters. The Mark III also includes
their Synchro-Trak automatic belt tracking
system, refrigerated cooling modules,
microprocessor controls, and embedded
diagnostics.
In the U.S., Reliant is represented by
Apparel Equipment, Philadelphia, PA; 215-
634-2626; www.reliant-machinery.com .
Liquid Carbon Dioxide
In Apparel Cleaning
The use of liquified carbon dioxide has
generated a considerable amount of inter-
est over the past few years. The reason for
this interest is the tremendous solvent
power of liquid carbon dioxide. In this
state, the material acts as both a liquid and
INJ Fall 2002 5

a gas, hence is able to more easily pene-
trate into materials and exert its strong sol-
vent action. This unique physical state is
achieved at an elevated pressure and tem-
perature of the carbon dioxide.
The use of the strong solvent power of
this system has been exploited in the
research laboratory to some extent. Also,
the use of liquid CO2 in textile cleaning
and scouring operations has been studied
rather extensively at North Carolina State
University and the University of North
Carolina. Joseph M. DeSimone, a chem-
istry and chemical engineering professor at
the University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill has done considerable research on this
system. In 1995, Professor DeSimone
founded the company Micell Technologies
to market an apparel dry cleaning process
based on this research.
This latter company has been exploiting
the technology through a series of dry
cleaning establishments under the name of
“Hangers” dry cleaners (16 stores in
Southeast U.S.).
In recent years almost all dry cleaning
operations have been based on the use of
hydrocarbon and chlorinated solvents, par-
ticularly perchloroethylene (so-called
Perc). Such solvents have had real disad-
vantages to their use including flammabil-
ity and potential for causing cancer. Hence,
there has been an interest in replacing such
solvents.
Liquid carbon dioxide has none of these
disadvantages in this application. To use
this solvent, the dry cleaning equipment
has to be pressurized, but this has been
accomplished fairly easily. Expanding the
use of this solvent has been accelerated by
the introduction of special boosters into the
solvent to facilitate the removal of some
types of soil and spots. This has been
achieved by additives, generally thought to
be based on fluorine- or silicon-based sur-
factants.
Such an improved solvent system based
on liquid carbon dioxide has been intro-
duced to the industry under the trade name
“Washpoint,” by a joint development of
ICI and Linde. These two companies
joined in product development efforts in
2000, which has resulted in the proprietary
Washpoint product. This product is now
6 INJ Fall 2002
RESEARCHER’S TOOLBOX
being introduced into the dry cleaning Alamos National Laboratories. The new
industry. Washpoint solvent system is compatible
Linde previously had entered the dry with the Micell system.
cleaning business through its merger with It is apparent that these commercial
AGA a few years ago. This earlier effort activities will expand the use of this solvent
was based on a solvent termed Dry Wash system, and will very likely extend the use
fluid, which had been developed by in the textiles and apparel industries, as
Raytheon Environmental Systems and Los well as increased laboratory use. — INJ
Laboratory Technicians
mong the numerous unsung heroes of the R&D scene, laboratory techni-
A cians often comprise a group that is significant in number and contribution.
Generally the workhorses that get the uninteresting and tedious assignments,
their suggestions and contributions can often prove critical in bringing home the
successful development project.
One company within the nonwovens industry makes it a practice to include
laboratory technicians as co-inventors when they honestly made a contribution
to a new invention. A couple of the “Techs” within that Research Division had
more patents to their credit than some long-time professionals, and rightly so!
Too often, however, these unsung heroes are just that — playing a significant
role, making a contribution, but always on the sidelines.
Recently, more attention has been paid to this group, and their gripes, hopes
and views have been seriously noted and considered. Some scientific and engi-
neering organizations have taken steps to recognize and highlight the expres-
sions of this important group. Several professional societies have modified their
bylaws and clearly established membership categories for qualified technicians.
This often involves a clear statement that an individual with an associate degree
with a certain minimum amount of applicable experience can join with other pro-
fessionals in the society.
A study of this situation by a professor at Stanford University has identified
the three major “Rs” desired by laboratory technicians to clearly establish their
status and recognize the value their work brings to the scientific community.
These three major desires include the following:
• Respect — technicians wants to be respected for the professionals they are,
for the value of their experience and ability to contribute.
• Recognition — Acknowledgment of their efforts and occasional public
recognition of their contributions and accomplishments.
• Responsibility — Commensurate with their skill and capability, the techni-
cian wants and needs opportunities to do more and learn more, to take on more
responsibility and thus experience personal grow.
The seasoned, long-time researcher who has worked with a variety of techni-
cians can often recall one or more Techs that would truly be preferred on the
R&D team over a lot of professionals.
When the Three Rs desired by laboratory technicians are thoughtfully consid-
ered, they are not at all surprising. After all, respect, recognition and responsi-
bility are consciously or unconsciously sought by all rational human beings. A
discussion in these columns several issues ago dealt with appropriate and mean-
ingful actions and recognitions that managers can arrange for deserving profes-
sional researchers. Those same items can often be very appropriate for the tech-
nician as well.

DIRECTOR’S
CORNER
Beware ‘Negligent Hiring’
As has been discussed in this column in
the past, the job of today’s manager is
becoming more and more complex; the
task is truly filled with hazards, potential
lawsuits and actions to be avoided. Here
comes another one.
A new employee is added to the payroll
after the usual interview and reference
check. Very shortly, it becomes obvious
that the new hire is a discontented, rather
unbalanced individual. As a “reward” for
the baggage of associated problems, the
person is assigned to a less desirable job. A
dangerous and violent nature comes to the
surface and a clash or incident occurs
where a fellow employee or worse yet, a
visitor is injured. What comes next?
This could be an example of what is
becoming known as a “Negligent Hire,” a
legal term that describes a violation of the
basic duty of a company or organization,
the duty to exercise “care” in hiring.
In such situations, an employer can be
questioned as to whether they took all rea-
sonable steps before the hiring decision to
identify whether or not the problem
employee had any past misconduct or
unfit behavior on the job. The reference
check may be cited as evidence of due
care. However, everyone knows that most
organizations are reluctant to give a for-
mer employee a less-than-average rating.
So, what is a manager to do?
Recent court rulings have found that
managers who are contacted by any com-
pany doing a pre-employment check on a
former employee must reveal any serious
misconduct by that employee.
Withholding such information can put
them at risk for a lawsuit.
Almost every state now has a law which
is designed to address this problem.
Invariably, former employers are legally
obligated to mention any misconduct
INJ DEPARTMENTS
It is important that the manager keep a
checklist in each employee’s file that
details who was contacted as a reference
and what was learned. It is important to try
to check each reference give. Little infor-
mation may be gained, but the file must
show that an honest and reasonable effort
was made to get such information. If you
do not try, you might be found negligent.
For an employee with a previous con-
involving violence or acts that physically viction, the Equal Employment
endangered other individuals. Failure to Opportunity Commission says that
disclose such past misconduct by an employers must consider three factors to
employee subjects the previous employer justify use of a conviction record:
to damages the employee might inflict in • The nature and gravity of the offense
future workplaces. for which the applicant was convicted;
Most managers who hire new employ- • The amount of time that has elapsed
ees know that it is important to conduct since the applicant’s conviction and/or
some kind of applicant pre-screening or completion of the sentence;
background check. This means checking • The nature of the job in question as it
references, talking with previous employ- relates to the nature of the offense com-
ees, and for certain jobs, conducting crimi- mitted.
nal or motor vehicle department checks. Further, if an employers finds out that
Also, managers should find out if appli- an employee had problems with violence
cants have ever been convicted of a crime. in the past and nothing is done about it, the
This question is usually on the written employer could be found liable for
application. It is illegal to ask about arrests, “Negligent Retention.” Also, another
but it is okay to ask about convictions. related employer fault is gaining accep-
Workplace Greenery Reduces Stress
his Department has frequently observed the importance and interest in work-
T place stress. With individuals spending a major portion of their lives in the
workplace, it only makes sense to examine from time to time the factors that can
alleviated or moderate the stress encountered there. Some stress-generating ele-
ments cannot be eliminated, of course, but that does not excuse consideration of
anything that can help the situation.
An interesting and surprising stress-reducing factor that has received consid-
eration is the use of interior plants in the work environment. It has been shown
by these recent studies that such greenery can be a helpful factor. Visual expo-
sure to a plant setting has produced significant recovery from stress with five
minutes, while enhancing productivity by 12%, according to a study by Texas
A&M University and Washington State University (WSU).
WSU research also confirmed that once exposed to plant settings, test partici-
pants demonstrated more positive emotions, such as happiness, friendliness, and
assertiveness, as well as fewer negative emotions, such as sadness and fear.
The researchers concluded that interior workplace plants signal stability and
offer employees a touch of humanity while stimulating a more productive envi-
ronment. Growing plants also consume and lower the sleeping-promoting carbon
dioxide level within an enclosure, replacing it with more stimulating oxygen.
These finding may surprising some research administrators, but most house-
wives can vouch for their authenticity. For more detailed information, go to
www.plantsatwork.org.
INJ Fall 2002 7
DIRECTOR’S CORNER
tance in legal circles and that is “Negligent
Supervision.”
With all of these potential worries, an
employer does have some help. Alist of char-
acteristics that experts in the field have identi-
fied as indicative of the possibility of work-
place violence has been assembled
(www.noworkviolence.com/articles/prevent-
ing_violence.htm ).
Studies have shown that more than 35%
of job applicants lie on their employment
applications. The courts have not ruled
that employers must verify what applicant
have written on their job applications.
However, if the employer does not ques-
tion about prior convictions, there may not
be a defense against Negligent Hiring.
On the other side of the coin, there is a
growing concern, especially with union
organizations, that some employers may
be digging too deeply into the employees
past. This has been particularly true for
organizations who employ outside con-
tracting firms which may not do as thor-
ough a job with their employees’ past as
the company wants. There is such a thing
as a company digging too deeply into an
employee’s past, as evidenced by some
current law suits. In some cases, the
defendant employers are claiming they are
only following government mandates. So,
like a lot of elements in life, there has to be
a balance in appropriate actions.
Safety Items
The following are a variety of safety
ideas that may be applicable to lab, plant
or office environments. These items have
been collected from numerous sources.
“Our business is in a small community,
and we are serviced by a very dedicated
volunteer fire department. Every year we
invite the officers to tour our facility so
they are aware of the layout of the struc-
ture and its contents. We believe this is
beneficial to both parties and may assist in
a rescue or their ability to put the fire out.”
One recommendation involves asking
the local police’s bomb squad and the local
Emergency Preparedness team to join fire
department officers in a tour of the facility.
A similar suggestion points out that in
many states, a county Emergency
Management Agency (EMA) is mandated.
8 INJ Fall 2002
In such states, any facility possessing a
certain level of “dangerous” chemicals or
materials must report approximate
amounts and locations of these substances
to the local EMA. This allows the agency
to help in many aspects, including plan-
ning evacuation routes, should the need
arise. Contacts with and visits from the
local EMA should be a “must do” item for
all pertinent locations.
“I am a volunteer firefighter and EMT-
Intermediate, and my company under-
stands that I might come in late or leave
early if I get a call. Companies should
encourage employees to volunteer and
design their personnel policies to support
employees’ commitment to contributing to
the community.”
“A useful suggestion is having the local
fire department help train on-site emer-
gency responders. We make a generous
donation to them for their training services
whenever provided.”
A cautionary note regarding the sugges-
tion to have the local fire department help
train on-site emergency responders. C.J.
Palmer, an EMS and fire science educator
who has actively practiced in the field for
more than 25 years, says, “I would make
sure the instructors are competent in the
subject matter and that they hold an
instructor credential from an agency rec-
ognized in the field. Most of us in EMS
know little about OSHA requirements, and
I continuously run into well-meaning
employers who are relying on interpreta-
tions from people who are not well-versed
in regulatory affairs.” Enough said!
“Hearing is an invaluable sense we tend
to take for granted. Hearing loss has been
found to take place at noise levels of 85
dBA and higher. An easy way to deter-
mine if you are in noise levels higher than
85 dBA is when you and another per-
son/co-worker have to raise your voices in
order to communicate when standing
about three feet from each other.”
A very helpful Internet site for virtually
all aspects of safety is that of the National
Safety Council (NSC), located at
www.nsc.org .The site offers a very excel-
lent First Aid and CPR training program.
This program was recently offered free of
charge for a week to commemorate the
September 11 Terrorist Attack; normally it
is offered for a nominal charge. This site
also offers a mobile field reference to
emergency medical information that can
be loaded in a PDA (Personal Digital
Assistant). This reference can be loaded
with the latest medical information, and
can be undated as new information is
available. You can even add your own
local protocols to the database. The site
has a wide variety of features that contain
a substantial amount of interesting and
useful information. Use it!!
Science Safety, the website of the
Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI) is a use-
ful place for a variety of helps on various
aspects of laboratory safety. While espe-
cially directed toward laboratory safety in
science education, much of the informa-
tion is universal in nature.
The Laboratory Safety Institute (192
Worcester Road, Natick, MA 01760; 508-
657-1900) is a non-profit center for health,
safety and environmental affairs. LSI indi-
cates that its mission is to “make health
and safety an integral and important part of
science education, the work and lives of
scientists and science educators.” That
such a need exists is highlighted by their
statement that “the accident rate in schools
and colleges is 100 to 1,000 times greater
than at Dow or DuPont.”
The “Science Safety” site offers a vari-
ety of products and services including
mini-grants, audio-visual lending library, a
variety of products, seminars and training
sessions, custom training services, audits,
information on regulatory compliance, an
online library with graphics and
PowerPoint files, a newsletter and numer-
ous other facilities - (www.labsafety.org).
By way of reducing the inventory of
chemicals and potentially hazardous mate-
rials, the American Chemical Society has
prepared a publication entitled “Less is
Better.” This offers a variety of techniques
to reduce such inventories without hinder-
ing the progress of research and develop-
ment efforts. (American Chemical
Society, 1155 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036; 202-872-4600).
— INJ
INJ DEPARTMENTS
TECHNOLOGY
WATCH
GMP and the Converting Industry
Several sectors within the nonwovens
converting industry pay close attention
to GMP, or Good Manufacturing
Practices. These are requirements man-
dated by the Food and Drug
Administration to the pharmaceutical,
medical and related industries involved
in manufacturing and marketing prod-
ucts that can impact human and animal
health.
Companies that manufacture various
classes of medical devices also must
meet GMP standards; such standards
not only relate to proper manufactur-
ing procedures, but also cover raw
materials, records, distribution and
other elements of production and use.
Some of these requirements are
designed to provide the means to check
all aspects of a specific production lot
and its use if a problem should arise in
the eventual consumption or use of the
product.
The FDA has just begun a sizeable
review of its GMP requirements for the
pharmaceuticals industry; while the
current review will focus initially on
pharmaceutical products only, it is
likely that any new aspects of GMP
will find their way into GMP standards
for other manufacturing operations,
including personal, medical and sani-
tary products.
The current review will cover manu-
facturing of veterinary and human
drugs, including biological products
and vaccines. The effort will strive to
make manufacturing processes consis-
tent and safer, according to FDA offi-
cials. Deputy FDA Commissioner
Lester M. Crawford said in discussing
the review, “Any system can be
improved upon, and with this risk-
based, highly integrative Good
Manufacturing Practices initiative, we
intend to do just that.”
Three goals are cited for the initia-
tive:
1. Focus more on processes that pre-
sent actual risks to public health.
2. Establish quality standards that do
not impede innovation or introduction
of new technologies.
3. Enhance predictability in FDA’s
approach to quality and safety.
Over the next couple of years it is
anticipated that the FDA will gather
detailed information from the pharma-
ceutical industry, and also from manu-
facturing experts, academia, govern-
ment and consumer groups relating to
these issues.
It is also anticipated that any princi-
ples, practices and standards devel-
oped from this review will be adapted
for modifying GMP requirements in
other related industries. Also, there
will undoubtedly be some internation-
al implications of such review of GMP
requirements, as there is significant
importation of many of these product
types into the U.S.; also, there is a ten-
dency for such U.S. standards to be uti-
lized domestically in other countries.
Hence, the potential impact of this
review may be quite significant.
Cleaning Up the Ozone
Ozone is one of the major targets in
efforts to clean up the air surrounding
the earth. Ozone is a important compo-
nent of smog, as it can be an important
pollutant in addition to being blamed
for a variety of reactions that increase
the smog-forming potential of various
other chemical pollutants.
To the chemist, the easiest solution
to the ozone problem would be to sim-
ply convert ozone (O3) into normal
oxygen (O2), which constitutes about
1/5 of the atmosphere and is a vital and
“good” component of air. The prob-
lem, of course, is how to achieve such
conversion easily, inexpensively, and
without any other attendant problems.
A fascinating approach to achieving
this conversion is being exploited in a
small way by some drivers using their
automobiles to a greater extent. This
sounds a little incongruous, as automo-
biles are considered to be a major part
of the problem of ground level pollu-
tion. With the right technology, howev-
er, they could become part of the solu-
tion.
The key to this approach is a catalyst
system that can achieve such a conver-
sion at ambient or somewhat elevated
temperatures, without any deleterious
side effects. Such a catalyst system can
be coated on the radiator of an auto-
mobile. As such a car is driven, a large
volume of air is pulled through the
radiator and the ground-level ozone
contained therein is converted to nor-
mal oxygen.
The catalyst system has been termed
“PremAir” Technology by its produc-
er, the American company Engelhard.
It is keeping the identity of the catalyst
a secret for the time being, but industry
sources point out that the patent litera-
ture suggests that manganese oxides
MnO2 and Mn2O 3 are involved.
Depending upon factors like the speed
of the car, the catalyst can convert 60
to 80% of the ozone flowing through
the radiator into oxygen.
Several car manufacturers are look-
ing at this technology to give them a
boost in their environmental image, as
well as in meeting some governmental
requirements that become mandatory
in the future. Volvo has had PremAir
Technology on some of its models for
several months. Also, BMW is using
INJ Fall 2002 9
TECHNOLOGY WATCH
the system on cars sold into certain
states in the U.S.
While the heat from the car radiator
doesn’t hurt, the reaction does not
require the elevated temperatures nec-
essary for precious metal catalysts as
used in conventional catalytic convert-
ers. The technology is not considered
to be a complete solution to the ozone
problem, as it can process the ozone in
only a small fraction of the earth’s
atmosphere. However, to concept of
using the automobile to do some clean-
ing of the air is certainly novel.
Engelhard is looking for other appli-
cations for the catalyst system in addi-
tion to the use in automobiles. Use in
air conditioner condensers and other
architectural applications may be fea-
sible and advantageous.
In view of the extensive use of non-
wovens in air filtration applications, it
is not a wild stretch of the imagination
to think of a modification of this sys-
tem to engineer nonwoven fabrics that
not only rid air of its particulate conta-
minants, but also chemical contami-
nants that are not now amenable to car-
bon filter media. Nonwoven fabrics
that have chemically modified fiber
surfaces are being exploited in blood
filtration by selective chemical
actions; why not a similar approach to
cleaning up the IAQ (Indoor Air
Quality) problem.
Also, for anyone who has a laser
printer close by, the odor of ozone may
be apparent from time to time. Some
people claim a little ozone can be help-
ful, but basically it is a poisonous gas,
so elimination of an excess by such an
active ventilation system might be a
good idea.
Recycling PVC Plastic
Polyvinyl chloride plastic has been
under the gun from numerous environ-
mental groups, who perceive the mate-
rial to be a real environmental prob-
lem. Recently, some favorable publici-
ty was gained by the PVC industry by
some significant success achieved in
recycling waste PVC.
Earlier this year, the “Vinyloop”
10 INJ Fall 2002
recycling process went into commer- being designed to recycle PVC-coated
cial operation at a plant in Italy. This tarpaulins and fabrics produced in
first industrial unit was started up at a Europe; Ferrari S.A. of France is a
plant of Solvay, a major chemical com- major producer of such coated textile
pany headquartered in Brussels, fabric and provided considerable assis-
Belgium, that is a major producer of tance in developing the process. This
PVC resin. second unit is scheduled to begin oper-
The new operation is designed to ation in 2004; other recycling units are
recycle 10,000 tons per year of waste being considered for Europe, Canada
PVC plastic, most of it insulation and Japan.
material coming from electrical cable, Obviously, recycling is becoming a
80% of which is of post-consumer ori- major factor wherever a product raw
gin. The plant is being operated by material is used in large volume.
Vinyloop Ferrara SpA, which is a joint
venture of four European PVC produc- Digital Printing of Nonwovens
ers: SolVin Italia (a Solvay company), The company Leggett & Platt has
Adriaplast, Tecnometal, and Vulcaflex. roots going back several years into the
The venture has received financial nonwovens industry. For many years,
support from Vinyl 2010, the European the Nashville company was noted as a
PVC Industry committee devoted to major producer and marketer of high-
the voluntary recycling effort. loft fabrics, needlepunch fabrics,
A second Vinyloop recycling plant is waddings and other specialty nonwo-
PDAs to PocketPCs
ll PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are not created equal. If all you want
A to do is store names and phone numbers, any electronic organizer will fill
your needs. However, if you often find yourself away from your computer,
whether out of the room or out of the country, you may want to consider one of
the beefier handheld offerings that are now becoming popular.
The latest development in the digital assistant world is the introduction of the
“PocketPC” – a device that is kind of a cross between a laptop computer and a
simple digital organizer. Compaq’s “iPaq” was the first such device to really hit
the market a few months ago, but recently companies like Toshiba, Sony, and
others have rolled out their own version of the PocketPC.
The thing that sets these handhelds apart from the “Palm Pilot” of five years
ago is that they run much of the office software that people are already familiar
with. Most of them can run “Windows CE,” a lightweight version of Microsoft's
popular desktop operating system. The majority of them also run stripped-down
versions of MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and Windows Media Player.
Several of the current models also support Java. If you get a model that is
equipped for a wireless network (optional in most cases), you can also check
your email and surf the Web on your palmtop.
Their familiar interface and inter-operability with desktop computers have
made the new generation of handheld computers very popular as a practical
office tool. Imagine that instead of recording laboratory data by hand and then
recopying it to your desktop computer, you simply enter it into an Excel spread-
sheet on your Pocket PC. Once the data is stored, it can either be transferred via
a wireless network connection, or through its cradle, which connects it to a desk-
top computer. For more information on the various commercial models:
www.compaq.com/products/handhelds/pocketpc/H3870.html; www.pda.toshi-
ba.com; http://products.hp-at-home.com/products/
TECHNOLOGY WATCH
vens. L&P marketing activities were Cotton Plus” fabrics are made of poly-
well-known in the furniture, bedding, ester/cotton blends, and are for appli-
home furnishings, wipes and other cations requiring a softer hand.
product areas. In the past few years, it This is certainly a specialized appli-
has been involved in several acquisi- cation for nonwovens, but it well illus-
tion and mergers. trates the synergistic combination of
The present L&P is actually Leggett nonwovens and advanced technology.
& Platt Digital Technologies and it has (Leggett & Platt Digital Technologies,
focused on digital printing of a wide Jacksonville, FL; 904-249-1131;
variety of substrates. Also, a major www.lp-digital.com). As has been
business for the company is the devel- mentioned in this column in the past,
opment and marketing of digital print- other nonwoven producers are taking
ing equipment, accessories and sub- an active interest in the application of
strates for digital printing. Much of this digital printing to nonwoven sub-
current business, both equipment and strates. — INJ
substrates, is in the graphics industry,
specifically for soft signage, banners,
flags, pennants, point-of-purchase dis-
plays and similar items.
In the digital printing equipment
area, L&P Digital offers many models
of industrial printing machines in a
wide and super-wide format (98” to
138”). These units utilize piezo drop-
on-demand inkjet printing heads, with
as many as 8 heads on a unit for bidi-
rectional printing. These units can han-
dle roll-to-roll operations, as well as
some models designed for discontinu-
ous operation on rigid substrates, up to
3-inches in thickness.
These digital printing machines are
capable of processing a variety of sub-
strates, including fabric, coated papers,
textiles of a variety of types, film,
vinyl (film and sheet), canvas, mesh
and other types of soft/flexible and
rigid specialty substrates. The digital
printing can involves complex pat-
terns, photos, color in an amazing vari-
ety, as well as selected textures.
The company, harkening back to its
roots, recently introduced a line of
nonwoven products for the graphics
industry. This line included 100%
polyester and 100% polypropylene
fabrics, along with blends in their
“VirtuNonWoven” fabric line. These
current fabrics are relatively light
weight and are translucent for optimal
signage use. Within the product line,
“VirtuMesh” is a durable, bright white
polyester mesh at 8 osy. The
“VirtuPoly Cotton” and “VirtuPoly

INJ Fall 2002 11

ORIGINAL PAPER/PEER-REVIEWED
Role of Fiber Morphology
In Thermal Bonding
By Subhash Chand, Gajanan S. Bhat*, Joseph E. Spruiell and Sanjiv Malkan,
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Abstract
The role of fiber morphology in a thermal point bonding
operation was investigated. Primary objectives were to
understand the changes taking place in fiber structure due to
applied heat and pressure, and the role of fiber morphology in
determining optimum process conditions and properties of
the webs. To study fibers with varying morphology, i.e., from
partially drawn as in spunbonding to fully drawn as in staple
fiber nonwovens, fibers with a wide range of crystallinity and
orientation were spun and characterized, from two
polypropylene resins. Thermally bonded carded webs were
produced, using these fibers, and characterized in order to
understand thermal bonding behavior of fibers with different
morphology. The fibers with different morphology differed
significantly in their bonding behavior. The fibers with high-
er molecular orientation and crystallinity tended to form a
weak and brittle bond due to lack of polymer flow and fibril-
lation of the fibers in the bonded regions. In general, fibers
with lower molecular orientation and lower crystallinity
yielded stronger and tougher webs. Fibers with relatively less
developed morphology also exhibited lower optimum bond-
ing temperature. Morphological changes in fibers were
observed during the thermal bonding process, in bonded as
well as unbonded regions of the web. As a final step to see
how the observations from staple-fiber study translate to one
of the relevant processes during scale-up, spunbond studies
were also conducted in a similar way.
Introduction
The basic idea for thermal bonding was first introduced by
Reed [1] in 1942. Since then, there have been a number of
developments in this field. Thermal bonding is now the most
Subhash Chand, currently with Nylstar, Inc., Ridgeway, VA
Sanjiv Malkan, currently with Synfil Technologies, Knoxville, TN
Gajanan Bhat, Corresponding Author
12 INJ Fall 2002
popular method of bonding used in nonwovens. The main
advantages of thermal bonding are low raw material and
energy costs, product versatility, small space requirements,
cleanliness of the process, better product quality characteris-
tics, and increased production rates. Of the several types of
thermal bonding such as area-bonding, point-bonding, air
oven bonding, ultrasonic bonding and radiant bonding, point
bonding is the most widely used technique [2].
Nonwoven fabric properties are determined by the charac-
teristics of bond points and in particular by the stress-strain
relationship of the bridging fibers. During point bonding, the
bond points and the bridging fibers develop distinct proper-
ties, different from those of the virgin fibers, depending on
the process variables employed. The changes in fiber proper-
ties have been hinted at by several authors [2-7] but have not
been investigated. So far most of the research work [6-15] has
been done to study the effects of bonding conditions on fab-
ric properties. Some work [12, 16-17] has been done on the
effects of fiber properties on final fabric properties. However,
the role of fiber morphology and morphological changes tak-
ing place in the fibers due to applied heat and pressure in ther-
mal bonding has been almost untouched. This has been main-
ly due to the fact that it is almost impossible to characterize
the bond points and the fibers surrounding the bonds without
the use of some innovative techniques.
Point bonding is used for a wide range of fibers, from those
with less developed morphology as in spunbonding to those
with fairly well developed morphology as in staple fibers.
Thus it becomes very important to investigate the effects of
fiber morphology on bonding conditions and web properties.
In this study, polypropylene fibers with a wide range of crys-
tallinity and orientation, but with the same diameter, were
produced. The fibers were then used in studies of their bond-
ing behavior and web forming characteristics. Spunbond
studies were also done in a similar way in order to see the
generality of the observations made in the staple fiber study.
It was reported earlier that fiber morphology has a definite
role on the structure and properties of the thermal bonded
nonwoven webs [18-20]. A summary of results from this
comprehensive investigation is reported here.

Experimental Methods
Processing
Fiber grade polypropylene, which had a melt flow rate of
17 dg/min, supplied by Montell USA Inc. was used for the
production of fibers. Fibers were produced using a Fourne
extruder and spinning setup and a conventional two-stage
drawing machine. Extrusion temperature was kept constant
at 230°C. Polymer throughput rate and take-up speed were
varied together in order to achieve the same final diameter
for all the fibers. Out of six fiber samples produced, three
were as-spun with no drawing and three were drawn after
spinning. Drawing was done at 140°C. The processing con-
ditions used to prepare the fiber samples are summarized in
Table 1.
Continuous fibers were chopped into staple fibers of length
40 mm for carding. Staple fibers, with an appropriate level of
water (10%) and LUROL PP-8049 spin-finish (0.4%) sup-
plied by Goulston Inc., were carded on a Saco-Lowell card-
ing machine to produce webs with a nominal basis weight of
40 g/m2. As the fibers did not have any crimp, it was impor-
tant to have sufficient finish on the fibers, and to control the
humidity of the room for successful carding. Carded webs
were then bonded at several different bonding temperatures
and at a speed of 5 m/min using a Kuster point-bonding cal-
ender having 15% bonding area. Speed was kept low due to
difficulties in handling of small carded webs. Nip pressure
was kept constant at 350 pli for all the samples.
Spunbond studies were carried out using 35 MFR EXXON
PP on the modified Reicofil-I line at the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville. A schematic of the process variables is
shown in Figure 1. Melt temperature and cooling air temper-
ature were the main variables. Airflow rate was adjusted to
achieve the same fiber diameter for all the three sets. Webs
were bonded at four different bonding temperatures for each
set of fibers. Other process parameters such as bonding speed
and calender pressure were kept constant. Filament samples
before bonding were also collected for analysis.
WEBS WERE BONDED AT FOUR DIFFERENT BONDING
TEMPERATURES FOR EACH OF THE SETS
Figure 1
SCHEMATIC OF SPUNBOND
PROCESS VARIABLES
Characterization of the Fibers and the Webs
Fiber diameter and birefringence were measured using an
optical microscope. Thermal analysis of the fibers and the
webs was done using the Mettler thermal analysis system
consisting of TC11 controller, DSC25 and TMA40 modules.
The scans were done at a heating rate of 10°C/min in air.
Crystallinity was calculated from the DSC scans assuming
that the heat of fusion of 100% crystalline polypropylene is
190 J/g. X-ray diffraction photographs for fibers were
obtained using a flat plate camera and a Phillips x-ray gener-
ator. The x-ray wavelength was 1.542 A0 in all the x-ray stud-
ies. Crystal size was calculated using the Scherrer equation
from the measured full width half maximum intensity of
reflection peaks in the equatorial scans [21]. “Duco Cement”
was used as a glue for sample preparation for equatorial
scans. Use of Duco Cement was helpful in sample preparation
from bonded regions (only) and from very short fibers taken
from unbonded regions of the web. Bonded and unbonded
regions of the web were carefully separated from the web
using a sharp pair of scissors and analyzed for molecular ori-
entation, crystallinity and crystal size.
Tensile properties of the fibers and the fabrics were mea-

Table 1
PROCESS CONDITIONS FOR PRODUCTION OF FIBER SAMPLES.

Polymer Nominal
Throughput Rate Spinning Speed
Sample Id (G/Hole/Min) (M/Min) Draw Ratio Denier
As-spun 1 0.28 1000 Undrawn 2.7
As-spun 2 0.41 1500 Undrawn 2.5
As-spun 3 0.55 2000 Undrawn 2.5
Drawn 1 0.42 1000 1.5 2.4
Drawn 2 0.72 1000 2.5 2.7
Drawn 3 0.96 1000 3.5 2.4

INJ Fall 2002 13

 Figure 3
THERMOMECHANICAL RESPONSES
OF STAPLE FIBERS

cm/min). A total of twenty tests were done for each sample.

Figure 2
SCHEMATIC OF SINGLE-BOND
STRIP TENSILE TEST
sured using a United Tensile Tester with test conditions
described in the ASTM D3822-91 for filaments and ASTM
D1117-80 for nonwoven fabrics [22]. However, for fiber sam-
ples, a gauge length of 2” (5.08 cm) and an extension rate of
10”/min (25.4 cm/min) were used. For webs, a gauge length
of 5” (12.7 cm), width of 1” (2.54 cm), and extension rate of
5”/min (12.7 cm/min) were used in both machine direction
and cross direction.
A “Single-Bond Strip Tensile Test” was developed in order
to estimate the bond strength and the degree of load sharing
between the fibers during tensile deformation. A schematic of
this test is shown in Figure 2. A tiny strip of size 80 mm X 5
mm was cut from the web. The strip was cut in the middle in
the width direction from two sides to leave only one bond
uncut in the middle of the strip, as shown in the figure. The
strip was then subjected to a conventional tensile test. The test
was conducted on the United Tensile Tester with a gauge
length of 1” (2.54 cm) and extension rate of 0.5”/min (1.27
SEM images of the fabrics and the tested samples were
taken using a Hitachi S-3000N electron microscope. Back-
scattered images with 30 Pa gas were taken in order to mini-
mize the problems due to static charge generation.
Results And Discussion
Staple Fiber Studies
Fiber diameter, crystallinity, and their mechanical proper-
ties are given in Table 2. Thermomechanical responses
(TMA) of the staple fibers are shown in Figure 3. The six
fiber samples covered a very wide range of morphology and
properties. Fiber diameter was kept the same in all the cases
so that the differences due to change in diameter could be
minimized and the role of fiber micro-morphology in thermal
bonding could be analyzed. As can be expected, there was an
increase in crystallinity of the fibers with increase in spinning
speed and draw ratio. This is an expected trend and the tensile
data, i.e., increase in tenacity and decrease in elongation, is
also consistent with the development of structure. TMA
(Figure 3) data also supported the morphological differences
between the fibers. Fibers with less developed morphology
deformed easily, compared to the well drawn fibers that

Table 2
FIBER STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES

Sample Id Diameter Crystallinity Tenacity Breaking

µM (%) GPD Extension (%)
As-spun 1 20.8 36.7 2.9 290
As-spun 2 19.5 41.3 4.8 280
As-spun 3 19.7 45.0 6.4 190
Drawn 1 19.9 48.9 6.4 160
Drawn 2 20.7 53.7 7.4 60
Drawn 3 19.5 56.4 8.5 25

14 INJ Fall 2002

 Figure 4 Figure 6
WEB TENSILE STRENGTH VS. BONDING WEB BREAKING EXTENSION VS. BONDING
TEMPERATURE FOR STAPLE FIBERS TEMPERATURE FOR STAPLE FIBERS

Figure 5
FIBER TO WEB STRENGTH REALIZATION
FOR STAPLE FIBERS

showed higher thermal stability.

Tensile strength values of the webs produced from differ-
ent fibers and bonded over a wide range of bonding tempera-
ture are shown in Figure 4. It was observed that web strength
decreased with increase in fiber molecular orientation and
crystallinity. Fibers with relatively less developed morpholo-
gy yielded stronger webs compared to fibers with more
developed morphology. Fiber to web strength realization
(ratio of fiber strength to web strength) for different fibers is Figure 7
shown in Figure 5. Fiber to web strength realization OPTICAL MICROGRAPHS OF THE BONDS
decreased sharply with increase in fiber molecular orientation AFTER THE TENSILE TEST: TOP = AS SPUN
and crystallinity. Higher strength realization for the fibers FIBERS; BOTTOM = DRAWN FIBERS
having lower molecular orientation and crystallinity may be
partly attributed to higher breaking extension of the fibers.
Higher breaking extension of the fibers leads to greater [16] have also studied the effect of fiber draw-ratio on
degree of load sharing between the fibers during the defor- polypropylene nonwoven fabric properties and reported that
mation of the web. Optimum bonding temperature for drawn fibers with lower draw-ratio resulted in fabrics with higher
fibers was found to be higher than that for the as-spun fibers. tensile strength.
Further, optimizing the bonding temperature did not help Fracture mechanism of the webs was studied using both
much in the case of highly drawn fibers, as can be seen from optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optical
web strength versus bonding temperature relationship. Web micrographs of the bonds after the tensile test are shown in
breaking extension as shown in Figure 6 exhibited a trend Figure 7, at optimum bonding temperatures, for as-spun and
similar to tensile strength. Wei et al. [14] and Bechter et al. drawn fibers. The bonds did not rupture during web failure in

INJ Fall 2002 15

 Figure 8 Figure 9
SEM IMAGE SHOWING SEM IMAGE OF A BOND FOR AS-SPUN 1 FIBERS
DISINTEGRATION OF BOND
the case of webs produced from as-spun fibers, for bonding
temperature at and above the optimum. Whereas in the case
of drawn fibers, web failure involved rupture of the bonds at
all the bonding temperatures studied. It was observed that
bonds were very weak and brittle in the case of drawn fibers.
It is further evident from the image of “elongated” bond in
Figure 7 that bonds were very ductile and strong in the case
of as-spun fibers. Disintegration of the bonds during web fail-
ure in the case of drawn fibers is shown in Figure 8. Fibers
are pulled out from the bond one by one during disintegra-
tion. A similar kind of disintegration of the bonds occurred in
the case of as-spun fibers at low bonding temperatures. In the
case of as-spun fibers, drop in web strength above optimum Figure 10
bonding temperature may be attributed to very severe ther- SEM IMAGE OF A BOND FOR DRAWN 1 FIBERS
momechanical damage to the fibers in the bond vicinity at
higher temperatures. fibers is further clear from the SEM image in Figure 11. In
Figures 9 and 10 show SEM images of bond points of webs the case of drawn fibers, polymer flow could be improved by
for as-spun-1 and drawn-1 fibers, respectively. It is evident increase in bonding temperature. However, web failure
from the figures that the bond is not well formed and there is occurred due to rupture of the bonds even at higher bonding
“less polymer flow” and “fibrillation of the fibers” in bonded temperatures. A good correlation was observed between the
regions of the web in the case of drawn fibers. Insufficient bondability of the fibers and the TMA failure temperature of
polymer-flow and fibrillation of the fibers appear to be the the fibers. The higher the TMA failure temperature, the high-
main factors responsible for the weak and brittle nature of the er the temperature required to obtain a good bond.
bonds in the case of drawn fibers. No fibrillation was
observed in the case of as-spun fibers. Fibrillation of the
Figure 11
SEM IMAGE OF A BOND FOR DRAWN 1 FIBERS
AT HIGHER MAGNIFICATION (500X)
Table 3
RESULTS OF SINGLE-BOND
STRIP TENSILE TEST
Sample Id Breaking Nature Of
Load (G) Bond Failure
As-spun 1 260 No failure
As-spun 2 212 No failure
As-spun 3 154 No failure
Drawn 1 96 Semi-ductile
Drawn 2 74 Brittle
Drawn 3 73 Very brittle

16 INJ Fall 2002

 orientation, crystallinity, crystallite size and
other morphological aspects. Fiber diameter
was within the desired range for all the three
sets. As in the case of staple fiber studies, fiber
diameter was intentionally kept the same so
that the differences due to change in diameter
could be minimized and the role of fiber micro-
morphology in thermal bonding could be ana-
lyzed. Set I fibers had the most developed mor-
phology followed by Set II and Set III, respec-
tively. Diffused peaks in WAXD patterns of Set
III fibers indicate the significant presence of
“smectic” phase in Set III fibers. Formation of
smectic phase is favored at higher melt temper-
ature [23], as was the case for Set III. This is
probably due to the fact that higher melt tem-
peratures lead to lower stress in the spinline.
This allows greater supercooling to occur
before crystallization begins. When this tem-
perature drops below about 700C, smectic
Figure 12 phase rather than a-phase is formed [19]. Fiber
WAXD PATTERNS OF SPUNBOND FIBERS birefringence and breaking extension of spun-
bond fibers did not go hand in hand. The dif-
A single-bond strip tensile test was done in order to esti- ferences in phase structure may be responsible for lower
mate the bond strength and the degree of load sharing breaking extension of Set III fibers, in spite of their lower
between the fibers. The results of this test are shown in Table birefringence.
3. In this test also, no failure of the bonds was observed in the Differences in the web properties for different sets were
case of as-spun fibers. Whereas, in the case of drawn fibers, marginal in the case of spunbond webs owing to small differ-
bond failure was observed at breaking loads much less than ences in their fiber properties. Tensile strength and breaking
that in the case of as-spun fibers. Therefore, it may be con- extension of the spunbond webs from different sets of the
cluded that bonds were much stronger in the case of as-spun fibers bonded over a wide range of bonding temperature are
fibers as compared to drawn fibers. The bonds became more shown in Figures 13 and 14, respectively. Optimum bonding
brittle and weak with increase in draw ratio of the fibers. temperature was the lowest for Set III fibers followed by Set
Difference in breaking loads between as-spun fibers, as there II and Set I, respectively. Better bondability of Set III fibers
was no failure of bonds, was attributed to the difference in the may be due to their smaller crystal size, paracrystalline struc-
degree of load sharing between the fibers. The degree of load ture and less molecular orientation, which provide better
sharing between the fibers was directly related to breaking polymer flow at lower temperatures. A good correlation was
extension of the fibers. The higher the breaking extension, the observed between the TMA failure temperature and the opti-
higher the degree of load sharing. mum bonding temperature of the fibers. Fibers with lower
TMA failure temperature, such as Set III, had lower optimum
Spunbond Studies bonding temperature than the fibers with higher TMA failure
The morphological characteristics and mechanical proper- temperature, such as Set I. A similar kind of correlation
ties of spunbond fibers for the three sets are listed in Table 4. between the TMA failure temperature and the bonding tem-
WAXD photographs are shown in Figure 12. The results perature has been reported by Zhang et al. [20]. Improved
show that the three sets differed in terms of their molecular- bondability of the fibers from Set I to Set III could also be

Table 4
STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF SPUNBOND FIBERS

Sample Id Diameter Birefringence Crystallinity (%) Crystal Size Tenacity Elongation

(µM) (X x 10-3) % (Ao) (G/Denier) (%)
Set I 19.3 21.8 45.4 110 3.1 300
Set II 19.3 21.2 46.5 50 2.7 280
Set III 18.8 18.8 47.3 35 2.4 225

INJ Fall 2002 17


Figure 13
TENSILE STRENGTH VS. BONDING
TEMPERATURE FOR SPUNBOND WEBS
Figure 14
BREAKING EXTENSION VS. BONDING
TEMPERATURE FOR SPUNBOND WEBS
Figure 15
MAXIMUM FIBER STRENGTH REALIZATION
FOR SPUNBOND FIBERS
seen in terms of increase in fiber to web strength realization
from Set I to Set III, as shown in Figure 15. However, as can
be seen from Figures 13 and 14, the trend in web properties
for different sets reversed from lower to higher temperature.
18 INJ Fall 2002
Two competing factors in this case may be speculated
to be the bondability and the mechanical properties of
the fibers. At lower bonding temperatures, bondability
of the fibers seemed to dominate the web properties,
and at higher bonding temperatures, mechanical prop-
erties of the fibers were dominant. In general, bonding
behavior of spunbond fibers was similar to that of as-
spun staple fibers.
Morphological Changes During
Thermal Bonding
Morphological changes in the fibers were studied at
medium bonding temperature, which was 145°C in the
case of staple fiber studies, and 135°C in the case of
spunbond studies. Noteworthy changes in fiber struc-
ture were observed in both the cases. The effects were
less prominent in the case of spunbond studies as com-
pared to staple fiber studies due to relatively shorter
residence time in spunbonding. The changes in molec-
ular orientation of the fibers during the thermal bond-
ing process are shown in Table 5. Birefringence of the
fibers increased as a result of annealing under con-
strained length during calendering. Increase was more
for the fibers with comparatively less developed mor-
phology before bonding.
The changes in crystallinity of the fibers during ther-
mal bonding are shown in Table 6. A significant
increase in crystallinty was observed from virgin fibers
in bonded as well as unbonded regions of the web, in
the case of staple fiber studies. Such a substantial
increase may be due to much higher residence time in
the case of staple fiber studies, which allowed suffi-
cient recrystallization to occur. No significant changes
in crystallinity were observed in spunbonding.
However, crystal size increased during thermal bond-
ing in both staple fiber as well as spunbond studies, as
shown in Table 7. Here it needs to be noted that crys-
tal size data for smectic phase are only reasonable
approximations. Increase in crystal size was even
more prominant for spunbond fibers. Crystals in the
case of spunbond fibers grew bigger and fewer. Such a
rearrangement of crystalline structure in spunbond
fibers was also indicated by WAXD equatorial scans
shown in Figure 16. Change in location and width of
reflection peaks from virgin fibers to bonded and
unbonded regions of the web suggested transformation
of smectic phase to the more stable a-monoclinic
phase during the thermal bonding process.
Conclusions
Fiber morphology plays a very important role in
determining the optimum bonding conditions and the
mechanical properties of the web. Fibers with relative-
ly less developed morphology yielded stronger and tougher
webs as compared to fibers with more developed morpholo-
gy. The fibers with high molecular orientation and crys-
tallinity tended to form a weak and brittle bond mainly due to
 lack of polymer flow and the presence of fibrillation of the
Table 5 fibers in the bonded regions. Fiber breaking extension was
CHANGE IN MOLECULAR ORIENTATION found to be equally important, if not more, as fiber strength,
DURING THERMAL BONDING in governing the web properties. Higher breaking extension
Sample Id Birefringence Birefringence of the fibers leads to a greater degree of load sharing between
Of Virgin Fibers In Unbonded the fibers during deformation, thus improving the mechanical
(X x 10 )
–3
Region (X x 10–3) properties of the web. Fibers with less developed morpholo-
gy showed lower optimum bonding temperature. A good cor-
As-spun 1 19.0 23.3
relation was observed between the thermomechanical stabil-
As-spun 2 20.4 23.4 ity of the fibers as measured by TMA and the bondability of
As-spun 3 17.8 25.0 those fibers. Optimizing the bonding temperature did not
Drawn 1 23.8 26.6 help much in improving the web properties in the case of
Drawn 2 29.4 29.6 highly drawn fibers, i.e. fibers with very high molecular ori-
Drawn 3 31.4 30.6 entation and crystallinity.
Set I 21.8 21.6 In general, findings with spunbond studies are also similar
Set II 21.2 22.3 to that in staple fibers. In addition, it was observed that crys-
Set III 18.8 22.4 talline structure and crystal size do affect thermomechanical
stability and, thus, bondability of the fibers. Less perfect and
* In bonded regions, molecular orientation was estimated in terms of less stable structure, such as smectic phase with smaller crys-
o
change in bond- dimensions when heated up to 160 C. tals in the case of Set III, led to lower thermomechanical sta-
bility and, thus, better bondability of the fibers. In general,
bonding behavior of spunbond fibers was found similar to
that of as-spun staple fibers. It was
Table 6 observed that fibers do undergo
CHANGE IN CRYSTALLINITY (%) DURING THERMAL BONDING. some structural changes in bonded
Sample Id Crystallinity Crystallinity Crystallinity as well as unbonded regions of the
Of Virgin In Unbonded In Bonded Region web during the thermal bonding
Fibers (%) Region (%) (%) process. The extent of change in
fiber structure would depend upon
As-spun 1 36.7 41.9 50.1
the structure of original fibers and
As-spun 2 41.3 47.8 55.1 the process variables employed.
As-spun 3 45.0 48.3 58.8
Drawn 1 48.9 52.6 53.5 Acknowledgements
Drawn 2 53.7 54.2 54.3 This project was funded from
Drawn 3 56.4 56.9 56.1 Nonwovens Cooperative Research
Set I 45.4 45.0 48.6 Center, NCSU, Raleigh, NC.
Set II 46.5 44.8 46.3 Authors would like to thank
Set III 47.3 45.8 47.1 Montell USA Inc. and ExxonMobil
Corp. for providing the polymers.
Support from TANDEC for provid-
ing the Spunbond equipment time
Table 7 is also appreciated.
CHANGE IN CRYSTALLIZE DURING THERMAL BONDING.
Sample Id Crystal Size Crystal Size Crystal Size References
For Virgin For Unbonded For Bonded Region 1. Reed R., U.S. Patent 2277049,
Fibers (A°) Region (A°) (A°) assigned to Kendall Company,
As-spun 1 140 160 185 1942.
As-spun 2 185 215 245 2. Dharmadhikary R. K., Gilmore
As-spun 3 150 170 180 T. F., Davis H. A. and Batra S. K.
“Thermal Bonding of Nonwoven
Drawn 1 140 165 190
fabrics”, Textile Progress,
Drawn 2 155 160 170 1995(26), No. 2, pp. 1-37.
Drawn 3 135 145 160 3. Warner S. B. “Thermal Bonding
Set I 110 145 170 of Polypropylene Fibers”, Text.
Set II 50 130 145 Res. J., 1989(59), pp. 151-159.
Set III 35 90 160 4. Kwok W. K., Crane J. P.,
Gorrafa A. and Iyengar Y.
“Polyester Staple fibers for

INJ Fall 2002 19

Thermally Bonded Nonwovens”, Nonwovens Industry, June 23. Ahmed M., ‘Polypropylene Fibers, Science and
1988, pp. 30-33. Technology’, Elsevier Science Publishing Company, New
5. Gibson P. E. and McGill R. L. “Thermally Bondable York, 1982, p. 194. — INJ
Polyester Fiber: the Effect of Calender Temperature”, TAPPI
J., 1987, No. 12, pp. 82-86.
6. Drelich A. “Thermal Bonding with Fusible Fibers”,
Nonwovens Industry, Sept 1985, pp. 12-26.
7. Muller D. H. “How to Improve the Thermal Bonding of
Heavy Webs”, INDA J. Nonwovens Res., 1989(1), No. 1, pp.
35-43.
8. De Angelis V., DiGiaoacchino T. and Olivieri P. “Hot
Calendered Polypropylene Nonwoven fabrics”, Proceedings
of 2nd International Conference on Polypropylene Fibers and
Textiles, Plastics, and Rubber Institute, University of York,
England, 1979, pp. 52.1-52.13.
9. Bechter D., Kurz G., Maag E. and Schutz J. “Thermal
Bonding of Nonwovens”, Textil-Praxis, 1991 (46), pp. 1236-
1240.
10. Malkan S. R., Wadsworth L. C. and Devis C.
“Parametric Studies of the Reicofil Spunbonding Process”,
Third TANDEC Conference, Knoxville, 1993.
11. Malkan S. R., Wadsworth L. C. and Devis C.
“Parametric studies of the Reicofil Spunbonding Process”,
International Nonwovens Journal, 1992, No.2, pp. 42-70.
12. Wei K. Y., Vigo T. L. and Goswami B. C. “Structure-
Property Relationships of Thermally bonded Polypropylene
Nonwovens”, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 1985(30), No.4, pp. 1523-
1534.
13. Phillipp P. “Thermal Bonding with Copolyetster Melt
Adhesive Fibers”, Nonwovens World, Nov 1986, pp. 81-85.
14. Beyreuther R. and Malcomess H. J. “Spunbonded
Nonwovens-Linking Innovative Polymer, Technological and
Textile Research”, Melliand Textilberichte, 1993(74), No. 4,
pp. E133-135.
15. Winchester S. C. and Whitwell J. C. “Studies of
Nonwovens-I: A Multivariable Approach”, Text. Res. J.,
1970(40), No.5, pp. 458-471.
16. Bechter D., Roth A., Schaut G., Ceballos R., Kleinmann
K. and Schafer K. “Thermal Bonding of Nonwovens”,
Melliand Textilberichte, 1997, No. 3, pp. E39-40.
17. Wyatt N. E. and Goswami B. C. “Structure–Property
Relationships in Thermally Bonded Nonwoven Fabrics”, J.
Coated Fabrics, 1984(14), pp. 100-123.
18. Zhang D., Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, December 1995.
19. Lu, F. M. and Spruiell, J. E., J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 34,
1541 (1987).
20. Dong Zhang, G. S. Bhat, Sanjiv Malkan and Larry
Wadsworth, “”Evolution Of Structure And Properties In A
Spunbonding Process,” Textile Research Journal, 68(1), 27-
35 (1998).
21. Cullity B. D., ‘Elements of X-ray Diffraction’,
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc., Massachusetts,
1978, p. 284.
22. Storer R. A., ASTM, Easton, MD, USA, 1986.

20 INJ Fall 2002


Fiber Motion Near The Collector
During Melt Blowing:
Part 2 — Fly Formation
By Randall R. Bresee, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee USA
and Uzair A. Qureshi, Jentex Corporation, Buford, Georgia USA
Abstract
On-line and off-line measurements were obtained to gain
an understanding of fly production during multi-hole melt
blowing at commercial speed. These measurements allowed
us to describe the effects of common processing parameters
on fly production and develop a model for fly formation that
begins to account for experimental measurements.
Introduction
In a previous paper [1], we reported results of experiments
conducted to obtain a general understanding of fiber motions
near the collector of the basic multi-hole melt blowing (MB)
process operating at commercial speed. In the current paper,
we address the problem of fly formation. Fly particles are
fibers that have been broken and released from the fiber
stream during MB. The phenomenon of fly formation has
practical importance to web producers and knowledge of fly
formation is important for understanding the MB process. Fly
is undesirable and its formation is sometimes used to identify
a processing limit during commercial MB. That is, prelimi-
nary processing conditions are determined, primary air pres-
sure is increased until fly is produced and then air pressure is
decreased until little fly is produced.
In this paper, we will report numerous experimental mea-
surements related to fly formation during multi-hole MB
operating at commercial speed. Measurements include fly
particle mass, fly particle length, total fiber length in fly par-
ticles, fiber bundle size in webs, air speed in the direction nor-
mal to the collector surface, air speed in the direction of col-
lector motion and the direction of fiber flow near the collec-
tor. While obtaining these measurements, we varied primary
air pressure, die-to-collector distance (DCD), collector speed
and collector vacuum. These measurements were used to for-
mulate a conceptual model of fly production based on aero-
dynamic drag and fiber entanglement.
ORIGINAL PAPER/PEER-REVIEWED
Experimental Procedures
We processed PP-3546G polypropylene resin (1259 MFR)
supplied by ExxonMobil Chemical Company on three differ-
ent multi-hole MB lines in TANDEC at the University of
Tennessee. These were a 180-hole (15 cm) horizontal line
having a 47 cm diameter rotating drum collector, an Accurate
Products 600-hole (51 cm) horizontal line having a 55 cm
diameter rotating drum collector, and a Reifenhauser 601-
hole (61 cm) vertical bicomponent fiber line having a flat
endless belt collector. Commercial speed processing condi-
tions generally were used.
A high-speed camera and pulsed laser were used to acquire
images of fibers on-line. Procedures used to obtain fiber
velocity from these images have been reported previously [2].
Air speed measurements were obtained using processing con-
ditions similar to those used for fiber measurements but with
no resin throughput. Air speed was measured on-line using a
Pitot tube and anemometer. Fiber bundle size in webs was
measured off-line using WebPro [3]. Fly particles were cap-
tured during MB using wire screens and analyzed off-line
.
Results and Discussion
Figure 1 provides optical images of fly particles collected
while processing polypropylene with a die temperature of
232O C, air temperature of 243O C, resin throughput rate of
0.42 ghm, primary air pressure of 2.5 psi and DCD’s of 76,
30 and 15 cm using a 55 cm rotating drum collector. This fig-
ure qualitatively shows that the size of fly particles varied
over a large range. Figure 1 also shows that fly particles pro-
duced with a particular set of processing conditions exhibited
similar sizes. Finally, Figure 1 shows that DCD significantly
influenced the size of fly particles.
To obtain quantitative information about fly, we collected
fly particles while varying processing conditions and mea-
sured the mass and length of individual particles and the
INJ Fall 2002 21
 diameter of fibers in
particles. From this
data, we computed the
total length of fiber con-
tained in individual fly
particles. Measurements
for individual particles
collected with each pro-
cessing condition were
Figure 1
averaged and are summa-
FLY PARTICLES COLLECTED WITH 76 CM (LEFT), 30 CM (MIDDLE) AND 15 rized in Figure 2.
CM (RIGHT) DCD; EACH IMAGE AREA = 9.0 CM X 6.7 CM (BAR = 3.0 CM) Figure 2 shows that pri-
mary air pressure, DCD
Figure 2 and collector speed influenced the structure of fly. Increasing
EXPERIMENTAL FLY DATA FOR VARIOUS primary air pressure 20% increased particle mass, particle
PROCESSING CONDITIONS length and total fiber length in particles, although the increas-
es were relatively small. Increasing DCD reduced particle
mass, particle length and total fiber length in particles.
Increasing collector speed increased particle mass, particle
length and total fiber length in particles.
We are aware of no phenomenological model for fly for-
mation in the published literature. In the following pages,
we will propose a basic model for fly formation based on
aerodynamic drag and fiber entanglement and will show that
this model begins to account for the experimental data in
Figure 2.

Mechanism of Fly Formation

We believe that fly formation is controlled primarily by
aerodynamic drag and fiber entanglement. That is, fly parti-
cles are released when (i) a drag force exists that is strong
enough to break fibers and (ii) fiber entanglement is insuffi-
cient to retain broken fibers within the forming web.

Drag Force
Fibers must be broken to release fly particles from the fiber
stream during MB. We previously showed that only two
regions of the basic MB process are likely to produce a large
drag force on fibers [1]. These regions are located near the die
and near the collector where differences between air and fiber
speeds are large. Consequently, these two regions are most
favorable for producing fly whereas most of the region
between the die and collector is less favorable for fly produc-
tion because drag forces are smaller.
Figure 2 showed that fly production is greatly influenced
by two collector parameters - DCD and collector speed.
Figure 2 also showed that individual fly particles contained as
much as 150 m of fiber length. These observations suggest
that fly is most likely released near the collector rather than
near the die. Consequently, we will focus our discussion on
fly formation near the collector although we recognize the
possibility that fly also may be produced near the die.
In a previous discussion of the basic MB process, we
remarked that aerodynamic drag forces acting on fibers sud-
denly increase near the collector since fiber speed decreases
to zero during laydown but air continues to flow at relatively
high speed [1]. Recognizing this phenomenon allows us to

22 INJ Fall 2002

 Measurement
Region
Figure 3
MEASUREMENT REGION NEAR
A FLAT BELT COLLECTOR
-15.0 -7.5 0 7.5 15.0
Figure 4
MEASUREMENT LOCATIONS
NEAR THE COLLECTOR
qualitatively explain experimental observations in Figure 2
that show fly formation apparently was reduced when prima-
ry air pressure was decreased or DCD was increased. That is,
fiber speed decreases to zero during laydown for any pro-
cessing condition so the aerodynamic drag force available to
break fibers near the collector is determined mostly by the
speed of air in the laydown region of the collector. Decreasing
primary air pressure at the die or increasing DCD reduces the
drag force near the collector since the speed of air arriving at
the collector is reduced. Consequently, we expect less fiber
breakage to occur and less fly to be produced when primary
air pressure is decreased or DCD is increased.
To learn more about drag force near the collector, we mea-
sured the distribution of airflow over a collector surface. The
speed of air traveling in the direction normal to a flat collec-
tor belt was measured near the airflow centerline as well as
plus and minus 7.5 and plus and minus 15.0 cm from the cen-
terline and 1.5, 4.0, 6.6, 9.1 and 11.6 cm from the collector
surface. The general measurement region is identified
schematically in Figure 3 and specific measurement locations
are denoted by vertical arrows in Figure 4.
Figure 5 provides air speed measurements in the direction
normal to the collector surface. Near the airflow centerline,
air speed decreased as the collector surface was approached.
Slowing was observed as far as 11.6 cm from the collector
although air slowed more rapidly as it traveled closer to the
collector. This effect would be expected to slow fibers near
the airflow centerline as far as 11.6 cm from the collector and
Figure 5
AIR SPEED IN THE DIRECTION
NORMAL TO THE COLLECTOR
slow fibers more rapidly as they traveled closer to the collec-
tor surface. This conclusion is consistent with fiber speed
measurements that showed fiber speed decreased as far as 9
cm from the collector but decreased more rapidly within 3 cm
of the collector [1].
In contrast to air traveling near the centerline, air 7.5-15 cm
from the centerline traveled faster at locations closer to the
collector surface. Faster moving air would be expected to
increase the speed of some fibers approaching the collector in
this region. This may seem to contradict the general concept
that fiber speed must decrease to zero during laydown.
However, we need to recognize that fibers near the collector
of a commercial MB process are entangled with numerous
other fibers to form an extensive network. Fibers near the air-
flow centerline that slow as they approach the collector help
slow fibers traveling far from the airflow centerline. It is
important to note, however, that Figure 5 provides evidence
that a drag force exists far from the airflow centerline that
may accelerate and break fibers. This suggests that fly is most
likely produced in laydown regions far from the airflow cen-
terline rather than laydown regions near the centerline.
The interior of MB webs generally result from fiber lay-
down in the vicinity of the airflow centerline whereas lay-
down far from the centerline produces the collector-side and
die-side of webs. Figure 5 provides evidence that aerody-
namic drag may reduce the speed of fibers forming the web
interior at a different rate than fibers forming the collector-
side and die-side of webs. This leads us to expect that the inte-
rior of a MB web may exhibit a slightly different structure
than the collector-side and die-side of the web. However,
experimental measurements of web structure that could test
this hypothesis have not been reported.
Figure 2 provided experimental evidence that fly formation
was influenced by collector speeds of 10-35 m/min. To learn
more about this, we acquired air speed measurements similar
to those of Figure 5 but using three collector belt speeds (0,
21 and 61 m/min) at each measurement location. These mea-
surements are provided in Figure 6. This figure clearly shows
INJ Fall 2002 23
 Figure 6 Figure 7
AIR SPEED IN THE DIRECTION NORMAL TO AIR SPEED IN THE DIRECTION OF COLLECTOR
THE COLLECTOR FOR THREE COLLECTOR BELT MOVEMENT AT THE
BELT SPEEDS (SEE FIG. 5 LEGEND FOR AIRFLOW CENTERLINE
DISTANCES FROM COLLECTOR SURFACE)

that collector belt speed had little influence on the speed of air
traveling in the direction normal to the collector belt at dis-
tances as close as 1.5 cm from the belt surface.
We also evaluated the influence of collector belt speed on
the speed of air traveling parallel to the direction of belt
movement at various distances from the collector surface.
Horizontal arrows in Figure 4 denote our specific measure-
ment locations. Measurements were recorded only at the air-
flow centerline and 15 cm from the centerline to save time.
Figure 7 provides measurements obtained at the airflow cen-
terline whereas Figure 8 provides measurements obtained 15
cm from the centerline.
Figures 7-8 show that collector belt speed had little influ- Figure 8
ence on the speed of air traveling in the direction of belt AIR SPEED IN THE DIRECTION OF COLLECTOR
movement at distances as close as 1.5 cm to the belt surface. BELT MOVEMENT 15 CM FROM
Overall, Figures 6-8 lead us to conclude that the influence of THE AIRFLOW CENTERLINE
collector speed on fly formation reported in Figure 2 did not
occur as a result of collector motion affecting air speed. Figure 9
Figures 7-8 also show that air flowing in the direction of
AIR SPEED MEASUREMENTS NORMAL
collector motion traveled fastest at locations far (15 cm) from
the airflow centerline. This implies that some fibers may be
TO THE COLLECTOR BELT
swept during laydown toward the direction of belt movement
by large drag forces. Since belt motion proceeds in the MD,
Figures 7-8 support our previous claim [4] that fiber orienta-
tion is markedly changed during laydown from CD to MD. In
addition, fast moving air in the MD would be expected to
increase the speed of some fibers which, in turn, increases the
probability of fiber breakage and fly formation.
Next, we attempted to learn more about the influence of a
vacuum applied to the collector laydown area on fly forma-
tion. To help understand this, we acquired air speed measure-
ments that were similar to Figure 5 but while using a vacuum
and combined these measurements to produce Figure 9. This
figure shows that a vacuum applied to the collector signifi-
cantly influenced the speed of air traveling in the direction
normal to the collector belt. The vacuum influenced air speed

24 INJ Fall 2002

 Figure 10
AIR SPEED IN THE DIRECTION OF COLLECTOR
BELT MOVEMENT AT THE AIRFLOW
CENTERLINE (DIAMOND, SQUARE AND TRIAN-
GLE DENOTE 1.5, 4.0 AND 6.6 CM FROM
COLLECTOR SURFACE, RESPECTIVELY)
as far as 6.6 cm from the collector surface, although air trav-
eling closer to the collector was influenced more.
It is important to note that the vacuum increased air speed
near the airflow centerline but decreased air speed in areas far
(5-15 cm) from the airflow centerline. Since practical MB
experience has demonstrated that fly is reduced when a vac-
uum is applied to the collector, Figure 9 suggests that fly is
most likely released from regions located far from the airflow
centerline and near the collector surface (where air speed was
reduced most by the vacuum). That is, the vacuum ought to
reduce aerodynamic drag and thus fiber breakage most sig-
nificantly far from the airflow centerline and near the collec-
tor surface.
Figure 9 also suggests that fiber laydown with a vacuum is
different than laydown using the same MB equipment but
without a vacuum since the distribution of air speeds in the
laydown area are different. For example, Figure 9 shows that
the vacuum increased air speed near the airflow centerline
where fiber laydown forms the interior of webs but decreased
air speed far from the centerline where web surfaces are
formed. This may produce a slightly different fiber diameter
distribution in the web than a web produced with the same
average air speed at the collector but without using a vacuum.
However, experimental measurements of web structure that
could verify this expectation have not been reported.
Next, we compared the speed of air traveling in the direc-
tion of belt motion with and without a vacuum. Figure 10
provides measurements at the airflow centerline and Figure
11 provides measurements 15 cm from the centerline. These
figures show that the vacuum significantly reduced the speed
of air traveling in the direction of belt movement. The great-
est speed reduction occurred far (15 cm) from the airflow
centerline and close to the collector surface. Since practical
MB experience has demonstrated that fly is reduced when a
Figure 11
AIR SPEED IN THE DIRECTION OF COLLECTOR
BELT MOVEMENT 15 CM FROM THE AIRFLOW
CENTERLINE (DIAMOND, SQUARE AND
TRIANGLE DENOTE 1.5, 4.0 AND 6.6 CM FROM
COLLECTOR SURFACE, RESPECTIVELY)
vacuum is applied to the collector, Figures 10-11 suggest that
fly is most likely produced far from the airflow centerline and
near the collector surface.
Overall, drag force considerations resulting from measure-
ments of air speed in the direction normal to the collector
(Figure 5) and in the direction of collector motion (Figures 7-
8) indicate that fly is most likely produced in collector
regions located far from the airflow centerline and near the
collector surface. Drag force considerations associated with
the influence of a vacuum on air speed in the direction nor-
mal to the collector surface (Figure 9) and in the direction of
collector motion (Figures 10-11) also support this conclusion
.
Fiber Entanglement
Fibers in commercially produced MB webs are entangled
with numerous other fibers so we now consider the role that
fiber entanglement may play in fly formation. We have pre-
viously discussed why fiber entanglement occurs during MB
[2,5], the influence of entanglement on fiber speed uniformi-
ty during MB [1], the influence of entanglement on fiber ori-
entation in MB webs [1] and how DCD affects fiber entan-
glement [1].
We believe that entanglement plays two general roles in fly
formation. First, entanglement causes the mechanical load on
a fiber to be shared with other fibers so fiber breakage and
thus fly formation ought to be reduced when entanglement
increases. Second, entanglement inhibits the release of fibers
that are already broken and thus ought to reduce fly forma-
tion. Since fiber entanglement increases when DCD increas-
es [1], it seems likely that both increased fiber entanglement
and decreased aerodynamic drag reduce fly formation when
DCD is increased. Figure 2 clearly showed that fly formation
was influenced by collector speed. We now consider the
influence of fiber entanglement on this collector speed effect.
INJ Fall 2002 25
 When collector speed is zero, fibers are deposited onto a m/min. This table does not provide convincing evidence that
relatively large area of the collector and fiber density (amount collector speed influenced the direction of fiber travel
of fiber length per unit volume of space) is maximum at the unequally in the three laydown regions. That is, fibers seemed
center of the laydown area on the collector. When collector to be displaced toward the direction of collector motion
speed exceeds zero, collector motion displaces fibers toward (toward positive angles) similar amounts in all three laydown
the direction of collector movement [1] so fibers laying down regions. In other words, fiber entanglement considerations
to form the collector-side of a web are displaced toward the alone are unable to explain the effect of collector speed on fly
central laydown area whereas fibers forming the die-side of a formation.
web are displaced away from the central laydown area. This Next, we considered that both aerodynamic drag and col-
leads us to expect that collector motion increases the proba- lector motion may be required to explain the collector speed
bility of fiber entanglement for fibers forming the collector- effects shown in Figure 2. Although Figures 6-8 demonstrat-
side of webs but decreases the probability of entanglement ed that collector speed did not significantly influence air
for fibers forming the die-side of webs. speed near the collector, these figures suggested that the drag
Fiber entanglement produces fiber bundles and larger bun- force experienced by fibers could be affected by collector
dles generally result from more entanglement. To quantita- motion if collector motion displaced fibers into laydown
tively assess the net amount of fiber entanglement occurring areas having different air speed.
on-line when collector speed is varied, we measured fiber Specifically, the speed of air traveling in the direction nor-
bundle size off-line in webs collected at different collector mal (Figure 6) and parallel (Figures 7-8) to the collector sur-
speeds using a 55 cm diameter rotating drum collector. Fiber face near the airflow centerline slowed as it approached the
bundle size measurements are provided in Table 1 for three collector surface whereas air traveling far from the centerline
DCD’s and quantitatively show that the net effect of increas- traveled faster at locations closer to the collector surface.
ing collector speed was increased fiber entanglement. Since Since fibers forming the collector-side of webs are displaced
fiber breakage and fiber release ought to be reduced when by collector motion toward the central laydown region, they
entanglement increases, Table 1 leads us to predict that might be expected to experience reduced fiber breakage and
increasing collector speed will produce less fly. fly formation. In contrast to this, fibers forming the die-side
However, Figure 2 showed that increasing collector speed of webs are displaced away from the central laydown region
increased fly mass, fly length and total fiber length in fly par- where they might be expected to experience increased air
ticles rather than producing less fly. The discrepancy between speed, fiber breakage and fly formation. It is reasonable to
observed effects of collector speed and expected effects based conclude that increasing collector speed increases fly forma-
on fiber entanglement considerations may have occurred tion because fibers forming the die side of webs are displaced
because fiber displacement by collector motion was unequal into higher velocity air that increases the probability of fiber
for fiber laydown areas forming the die-side and collector- breakage.
side of webs. To test this hypothesis, we spatially sorted high- Overall, both drag and entanglement considerations lead us
speed image data to determine
the direction of fiber travel for Table 1
the die-side, collector-side and FIBER BUNDLE DIAMETER IN WEBS
central laydown regions.
Directions of fiber travel in each Collector
region were described by angles. Speed Bundle Diameter Mean (µm) and CV (%)
The direction of travel parallel to (m/min) 30 cm DCD 35 cm DCD 41 cm DCD
the fiber flow centerline was Mean CV Mean CV Mean CV
defined as 0O , fibers traveling 7.2 17.2 79.8 20.5 79.0 24.5 73.1
toward the general direction of 10.8 31.6 63.0 32.5 63.4 33.4 60.0
collector motion were described 21.6 32.2 60.5 32.4 57.6 34.2 56.6
by positive angles and fibers
traveling in directions generally
opposed to collector motion were Table 2
described by negative angles. MEAN FLOW ANGLE OF FIBERS
Measurements from numerous
TRAVELING NEAR A COLLECTOR
images acquired for two different
Collector Speed (m/min)
MB trials using a 47 cm diameter
Collector Trial 1 Trial 2
rotating drum collector were
Region 7.2 10.8 21.6 7.2 10.8 21.6
combined to produce Table 2.
Die-side of Centerline 23.9 28.8 36.3 14.1 11.6 16.1
This table provides the mean
Fiber Flow Centerline 9.9 15.2 10.7 - 1.3 2.9 6.0
direction of fiber travel in each
Collector-side -14.0 - 4.1 - 6.2 -10.5 - 8.5 -3.6
laydown region when collector
speeds were 7.2, 10.8 and 21.6

26 INJ Fall 2002

to expect that fly is most likely produced near the collector
surface in the laydown region where the die side of webs is
formed.

Summary and Conclusions

Fly production was influenced by primary air pressure,
DCD and collector speed. A model of fly formation was pro-
posed which states that fly particles are released during MB
when (i) a drag force exists that is strong enough to break
fibers and (ii) fiber entanglement is insufficient to retain bro-
ken fibers within the forming web. This model allowed us to
qualitatively account for the effects of primary air pressure,
DCD and collector speed on fly formation.
Two regions of the MB process were thought to be most
likely to produce a large drag force to break fibers and pro-
duce fly. These regions were near the die and near the collec-
tor where differences between air and fiber speeds were large.
We focused our discussion on fly formation near the collec-
tor.
A vacuum applied to the laydown area of the collector sig-
nificantly altered the distribution of air speed in the laydown
area. Airflow in areas close to the collector and far from the
airflow centerline were most affected by the vacuum. The
vacuum influenced speeds of air traveling in the direction
normal to the collector surface and in the direction of collec-
tor motion. Drag force and fiber entanglement considerations
lead us to conclude that fly is most likely produced near the
collector surface in the fiber laydown region far from the air-
flow centerline where the die-side of webs is formed.

Acknowledgements
Grateful acknowledgement is extended to the Textiles and
Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC) at the
University of Tennessee for providing MB line time and tech-
nical support. We also thank ExxonMobil Chemical
Company for providing resin.

References
1. Bresee, R.R. and Qureshi, U.A. “Fiber Motion Near the
Collector During Melt Blowing. Part I – General
Considerations,” International Nonwovens Journal, 11(2),
27-34, 2002..
2. Yin, H., Yan, Z. and Bresee, R.R. “Experimental Study
of the Melt Blowing Process,” International Nonwovens
Journal, 8 (1), 60-65 (1999)
3. Huang, X.C. and Bresee, R.R. “Characterizing
Nonwoven Web Structure Using Image Analysis Techniques.
Part II: Fiber Orientation Analysis in Thin Webs,” Journal of
Nonwovens Research, 5, 14-21 (1993)
4. Bresee, R.R. “Understanding the Melt Blowing
Process,” Proceedings of the INTC 2001 Nonwovens
Conference, Baltimore, 2001
5. Yin, H., Yan, Z., Ko, W.C. and Bresee, R.R. “Fundamental
Description of the Melt Blowing Process,” International
Nonwovens Journal, 9 (4), 25-28 (2000) — INJ

INJ Fall 2002 27

 ORIGINAL PAPER/PEER-REVIEWED

A Comparison of Needlepunch
Nonwoven Fabrics Made from
Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)
and Poly(ethylene
terephthalate) Staple Fibers
By Dr. Ian G. Carson*, Shell Coordination Centre s.a., Monnet Centre - International Laboratory,
av. Jean Monnet 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Abstract ment of economic processes for the manufacture of the 1,3

Following the recent commercial availability of this poly-
mer, needlepunch nonwovens have been prepared from staple
fiber made from poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) and
an analogous conventional polyester. After carding and cross-
lapping, the web was consolidated to about 90 g/m2 by sever-
al passes through a 1 metre wide pilot machine. The webs
were characterised for fiber structure, stiffness, strength and
recovery from both compression and extension, the latter
after both a single and multiple elongations. The PTT fabrics
are softer than those from PET as shown in e.g. drape and
flexural rigidity, and show similar or higher tensile strengths.
The fabrics are difficult to distinguish in either compressive
or tensile recovery tests, perhaps because elongation causes
unravelling of the entanglements, rather than being depen-
dant on the elasticity of the fibers.
Introduction
Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) is currently under
development in several textile areas. This follows its recent
availability at prices comparable with those of other synthet-
ic fiber forming polymers as a consequence of the develop-
* Present address: rue Capitaine Delvaux 20, 1325 Dion-le-
Val, Belgium.
propanediol used in its manufacture [1]. The chemical struc-
ture of its repeat unit
places PTT between the analogous polyesters PET and PBT,
but its crystal structure, derived from the 3-carbon linkage
between the terephthalic acid units, imparts a unique proper-
ty balance to fibers made from the material. A glass transition
temperature of 45°C in the amorphous material, rising as ori-
entation induced crystallinity increases, makes for a stable
product at ambient temperature, and – combined with a peak
melting temperature of 228°C – gives fiber processing tem-
peratures within acceptable limits. Typically, in comparison
with PET fibers, those from PTT show lower tenacity, higher
elongation to break and higher elastic recovery [2, 3]
Although pilot scale preparation of melt blown [4], spun-
bond [4] and hydroentangled [3] nonwoven fabrics from this
material have been reported, there is little data on
needlepunch fabrics. This paper describes a preliminary pilot
scale evaluation of such fibers in the production of a
needlepunch nonwoven.

28 INJ Fall 2002

Materials
The PTT staple fiber used was a nominally 3.3 dtex, 50 mm
semidull product type 725 manufactured by Catalana de
Polímers, Barcelona, Spain, from Shell’s Corterra™ PTT
containing 0.4% TiO2. Microscope evaluation showed it to be
crimped at about 13 half wavelengths/cm, and to have a rel-
atively low crimp amplitude (Figure 1). A commercially
available 3.3 dtex, 55 mm PET staple fiber having similar
crimp characteristics was selected for comparison.

Nonwoven preparation
The preparation of the nonwoven fabric and evaluation of
its basic properties was carried out on facilities at the Institut
Français Textile - Habillement, Lyon, France.

Carding and crosslapping Figure 1

Carded web was produced on an Asselin roller top carding
machine and crosslapper. Material was pulled from the bale
and passed once through an opening machine before being
fed manually to the feed belt on the carding machine. This
had a drum of about 90 cm diameter and was equipped with
three sets of worker/stripper rollers. A beater removed the
web from the doffer. The gear and pulley drives to the cylin-
ders, the gaps between cylinders and thus the number of lay-
ers needed to build up the target weight on the cross-lapper
were kept constant. The web formed by the cylinder was
about 30 cm wide and about 6-10 g/m2. The final web after
crosslapping (folding at right angles to the direction of the
card) was about 200 g/m2. In general, both materials carded
satisfactorily. The final webs in PTT were noticeably thinner
than the PET ones, this being attributed to the differences in
crimp amplitude, the inhomogeneity of the crimp of the PTT
fibers and the softness of the PTT fibers.
The edges of the crosslapped web were trimmed with scis-
sors, eliminating the folds and giving a fabric about 50 cm
wide.
Partially opened CdP type 725 3.3 dtex PTT staple
fiber
was 6.3 mm between barbs.
After pre-needling both sides at 34 strokes/cm2, the web
was passed several times more through the equipment under
conditions recorded in Table 1 until it was judged to have suf-
ficient hand strength. Increasing needle penetration depth rep-
resents a compromise between better initial bonding, leaving
bigger holes in the fabric and accelerating the onset of lower
strength due to fiber breakage.
Web Characterization
The webs were characterised by scanning electron
microscopy before and after the first series of needlepunching
experiments.
The final fabrics were tested for mass per unit area, tensile
strength, bending length and drape according to standard pro-
cedures for nonwovens. Compressibility and recovery from
compression were measured on the small scale equipment

Needlepunching
Needlepunching was conducted Table 1
on an Asselin pilot machine. The NEEDLEPUNCH CONDITIONS
web was passed, at a rate set by the
take-off rollers, under a bed of nee- Pass Setting Value
dles 1 m across and 27 cm wide in 1. (pre-needling,
the machine direction. The bed had upper then lower face) Advance 2.35 m/min
4000 needles (1.4814 needles/cm2), Needling density 34 strokes/cm2
oscillating at 200 cycles/min. The Penetration depth 8 mm
(Singer) needles of triangular cross 2. (upper, then lower face) Advance 0.78 m/min
section had type, point shape, barb Needling density 102.6 strokes/cm2
shape and position defined by 15- Penetration depth 8 mm
18-32 gauge taper, 3.5 inch (88.9 3. (upper, then lower face) Advance 0.58 m/min
mm) length, and “RB30 A06/15:” Needling density 138 strokes/cm2
barb depth 0.15 mm, 4.2 mm Penetration depth (upper face) 15 mm
between point of needle and first Penetration depth (lower face) 12 mm
barb, barbs 2.1 mm above one 4. (upper, then lower face) Advance 0.58 m/min
another, distributed evenly around Needling density 138 strokes/cm2
the apexes of the triangular cross Penetration depth 8 mm
section, so that on each edge there

INJ Fall 2002 29

developed by Professor Kawabata:
Mass per unit area: NF EN 29073-1 (ISO 9073-1) - 1992
Bending length and flexural rigidity: ISO 9073-7-1995
Tensile strength and elongation: NF EN 2907-3 -1992
Drape coefficient: NF EN ISO 9073-9-1998
Kawabata compression test: MR-040 (one com-
pression/recovery cycle)
Stress-strain and tensile recovery measurements were done
on dry samples, 250 mm long (200 mm between the grips).
Sample width was 50 mm and drawing rate 100 mm/min.
Drawing was considered to have started when a force of
0.05N was registered. In recovery experiments, after drawing
to the prescribed elongation, the sample was allowed to return
immediately at the same speed and was considered to be com-
pletely recovered when a force of 0.06N was registered, at
Figure 3
which point the corresponding elongation was noted immedi-
PET web after needlepunching
ately.
The Kawabata compression test measures the force applied
to compress a 2 cm2 area in a 200 mm * 200 mm piece of fab-
ric at 0.002 cm/s, whilst increasing the pressure on the sam-
ple from “almost free” (0.01 kPa) to 1 kPa , and then in recov-
ery. Energy to compress and then released during decompres-
sion is measured and compared, as are initial and final thick-
nesses, and the linearity of the compression curve. The fabrics
studied here were about 3.0 mm thick, and lost typically 1-1.5
mm thickness during compression, implying that compres-
sion took 50-75 seconds.
Tensile resilience is recorded as the absolute value of the
elongation after immediate recovery (EIR), and as %
Recovery, where % Recovery = 100*(Applied elongation -
EIR)/Applied elongation. The tensile recovery measurements
were carried out on material from different production runs to
that used for the basic property measurement, resulting in Figure 4
some differences in mass per unit area and other properties, PTT web fibers before needlepunching
including a failure to reproduce the tensile strength of the
PET fabric, amidst sometimes significant sample-to-sample
variation. Tensile recovery was measured primarily from 10%
elongation in both fabric dimensions. The recovery from 80%
elongation and tensile properties to break of this second pro-
duction series were also briefly examined. Breakage tended to
occur close to the grips.
Figure 2
PET web fibers before needlepunching

Figure 5
PTT web after needlepunching
Results
SEM photos of the edge trim before needling and of the
final product are in Figures 2-5.
The results of basic property testing of the two fabrics —
the average of five measurements — are in Table 2, as are the
results of the Kawabata compressive recovery testing. The

30 INJ Fall 2002

 Table 2
COMPARISON OF BASIC PROPERTIES OF
NEEDLEPUNCHED NONWOVENS

Property PET PTT

Web weight (g/m2) 90 95

Bending length (cm) MD 2.1 1.9

CD 2.4 2.2

Flexural rigidity (mN.cm) MD 0.9 0.6

CD 1.2 1.1

Drape (%) 64.2 43.7

Breaking strength (N) MD 32.9 36.5

CD 46.3 50.3
MD/CD 0.71 0.73
Breaking strength (N/tex) MD 0.007 0.008

Elongation at break (%) MD 119.0 153.9

CD 119.1 124.9
MD/CD 1.00 1.23

Kawabata testing Initial thickness (mm) 2.97 2.93

Initial bulk density (kg/m3) 30 32
Thickness after compression (mm) 1.49 2.01
Compression energy (J/m2) 0.512 0.33
Resilience (%)* 36.3 39.0
Compressibility (%) 50 31.4
Linearity** 0.73 0.70

* energy given back during decompression

** characterises the mechanical behaviour, a spring = 1

results of the tensile recovery measurements are in Tables 3
and 4. The shapes of the recovery curves are exemplified in
Figures 6 and 7, and are representative of both PET and PTT
fabrics.
Discussion
These experiments demonstrate that a needlepunch nonwo-
ven can be made from the cotton blending PTT staple fiber
used as starting material. At a similar fabric weight, the prod-
uct shows the expected softness compared with a PET fabric,
as evidenced by bending length, flexural rigidity and, partic-
ularly, drape. Perhaps surprisingly, given the expected
strengths of the component fibers, the fabrics show similar
tensile strengths in the first production series, and higher for
PTT in the second, possibly implying that strength is depen-
dant on the efficiency of entanglement as much as individual
fiber strength. The lower modulus of the PTT fiber may allow
it to entangle easier. A similar effect was noted for hydroen-
tangled fabrics [ 3].
The fabrics are difficult to distinguish in either the com-
pressive or tensile recovery tests. In the case of the tensile
recovery tests, and particularly in the case of the first draw-
ing cycle, it might be envisaged that elongation causes unrav-
elling of the entanglements, so that recovery is less dependant
on the elasticity of the fibers. This apparently continues, but
to a lesser extent, after the first cycle, since the samples con-
tinue to elongate but recovery quickly becomes much higher,
and the PET sample if anything begins to show higher elastic
recovery than the PTT one. After carding, the needlepunching
operations are apparently responsible for a redistribution of
the fibres, accompanied by a significant reduction in mass per
unit area. Some, though not all, of the initial fiber crimp is
lost through carding and needlepunching. The generally hor-
izontal orientation of the fibres may not be optimum for
returning after compression.
Although differences in carding conditions may also play a
role, it is interesting to compare the properties of the present
fabrics with those made by hydroentanglement of virtually
the same PTT fibers described in references [3] and [5].
Sample width also differs in the tests: the ASTM samples in

INJ Fall 2002 31

 Table 3
IMMEDIATE RECOVERY OF NEEDLEPUNCHED FABRICS FROM STRAIN POSITIONING TENSILE
PROPERTIES OF SECOND PRODUCTION SERIES
PET PTT
Base weight (g/m2) 99.3 88.5

Immediate recovery from 10% elongation

Force to 10% elong. EIR Recovery Force to 10% elong. EIR Recovery
(N) (%) (%) (N) (%) (%)
CD samples
avg. of 5 0.37 6.53 34.7 0.55 5.85 41.5
σn 0.04 0.29 2.9 0.15 0.35 3.5

MD samples
avg. of 5 0.43 6.51 34.9 0.43 6.21 37.9
σn 0.04 0.20 2.0 0.11 0.34 3.4

Immediate recovery from 80% elongation

MD sample
Force to 80% elong. EIR Recovery Force to 80% elong. EIR Recovery
(N) (%) (%) (N) (%) (%)
3.50 62.64 21.7 4.57 60.36 24.6

Elongation to break
Tensile strength Elong. at max load Tensile strength Elong. at max load
(N) (%) (N) (%)
CD sample 11.9 100 33.5 119.8
MD sample 11.8 118 27.1 172.5

Table 4
RECOVERY OF NEEDLEPUNCHED NONWOVENS IN REPEATED TENSILE CYCLES
PET PTT
Mass/unit 99.3 88.5
area (g/m2)
MD sample
Force to
10% elong. EIR Recovery Length at 0.05N Force to EIR Recovery Length at
10% elong 0.05N
Cycle (N) (%) (%) (mm) (N) (%) (%) (mm)
1 0.46 6.84 31.6 200.9 0.32 6.48 35.2 202.2
2 0.65 5.76 42.4 209.0 0.43 4.85 51.5 209.7
3 0.80 3.86 61.4 212.8 0.47 4.29 57.1 213.8
4 0.84 3.62 63.8 215.4 0.51 4.02 59.8 216.7
5 0.89 3.48 65.2 217.6 0.55 3.82 61.8 218.8
6 0.93 3.16 68.4 219.4 0.57 3.65 63.5 220.5
7 0.96 3.11 68.9 220.7 0.57 3.57 64.4 221.9
8 0.97 3.00 70.0 221.9 0.59 3.44 65.6 223.2
9 0.99 2.91 70.9 223.9 0.60 3.51 64.9 224.3
10 1.00 2.84 71.6 224.0 0.60 3.47 65.3 225.3

references [3] and [5] being 25.4 mm wide compared with the The hydroentangled PTT fabrics in reference [5] are, howev-
50 mm wide samples used here might lead to the ISO test giv- er, lighter than the present fabrics at around 65 g/m2, yet show
ing strengths about 1.97 times higher than the ASTM result. break strengths of around 40 N when fully formed, compared

32 INJ Fall 2002

 Conclusions
It appears that under the conditions of the present experi-
ments that it is possible to make a needlepunch nonwoven
fabric of about 90 g/m2 from commercially produced PTT sta-
ple fiber. The fabric shows higher softness than a similar fab-
ric made from classical polyester and similar strength and
recovery properties.

Acknowledgements
We are indebted to the management of Shell’s Corterra
Polymers business for financial support and permission to
publish this paper.
The preparation of the nonwoven fabric and evaluation of
its basic properties was carried out at the Institut Français
Textile - Habillement, av. Guy de Collongue , B.P. 60, 69132
Écully (Lyon), France, under the supervision of Xavier
Normand.
The contribution of Monnet Centre staff Elisabeth Delmon
for SEM photographs, and Michel Weverberg for assistance
in setting up the tensile recovery test is also gratefully
Figure 6
acknowledged.
Elongational recovery curve of PTT needlepunch fabric
(MD) to 10% elongation References
1. C. Hwo, H. Brown, P. Casey, H. Chuah, K. Dangayach,
T. Forschner, M. Moerman and L. Oliveri: Chem. Fibers
International 50, 53 (February 2000).
2. I.M. Ward, M.A. Wilding and H. Brody: J. Pol. Sci.,
Polymer Physics Edition 14, 263 (1976).
3. D.A. Shiffler and C.C. Hwo: “Nonwovens from
Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) Staples”, Paper presented at
INTC 2000 Conference, Dallas, Texas, INDA, Association of
the Nonwovens Fabrics Industry PO Box 1288 Cary, NC
27512-1288 USA (Sept. 26-28, 2000).
4. D. Zhang, C. Sun, W. Zhao, J. Beard, I. Carson and C.
Hwo: “Characterisation of Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)
Based Meltblown and Spunbonded Nonwovens”, Paper 4.4
presented at 11th Annual TANDEC Conference, University
of Tennessee-Knoxville (Nov. 6-8, 2001).
5. D.A. Shiffler and C.C. Hwo: “Stretch, Recovery,
Compressive Behavior and Property Tradeoffs for
Hydroentangled Fabrics of Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)
Staple”, Paper presented at INTC 2001 Conference,
Baltimore, MD, INDA, Association of the Nonwovens
Figure 7 Fabrics Industry, P.O. Box 1288, Cary, NC 27512-1288
Elongational recovery curve of PTT needlepunch fabric USA (Sept. 5-7, 2001). — INJ
(MD) to 80% elongation

with the values of around 35 N found for the present PTT fab-
rics. Break elongation of the needlepunch fabrics appears to
be a little higher than the hydroentangled ones. Immediate
recovery from 10% strain from the first elongation of fabrics
made by the two processes appears to be of the same order of
magnitude.
Nevertheless, these results warrant further optimisation of
the products described here by modifying e.g. carding condi-
tions, fibre crimp and the ratio of carded web weight to final
web weight.

INJ Fall 2002 33

ORIGINAL PAPER/PEER-REVIEWED
Linear Low Density
Polyethylene Resins for
Breathable Microporous Films
By W.R. Hale, E.D. Crawford, K.K. Dohrer, B.T. Duckworth,
Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tennessee
Abstract
The trade-off between breathability and strength properties
has (grudgingly) been accepted by producers of microvoided
film, such as for diaper backsheet. The key resin, additive,
film fabrication, and film stretching parameters that impact
moisture vapor transmission as well as the physical attributes
of the film have been identified. The understanding of these
complex interactions provided the basis for modification of
the polyethylene (PE) molecular architecture that promotes
both high MVTR and high-strength properties in microvoid-
ed films. This information has resulted in new polyethylene
resins for the breathable film market.
Background
Modification of polymers through careful formulation is
very important in industry today, allowing for the tailoring of
desired properties. Mineral filled polymers are particularly
attractive in certain systems for the enhancement of proper-
ties while simultaneously reducing cost. [1] For example,
blends of high density polyethylene (HDPE) with moderate
amounts of filler such as CaCO3 have been shown to have
improved impact properties, attributed to an increase in
HDPE shear yielding. This behavior is induced by debonding
at the HDPE/CaCO3 interface, creating voids (analogous to
cavitation in rubber impact modified thermoplastics). [2] This
debonding behavior can also be utilized for applications
where the transmission of water vapor is important; e.g., per-
sonal care market.[3] Polymer is compounded with large
amounts (>35 wt% typically) of an appropriate mineral and
formed into film. This film is then stretched at temperatures
below the softening point of the polymer matrix to create an
interconnecting network of microvoids produced by debond-
ing at the polymer/mineral interface (Figure 1a and Figure
1b)
. simply be viewed as a balance in energy requirements to initi-
34 INJ Fall 2002
In these systems, the type and loading of CaCO3 and the
extrusion, stretching, and post-stretching processing condi-
tions affect the properties of such materials. [4-6] These
porous materials can be used for many applications such as
diaper back sheets, sanitary napkins, medical protective gar-
ments, surgical incise drapes, transdermal patches, wound
care bandages and dressings, intravenous site dressings, osto-
my site dressings, breathable housewrap, among others. An
important property, but not always scientifically obvious is
the need for comfort, or a garments ability to maintain a bal-
ance between heat production and heat loss. The loss of heat
may occur through direct dry heat loss or by moisture evapo-
ration. In respect to the latter, the moisture vapor transmission
rate of the material utilized in forming the garment is gener-
ally related to the breathability of the material. Breathability
is the ability to diffuse moisture/water vapor through a film or
garment. There are many types of products that offer combi-
nations of these properties such as microporous polyethylene
often used in the production of breathable diaper manufactur-
ing. Many studies have been performed on these types of sys-
tems and equipment/methods used to produce them, and
information can be found in both patent and scientific litera-
ture. [7-13] For most of these systems there exists the prima-
ry trade off between breathability and performance as shown
in Figure 2.
This behavior is brought about primarily through density in
its effect on modulus. In general, a higher density results from
more crystallinity and thus in a higher modulus. Therefore
during stretching the energy goes primarily into pore forma-
tion (energy to create a new surface) rather than into yielding
of the matrix (energy to disrupt crystalline structure).
Reducing the density, and thus the modulus/crystallinity, is
manifested during stretching through energy transfer via
matrix yielding instead of the creation of pores. This can most
 chains after film stretching combined with a lack of amorphous
tie molecules, results in a film with poor mechanical properties.
Equally, the stretched film formed from a lower density resin,
has less total orientation and a higher amorphous tie chain con-
tent to maintain oriented structural integrity and mechanical
properties, although at the expense of a lower MVTR relative
to the higher density resins [14]. It is the goal of this work to
break this relationship and push the typical limits of this
breathability-property relationship. In the process of this study,
although much will not be discussed at this time, the effects of
filler loading and type, compounding, film formation, and film
stretching were examined. Of primary interest is the effect of
polyethylene resin molecular structure.

Experimental
The polymerization process utilized to prepare the polyeth-
ylene-co-hexene was carried out in a fluidized-bed reactor for
gas-phase polymerization, consisting of a vertical cylinder of
diameter 0.74 meters and height 7 meters and surmounted by
a velocity reduction chamber. The catalyst used was Ziegler-
Natta in nature (proprietary). Multiple resins were prepared
with varying melt index (MI), density, and specific catalyst
type. Additionally, two commercial polyethylenes were used
in this study of roughly 0.917 density and 2.3 melt index.
In preparing the compositions of the examples herein, the
polyethylene component and the filler were compounded in a
Kobelco continuous mixer model NEX-T60. The mixer was
operated at 400ºF, a mixing speed of 800 rpm, and a produc-
tion rate of 200 lbs/hour. The polyethylene component and the
Figures 1A and 1B
filler were fed to the mixer to produce a polyethylene filler
ILLUSTRATION OF STRETCHING PROCESS TO composition containing 50 wt% filler. Additionally, 100 ppm
PRODUCE PORES AND AN SEM Dynamar FX 9613 processing aid (supplied by Dyneon,
PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF A STRETCHED, Oakdale, MN) and 150 ppm Irganox B215 antioxidant (sup-
MICROPOROUS PE/CACO3 FILM plied by Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation, Terrytown,
NY) were added to the polyethylene filler composition during
mixing. The filler utilized was SUPERCOAT calcium carbon-
ate supplied by English China Clay under the registered trade-
mark SUPERCOAT calcium carbonate, reported as being
97.6% calcium carbonate (prior to surface treatment) with a
mean particle size of 1 micron (top cut of 10 microns) and sur-
face area of 7.2 m2/g (determined by BET).
Blown films were produced from the polyethylene compo-
sitions of the present invention by introducing the composition
into the feed hopper of a 2.5 inch Egan extruder with a 24/1
Length/Diameter. The film was produced using a circular 6
inch Sano die having a gap of 0.088 inch (88 mils) and dual air
lips. The extrusion conditions used to process the filled poly-
ethylene compositions (referred to as resins) were as follows:
Figure 2
Barrel Temperatures
TYPICAL RELATIONSHIP FOUND BETWEEN Zone 1 ºF 380
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND Zone 2 ºF 450
BREATHABILITY (MVTR) OF MICROPOROUS Zone 3 ºF 430
POLYOLEFIN FILMS Zone 4 ºF 420
Zone 5 ºF 400
ate and continue a process. However, there is a trade-off inher- Die Temperatures
ent after deformation from stretching. Because the higher den- Zone 1-4 ºF 425
sity resins are higher in crystallinity, the orientation of polymer

INJ Fall 2002 35

 Figure 3A
ILLUSTRATION OF THE ROLL-TO-ROLL
STRETCHING PROCESS
Figure 3B
ILLUSTRATION OF THE INTERDIGITATION
STRETCHING PROCESS
In processing the filled polyethylene compositions, the
parameters held constant were output rate (89lb/hr = 4.7lb/hr-
in die circumference) and blow-up ratio of 2.4:1. More infor-
mation regarding the synthesis of these novel polyethylenes,
or novel polyethylenes prepared from indirect blending meth-
ods can be found elsewhere. [15,16]
Films were stretched by two different methods,
Interdigitation and roll-to-roll. This report presents results
from both of these stretching processes. The roll-to-roll
stretching process is shown in Figure 3a.
The filled film is passed over preheat rolls 1 and 2. The
heated film then enters the stretching region of the process
(between rolls 3 and 4) where roll 4 is rotating at a speed
faster than roll 3, thereby controlling the stretch ratio. The
film is then passed over heat-set/cooling rolls 5 and 6 to then
be collected on the take-up roll. Films made by this method
were prepared at Marshall and Williams Company, Plastics
Machinery Division (Providence, RI) using the roll-to-roll
method. Films were stretched to uniformity at both 10 and
20oC below the Vicat softening point. Note that the microp-
orous film shown in Figure 1b was prepared via the roll-to-
roll stretching process.
Interdigitation is a stretching process that is well known in
the art whereby the filled film, while under tension, is passed
36 INJ Fall 2002
Figure 4
OPTICAL MICROGRAPH OF A CACO3 FILLED
POLYETHYLENE FILM STRETCHED BY THE
INTERDIGITATION PROCESS
between intermeshing, grooved cylinders or intermeshing
disks (Figure 3b).
Machine direction stretching is accomplished by passing
the film through a gear-like intermeshing cylinder pair and
transverse stretching is accomplished by passing the film
through a disk-like roller pair. Each point of contact with the
grooves or disks applies localized stress to the film. It is at
these points that the film stretches. The resulting stretched
film consists of narrow, parallel bands where stretching has
occurred separated by bands of unstretched film. The amount
of stretching is governed by the amount of interengagement
between the grooved cylinder pair or the intermeshing disk
pair. Pores in films stretched by this process are found in the
stretched bands. When the interdigitation process stretches
films biaxially, a crosshatched pattern of stretched bands is
produced. The examples shown here of films stretched biaxi-
ally at room temperature by the interdigitation method were
prepared at Biax FiberFilm Corporation, Greenville,
Wisconsin. See Figure 4 for an example of a film stretched
biaxially by the interdigitation process.
Further information on the interdigitation method may be
found in U.S. Patent No. 4,116,892 and PCT WO 00/23255.
The stretch ratio was held constant at a 1.1x machine direc-
tion stretch followed by a 1.125x transverse direction stretch.
The stretch ratio is determined by drawing a 1 inch diameter
circle on the film and then passing this film through the inter-
meshing grooved cylinder pair or intermeshing disk pair. The
circle diameter is then again measured, in the direction, yield-
ing the stretch ratio.
In this work, the test procedures listed below were used in
evaluating the analytical properties of the polyethylene com-
ponent, and the physical properties of the films produced
from the compositions of the polyethylene component and
filler.
(a) Density – ASTM D4883; units are g/cc (grams/cubic
centimeter); plaques are prepared according to ASTM
D1928, Procedure C.
(b) Melt Index – ASTM D1238 (Condition 190/2.6); units
are g/10 min (grams/10 minutes);
(c) Dart Impact – ASTM D1709A; units are g (grams);
(d) Tensile – ASTM D882; units are g (grams);
(e) Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate (MVTR) is mea-
sured according to ASTM Test Method E96. The apparatus
for this experiment consists of a test dish, environmental
Thermotron test chamber, and a balance. The test dish is non-
corroding and is impermeable to liquid water and water
vapor. The mouth area of the dish defines the test area such
that the overlay material is masked to eliminate this potential
source of error. The water level is filled to _ inch below the
mouth to avoid contact of water with the specimen and cov-
ers the dish bottom throughout the entire experiment. The
Thermotron test chamber Model SM5.5S controls the tem-
perature and relative humidity. The temperature for this work
was selected at 90ºF (32ºC), which is the standard test condi-
tion, designated as ASTM E-96D. The relative humidity is
maintained at 50±2%. Air is continuously circulated over the
face of the film at a rate of 200 m/s (meters per second). The
Mettler P1200 balance detects changes in weight smaller than
1% (0.01 grams) of the weight change during the steady state
period. Samples are secured on the test dish and weighed. The
samples are then placed into the test chamber for two hours
and then weighed again. The samples are put back into the
oven for a total of 24 hours and the weights are measured
twice more over the 24 hour period. The MVTR of each sam-
ple is calculated by the following equation:
MVTR = (g)/(A)(T)
Where
g = weight change during test (grams)
A = test area (m2)
T = time = 1 day
The weight loss data is plotted and the slope of the straight
line is the rate of the water vapor transmission through the
film. The slope of the line is then divided by the area of the
sample tested to obtain a normalized MVTR.
(f) Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (TREF)
experiments were performed with a Polymics CAP-TREF
system (Polymics, State College, PA). The analytical TREF
profile generates the weight percent of the various density
fractions contained in the polyethylene (Figure 5).
Two TREF experiments were required to complete the
analyses. The first one uses the analytical TREF profile to
generate the weight percent of the high temperature (HT)
fraction. The second one uses the fraction collection TREF
profile for acquisition of the HT fraction. Sample polymer
solutions for TREF were prepared by dissolving the polyeth-
ylene into the solvent 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) at a level
of approximately 0.15g polyethylene in 15 mL TCB in glass
vials. The TCB used for the TREF and gel permeation chro-
matography (GPC) contained approximately 2g of 2,6-di-
tert–butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT) per 4000 mL TCB as an
antioxidant. The polyethylene was dissolved into the TCB by
heating the samples for 4 hours at 160ºC in a Reacti-Therm
Figure 5
TYPICAL TREF CURVE FROM A LINEAR
LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE
III heating/stirring block (Pierce, Rockford, IL). The crystal-
lization support, CHROMOSORB P (Sigma, St. Louis, MO),
is a 45-60 mesh acid washing diatomite. The CHRO-
MOSORB P support was also heated to 160ºC and approxi-
mately 8 grams of the hot CHROMOSORB P support was
added to the polymer solutions after all of the polyethylene
was completely dissolved into the TCB. These 160ºC samples
containing the polyethylene, TCB, and CHROMOSORB P
support were then capped and the vials were then transferred
to the crystallization oven (Despatch LAC, Despatch
Industries, Minneapolis, MN) that had been pre-warmed to
150ºC. The crystallization oven was then programmed to
equilibrate the samples at 150ºC for 2 hours before cooling
the samples at a rate of 2ºC/hour to a temperature of 30ºC.
Chilled water was piped into a heat exchanger at a flow rate
low enough to not disrupt the oven high temperature yet per-
mit complete cooling to 30ºC. The polymer and TCB con-
taining CHROMOSORB P support were then packed into
analytical TREF cartridges and run in the Polymics CAP
TREF using an analytical TREF profile. The analytical pro-
file maintained the samples at 25ºC for 5 minutes and a flow
rate of 10 ml/min before heating to 135ºC at a heating rate of
200ºC/hour and a flow rate of 20 ml/min. The eluent was the
TCB described above. The weight percent of the high tem-
perature fractions (%HT) was defined as the proportion of
material eluting above 90ºC as determined from the cumula-
tive weight fraction curves of the analytical TREF experi-
ments. The results of TREF are reported as wt% HT.
A second analytical TREF experiment was needed for the
collection of the high temperature fraction of the polyethyl-
ene. The sample preparation was identical to the method
described above. The fraction collection profile was similar
to the analytical profile described above except that when the
column temperature reaches 90ºC it is programmed to
isotherm at that temperature for 10 minutes. After the 90ºC
isotherm the solvent outlet line is moved to a beaker to col-
lect the material that melts above 90ºC while the program
proceeds by ramping the temperature to 135ºC at a heating
INJ Fall 2002 37
rate of 200ºC/hour and a flow rate of 20 ml/min.
The HT fraction was collected over the temperature range
of 90 to 120ºC based on the analytical TREF elution curve of
National Institute of Standards and Technology linear poly-
ethylene standard SRM 1475 (U.S. Department of
Commerce, Gaithersburg, MD). This amounted to roughly
180 mL of solution. An approximately equivalent volume of
acetone was added to the effluent while stirring. The mixtures
were then allowed to cool to room temperature and the pre-
cipitated polymer was then filtered off using a vacuum filtra-
tion system with a 0.45 mm ZEFLUOR PTFE membrane fil-
ter (Pall Gelman Sciences, Ann Arbor, MI). The collected
polymer was washed with excess acetone and was then col-
lected by scraping it off the filter using a razor blade. Figure 6
(g) Average Molecular Weight - GPC analyses to determine REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSE SURFACES
average molecular weight were performed on the isolated DERIVED FROM AN EXTENSIVE DESIGNED
polyethylene fractions collected during the TREF analysis EXPERIMENT FOR FILMS STRETCHED BY THE
using a Polymer Labs GPC 210 system (Polymer ROLL-TO-ROLL METHOD
Laboratories, Amherst, MA) using TCB as the solvent. The
GPC samples were prepared by dissolving approximately 1 ic variables. Contour plots were generated for a wide variety
mg of the isolated polyethylene fractions into approximately of responses as a function of these variables, such as shown
1 mL of TCB. The samples were dissolved in glass vials at in Figure 6. For these series of resins, multiple equations
160ºC for 4 hours using the Pierce Reacti-Therm III (proprietary) were developed in the form of:
heater/stirrer and were then filtered using glass wool stuffed Property = function (Molecular Composition, MI, density,
pipettes in an aluminum block heated to 160ºC. The GPC stretch condition/temperature)
columns and detectors were maintained at 160ºC. The Based on these results, combined with extensive and
autosampler carousel hot zone was maintained at 160ºC detailed TREF examination of the experimental design resins,
while the warm zone was kept at 100ºC. The instrument uses a route was discovered that allowing for a push beyond the
both a Viscotek 210R viscometer (Viscotek Corporation, upper bound via control of the molecular architecture and
Houston, TX) and a Polymer Labs refractive index detector molecular weight of the HT fractions of the LLDPE resin
(Polymer Laboratories, Amherst, MA). The injection loop (examined from TREF) (Figure 7).
was a 200mL and the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min. The column An explanation for this behavior lies in a term known as the
set consisted of three Polymer Labs Mixed B 300x7.5 mm characteristic draw ratio (CDR) as shown in Figure 8 for
columns and one Polymer Labs Mixed B 50x7.5 mm column films prepared by the roll-to-roll method. In general the CDR
(Polymer Laboratories, Amherst, MA). The system was cali- describes the distance a given film must be drawn to achieve
brated using a set of narrow molecular weight distribution uniformity.
polystyrenes ranging from 7.5 million to 7,000 g/mol Prior to this discovery, it was common to make compar-
(Polymer Laboratories, Amherst, MA). The GPC data collec- Figure 7
tion and molecular weight calculations were performed using EFFECT OF THE MOLECULAR WEIGHT FROM
the TriSEC v3.0 software (Viscotek Corporation, Houston,
SPECIFIC MOLECULAR POLYETHYLENE TREF
TX). The molecular weight calculations were based on the
Universal Calibration method as described by Benoit et al. in
FRACTIONS (HIGH DENSITY FRACTION) ON
the Journal of Polymer Science, part B, volume 5, page 753, MVTR (FILMS STRETCHED BY THE ROLL-TO-
published in 1967. The results of GPC analysis are reported ROLL METHOD)
as number average molecular weight in g/mol.
(h) The morphology was examined by both SEM LEO
Gemini 982 (2kV) and optical microscopy Wild Makroscop
M400.

Discussion
A period of time was dedicated to this work for explorato-
ry studies in order to determine which variables have the
largest effect on film properties. Some of the more critical
variables identified were stretching temperature/method,
polyethylene resin density, melt index, and molecular archi-
tecture. Based on this exploratory work, a well-controlled
designed experiment was performed to examine these specif-

38 INJ Fall 2002

 Figure 8
ILLUSTRATION OF THE CHARACTERISTIC
DRAW RATIO, λn
Figure 9
RELATION SHIPS DETERMINED FROM
DESIGNED EXPERIMENT; MVTR VERSES
DESIGN VARIABLE FOR FILMS STRETCHED BY
THE ROLL-TO-ROLL METHOD
isons of MVTR to stretch conditions, MI and density – see
Figure 9. As will be discussed shortly the CDR is, in general,
a function of stretch temperature, melt index, density, and
molecular architecture – collapsing all of the variables shown
in the previous figure into a single variable.
Figure 10 shows the relationship between the CDR for the
same resins shown in the previous figure and their MVTR
values – illustrating the convenience of examination of the
data via this method. The theory around this relationship is
that the individual pores created during the stretching process
will scale with the CDR, where resins with higher CDR’s will
inherently have longer pores. [17] These longer pores will
have higher statistical chances of intersecting with adjacent
pores, allowing for the generation of more continuous paths
across the through thickness of the film. This theory is col-
laborated by work presented by Mandelkern [18] and
Peacock [19] where their work has confirmed the effects of
molecular architecture, molecular weight, and temperature of
Figure 10
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CHARACTERIS-
TIC DRAW RATIO OF DESIGNED EXPERIMENT
RESINS TO MVTR FOR FILMS STRETCHED BY
THE ROLL-TO-ROLL METHOD
various systems on the characteristic draw ratio. Likely the
most significant finding from this referenced work is that for
a given density material, the characteristic draw ratio increas-
es with decreasing molecular weight. Additionally, for a
given molecular weight, the characteristic draw ratio increas-
es with increasing density. Decreasing the molecular weight
of the overall polyethylene would lead to loss is certain
mechanical properties; however, as Mandelkern and Peacock
showed, the strongest influence on draw ratio appears to
come from density. Hence, it was determined that by control-
ling the molecular weight of just the high density fraction of
the polyethylene (% HT); i.e., keeping the molecular weight
low, one could get the desired effect of higher draw rations
while the total polymer molecular weight is still maintained
at an acceptable level.
This new information allowed a redesign of resin formation
technology disclosed Eastman patents [15,16] to push into
the upper bound discussed earlier. As shown in Table 1, for
films prepared by the interdigitation method for a similar
melt index and density, the new technology which produces
resins with the ideal molecular architecture alluded to in this
work has superior properties than the commercially available
comparatives. Additionally, this work forms an excellent
complement with a prior study regarding diffusion modeling
through these films [9]. It was concluded that an increase in
MVTR for microporous films like those presented here is a
consequence of the creation of more pores. Additionally,
from mathematical models presented, it was shown that the
pore radius decreased with increasing MVTR, which of
course seems counterintuitive. However, in light of the work
presented here, this now becomes logical. For a given volume
of film, higher draw ratios lead to more chance for pore con-
nection, as discussed above. If more pore volume is created
within a given total volume (pore + mineral + polyethylene),
INJ Fall 2002 39

Table 1
COMPARISON OF PROPERTIES OF
CONVENTIONAL LLDPE (COMPARATIVE 1
OCTENE COMONOMER AND COMPARATIVE 2
HEXENE COMONOMER) WITH THAT OF THE
NEW TAILORED LLDPE BASED ON DESIGN
DATA (PERMTUFF), NOTE THE FILMS WERE
STRETCHED BY THE INDERDIGITATION
PROCESS
and it is shown that more pores are being created, then the
observed pore radius must of course decrease to avoid violat-
ing common physical laws of conservation.
Conclusions
The performance of microporous polyethylene is in gener-
al accepted to be a function of the density and MI of a resin
for equivalent formulations stretching conditions. It is desir-
able to produce microporous films having the toughness of a
common lower density resin and the MVTR of a common
higher density resin. It has been shown here a method to
achieve this combination where the molecular weights of spe-
cific LLDPE fractions are controlled to increase MVTR
while maintaining properties. This effect is shown to be relat-
ed to the characteristic draw ratio.
6. Berndt, H.J., Heidemann, G., Deutscher Farber-
Kalendar, 76, 1972
7. Nishizawa, K., Mizutani, F.H., Kao Corporation, US Pat.
4, 626, 252 (1986)
8. McCormack, A.L., Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., US
Pat. 5, 695, 868 (1997)
9. Middlesworth, J.A., Brady, K.A., Exxon Chemical
Company, Inc., PCT Application WO 98/05501 (1998)
10. Schwarz, E.C.A., (Biax-Fiberfilm Corp.) US Pat. 4,
116, 892
11. Nago, S., Mizutani, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 68 (1998)
1543
12. Nago, S., Nakamura, S., Mizutani, Y., J. Appl. Polym.
Sci. 45 (1992) 1527
13. Hale, W.R., Dohrer, K.K, Tant, M.R. Sand, I.D.,
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physichochem. Eng, Aspects, 187-
188 (2001), 483
14. Janimak, J.J.; Stevens, G.C.; J. of Mat. Sci. 36 (2001)
1879
15. Dohrer, K.K., Hale, W.R., Sand, I.D., Edmund, M.A.,
Tant, M.R., Crawford, E.D., Savitski, E.P., Barr, D.B.
(Eastman Chemical Company) US Pat. 6,359,050 (2002)
16). Dohrer, K.K., Hale, W.R., Sand, I.D., Edmund, M.A.,
Tant, M.R., Crawford, E.D., Savitski, E.P., Barr, D.B.
(Eastman Chemical Company) PCT Application WO
02/10275 (2002)
17. Dubnikova, I. L.; Oshmyan, V. G.; Gorenberg, A. Ya., J.
Mater. Sci., 32, 1613 (1997).
18. Kennedy, M. A.; Peacock, A. J.; Failla, M. D.; Lucas, J.
C.; Mandelkern, L., Macromolecules, 28, 1407 (1995)
19. Peacock, A. J.; Mandelkern, L.; Alamo, R. G.; Fatou, J.
G., Journal of Materials Science, 33, 2255 (1998) — INJ

References
1. Nielsen, L.E., Landel, R.F., Particulate-Filled Polymers -
Mechanical Properties of Polymers and Composites 2nd edi-
tion, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1994
2. Bartczak, Z., Argon, A.S., Cohen, R.E., Weinberg, M.,
Polymer, 40 (1999) 2347
3. Sugimoto, M., Yukio, W., Kunio, B., Hasegawa, T.,
Morita, M., Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Ktd., US Pat. 4,
472, 328 (1984)
4. Hale, W.R., McGuire, J., Sand, I.D., Dohrer, K.K., J.
Appl. Polym. Sci., 82 (2001) 2454
5. Khanna, Y.P., Taylor, T.J., Kumar, R., J. Appl. Polym.
Sci., 42, 693, 1991
40 INJ Fall 2002

Fiberglass Vs. Synthetic
Air Filtration Media
By Edward Vaughn, Professor, and Gayetri Ramachandran, Graduate Student,
Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Abstract
This paper deals with ASHRAE filters used in air filtration
applications and summarizes, on the basis of current research
work, some of the reasons for the disagreement that exists
among filter manufacturers concerning the properties and
performance of various types of air filter media in general,
glass and synthetic media in particular. Attention is also
drawn to some important items that need to be incorporated
in test methods and to some factors that could be affecting fil-
ter performance
. diatomaceous earth, perlite, paper, woven metal wire, woven
Introduction
The filtration industry today is a diverse and technically
sophisticated business with annual sales reported to be in
excess of $100 billion [1]. Filter producers supply various
types of filtration systems and filter media designed to meet
a wide variety of liquid, air and gaseous fluid filtration needs.
The filtration business has evolved over time to become a
complex industry with very specific requirements for each
area of use. Performance standards for the media used in vir-
tually every application have become very stringent. Recent
studies and ongoing research in the area of air filtration sug-
gest that the present test methods may be inadequate in pre-
dicting the most economical choice of media, with specific
efficiency levels for different end-use applications. Also,
some test methods have been criticized for their inability to
reflect the true performance of filters in real-life environment
over their full lifetime.
The Filter Spectrum
The filtration spectrum covers a wide size range from ionic
particles measured in angstroms to larger solids up to several
hundred microns in size. The spectrum is divided into four
broad categories as shown in Figure 1: Reverse Osmosis,
ORIGINAL PAPER/PEER-REVIEWED
Ultrafiltration, Microfiltration, and General Particle Filtration
[9]. Depending on the requirements, different filtering sys-
tems can be used. If surface filters are used, then the contam-
inants are trapped and held on the surface of the media. On
the other hand, if depth filters are used, larger particles are
caught on the filter’s surface and finer contaminants are
trapped in the media’s fibers within. Accordingly, the most
suitable filter media that is disposable or reusable needs to be
selected. A wide variety of filter media are available. Some of
them include membranes, microporous plastics, sand,
and nonwoven fibrous media. Nonwoven fibrous media are
made of synthetic fibers, fiberglass and paper [1].
Filter Media Classification
The classification of filter media depends on the test
method used. As most testing is performed in the laboratory
with synthetic dust, the classification does not always provide
a reliable basis for the estimation of a filter’s life or its per-
formance in actual application. According to the European
Classification, particle filters are categorized into four types:
Course, Fine, High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters (HEPA),
and Ultra Low Particulate Air Filters (ULPA). Filters pro-
duced from glass fibers or synthetic fibers like polyester,
acrylic and polyamide fibers, which separate particles that are
5mm and larger, are designated as course filters. Fine filters
are made mainly from glass fibers with an average diameter
of 0.5 - 5.0 mm or from coarse plastic fibers, often in combi-
nation with an electrostatic charge. European Test Standards
classify filters according to their Arrestance (Am) and Dust
Spot Efficiencies (Em). Table 1 gives the classification of fil-
ters on this basis. For example, a filter with an average
arrestance value between 65% and 80 % is designated as an
EU 2 filter by Eurovent Classification and G 2 filter by EN
779 Classification. A filter with an average dust spot efficien-
INJ Fall 2002 41
 through the filter media. Depending on the total level of sep-
aration and leakage, a filter is classified as H10, H11, H12,
H13 or H14 and U15, U16 or U17.
Chemical filters are adsorption filters impregnated with
chemical substances that contain activated carbon. By means
of chemical reactions, these filters adsorb and retain gases
that are difficult to remove [4].

The Fiberglass Media Versus Synthetic Media Issue

High efficiency fiberglass filter media have been an indus-
try standard for air filtration applications. These media are
characterized by a dense structure of fine glass fibers, typi-
cally in the one-micron range. More recently, synthetic fiber
filter media with a more open structure formed from relative-
ly coarse fibers - mainly electrostatically charged polypropy-
lene fibers - have been introduced.
Short-term tests performed in the laboratory on the basis of
ASHRAE and European test procedures show that initial and
average efficiencies of these two types of filter media are
comparable. But extensive field-testing and real-life tests on
the two media show that laboratory tests do not predict the
performance of filters over their whole service life. Also, life-
time tests reveal the fact that there is a great difference in the
filtration performance of the two types of filtration media.
Glass media maintains its efficiency, while synthetic media
loses its efficiency over its service life [2].
Figure 1 To understand this disagreement between real-life test
FILTRATION GEOMETRY SCALE AND TYPICAL results and laboratory results generated from ASHRAE and
PARTICLES CAPTURED THEREIN (9) European test standards, one needs to look keenly into the
various factors that affect the filtration capability of filter
cy of 95% or less is designated as an EU 9 filter by Eurovent media. The standard tests do not cover the entire gamut of fil-
Classification and F 9 filter by EN 779 Classification. tration media types and challenge environments, and their
To meet current demands of clean air for specialized appli- results must be interpreted in light of knowledge of the char-
cations, such as the military, the nuclear power industry, hos- acteristics and properties of the filter medium in question and
pitals and the electronic industry, HEPA and ULPA filters are the conditions to which it is subjected.
used. Based on the CEN EN 1822:1998 test method, a filter’s
Filtration Mechanisms
efficiency is determined by the Most Penetrating Particle Size
A popular misconception regarding how a filter works is
(MPPS) value. The Most Penetrating Particle Size is defined
that fibrous filters behave like sieves, where particles above a
as the most frequently occurring particle size that penetrates
certain size are trapped
and smaller particles
Table 1
pass through. While this
EUROVENT CLASSIFICATION OF FILTERS (4).
is the case with some
Eurovent EN 779 Average Average Final Pa Filter membranes filtering liq-
Filter Filter Synthetic Atmospheric Classification uids, fibrous air filters
Class Class Dust Weight Dust Spot and Filter defy common sense by
Arrestance in % Efficiency in % Designation actually trapping small-
EU 1 G1 Am< 65 - 250 PRE-FILTER er and larger particles
EU 2 G2 65 < Am< 80 - 250 PRE-FILTER more effectively than
EU 3 G3 80 < Am < 90 - 250 PRE-FILTER mid-sized particles.
EU 4 G4 90 < Am - 250 PRE-FILTER Four mechanisms act
EU 5 F5 - 40 < Em < 60 450 FINE AIR FILTER to separate a particle
EU 6 F6 - 60 < Em < 80 450 FINE AIR FILTER from a fluid stream and
EU 7 F7 - 80 < Em < 90 450 VERY FINE AIR FILTER retain it on a filter medi-
EU 8 F8 - 90 < Em < 95 450 VERY FINE AIR FILTER um, namely,
EU 9 F9 - 95 < Em 450 VERY FINE AIR FILTER Interception, Inertial
Impaction, Brownian

42 INJ Fall 2002 2

 Figure 2
DIRECT INTERCEPTION MECHANISM
Figure 3
INERTIAL IMPACTION MECHANISM
Diffusion, and Electrostatic Capture.
Interception occurs when a particle following a gas stream-
line comes within one particle radius of a filter fiber. As
shown in Figure 2., the particle touches the fiber and is cap-
tured, thus being removed from the gas flow. Streamlines far-
ther than one particle radius from the filter fiber will not con-
tribute to the interception mechanism. The size of the particle
determines how close it moves to the fiber.
Inertial Impaction generally occurs with larger particles
that are unable to quickly adjust to streamline direction near a
filter fiber. Due to its inertia, the particle will continue along
its original path and hit the filter fiber and fall down in the
media, as shown in Figure 3.
The very fine particles in the air stream collide with the gas
molecules and create a random path through the media. The
smaller the particle and the lower the gas velocity, the longer
the particle will zigzag around. The resulting random motion,
called Brownian Diffusion, will increase the probability of the
particle impacting the fiber surface and adhering to it. This is
shown in Figure 4.
Electrostatic Capture requires imparting an electrostatic
charge to a synthetic fiber during its formation. The filter
media so formed have charges on the fibers and hence are
able to attract dust particles. By this method of particulate
capture, the small particles initially adhere to the fibers and
form the nucleus for progressive attachment of more dust par-
ticles, which finally results in the formation of conglomerate
clumps or protuberances on the fibers [8]. This phenomenon
is called dendrite formation. Continual attachment of the con-
taminants onto each other results in the development of den-
drite colonies which load the filter, reduce the spacing
between adjacent fibers, reduce the size of the voids in the fil-
Figure 4
BROWNIAN DIFFUSION
ter and hence enhance the mechanical filtration capability of
the filter medium.
Fiberglass filter media with their finer fibers utilize the first
three filtering mechanisms and are enhanced by the number
of fibers present per unit volume of the media. With the
decrease in fiber diameter, the number of fibers per unit area
increases. Also, the path that the contaminate particle must
take through the filter media becomes much more intricate,
thus dramatically increasing the chances that the particle will
be captured on the fiber surface by one of the physical filter-
ing mechanisms.
Because of larger diameter fibers, large voids are present in
synthetic media. This characteristic reduces the possibility of
a particle colliding with a fiber. Application of electrostatic
charge to the fibers in synthetic media results in a greater
attraction of dust particles on to the fiber. Atomic forces sub-
sequently hold the particles onto the media [2].
Characteristics of Fiberglass and Synthetic
Filter Media
Fibrous filter media made from glass fibers or synthetic
fibers are widely used, primarily in disposable filters, due to
the favorable characteristics of low cost, depth filtration, good
dust holding capacity and variety of constructions. These
products are used in industrial as well as consumer applica-
tions such as engine air filters, furnace filters, building venti-
lation filters, cleanroom air filters, and gas cleaning filters in
nuclear installations [9].
Porosity: Fibrous filter media can be manufactured with
uniform porosity or with a gradient density through the filter
depth. A variation in spacing between adjacent fibers results
in a non-uniform undefined interconnected porous structure.
Particle Capture through the Filter Depth: In both filter
types, particles are collected on the surface, as well as
throughout the interior of the filter media, this characteristic
results in their being classified as depth filters.
Pressure Drop: Fiberglass filter media are made from flame
attenuated glass fibers of about 1.0 - 1.3 mm in diameter.
Typical synthetic media consists of one or more layers of
fibers depending on the requirements. One of the layers pro-
vides particle-capturing efficiency of the product. This layer
consists of 3.0 - 4.0 µm diameter fibers that capture particles
utilizing electrostatic enhancement.
The fibers in the synthetic filter media, being coarser than
INJ Fall 2002 43
those in the glass media, are not able to pack as closely as the
glass media. The fibers are not able to come close together
and so, leave large void spaces between them. Hence, syn-
thetic filter media show lower pressure drop than fiberglass
media [2]).
Loading: Synthetic media with coarser fibers have a more
open structure as compared to the glass media. This charac-
teristic yields a greater void volume per unit area and a high-
er fluid permeability and dust holding capacity.
Associated Cost: One objective of a filter manufacturer is
to provide the most economical solution to a filtration prob-
lem. A number of factors influence the total cost associated
with using a filter unit. The filter media needs to be designed
so that it will achieve its performance requirements satisfac-
torily while keeping the costs incurred to a minimum. Life
cycle analysis and life cycle cost studies are extremely useful
tools in assessing the costs of a filter function. Life cycle
analysis considers the environmental effect with reference to
ecological effects, health effects and consumption of
resources. The LCA protocol provides a cost analysis of the
effect of a filter on the environment. Cost of raw material,
refining, manufacturing and transportation corresponds to
approximately 20-30% of the environmental load, while filter
operation accounts for up to 80%. Energy returned by burn-
ing the filter can reduce the environmental load by 0.5 - 1%.
A decrease of 10 Pa in the pressure loss reduces the load by
5%. Life cycle cost takes into account the economic aspects
of filter usage. The costs of investment, energy, maintenance
and dumping the final waste product throughout the lifetime
of the plant are evaluated in LCC. One study shows that the
costs of the filter, investment, and maintenance correspond to
20% of the total cost. The energy cost for operation of the fil-
ter plant accounts for 80%. Used filter disposal costs account
for 0.5%.
Accordingly, it can be concluded that operation and low-
pressure loss are absolutely decisive in determining the cost
of a filtration system. LCA and LCC are excellent tools that
help in designing filters to minimize the cost of filtration [4].
Filter Media Properties
Physical parameters such as fiber diameter, fiber geometry,
fiber specific surface, fiber density, filter thickness, packing
density, porosity and pore size distribution are major factors,
which influence filtration efficiency.
Fiber Diameter: Scanning electron microscopy studies
show that fibers used in fiberglass filter media are finer
meters in 1 square meter of glass media.
Table 2
PARAMETERS OF COMPETITIVE GLASS AND SYNTHETIC FILTER
MEDIA
µm)
Diameter (µ Specific Gravity Basis Weight (g/m2)
Glass 0.9 2.5 49.5156
Synthetic 5.4 0.92 77.5027
44 INJ Fall 2002
(about 1.0 µm in diameter) as compared to those used in syn-
thetic media (about 3-4 µm). As fiber diameter decreases, for
the same mass of filter media, the number of fibers per unit
area increases and hence the surface area increases. Also, the
path that a particle must travel through the media becomes
more intricate. Accordingly, the capability of particle capture
by physical mechanisms of Brownian Diffusion, Inertial
Impaction and Interception improves greatly.
Relationship Between Fiber Diameter And
Surface Area
The effect of fiber diameter for typical glass and synthetic
fiber media is illustrated by an analysis of the data outlined in
Table 2 comparing the parameters of competitive glass and
meltblown filter media.
The diameter-denier relationship for circular cross-sections
is given by,
(1)
From which,
(2)
For the glass media,
(3)
Similarly, for the synthetic media,
(4)
According to the definition of denier and assuming that the
fiber media is continuous and laid side by side,
For glass media with a denier of 0.01437,
0.01437 is the weight of a 9000 meter length of fiber.
Therefore, the glass media basis weight of 49.5156 grams
is equivalent to a total length of fiber of
For synthetic media with a denier
of 0.1904,
0.1904 is the weight of 9000
meter length of fiber.
Therefore, the synthetic media
basis weight of 77.5027 grams is
equivalent to a total length of
fiber of
meters in 1 square meter of synthetic media.
By definition, the surface area of a cylindrical rod is equal
to its circumference times its length, or
(5)
Accordingly, for glass media,

(6)

Thus, 1 square meter of glass media, with a weight of

49.5156 grams has a surface area of 87.6395 square meters.
And, for synthetic media,

(7) Figure 5
Thus, 1 square meter of synthetic media, with a weight of CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEW OF 4DGTM FIBERS
77.5027 grams has a surface area of 62.1178 square meters. (COURTESY OF FIBER INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY)
Defining specific surface area as the surface area per
weight of the media, enhance particle capture and compensate for smaller surface
For the glass media, area. But within a few weeks of service, as electrostatic
charges are neutralized, the smaller surface area of synthetic
media yields lesser efficient performance, as compared to the
(8) glass media.
Fiber Geometry: Fiber geometry as well as surface area can
significantly affect the filtration capability of the media.
For the synthetic media, These characteristics have not been fully utilized by the fil-
tration industry. Figure 5. illustrates a fiber, designated
4DGTM , with both an unusual geometry and high surface
(9) area. This fiber was introduced by the Eastman Chemical
Company a few years ago.
Earlier studies indicate that existing crenulated fibers had
The above analysis is summarized in Table 3. limitations with respect to surface geometry and had insuffi-
The ratio of specific surface areas of glass and synthetic cient channels for trapping and holding particulates. To
media is respond to this challenge, the Eastman Chemical Company
(10) developed a deep-grooved polyester fiber with a very novel
eight-legged cross-sectional shape. Expansion of the fiber
perimeter results into high surface area of the fiber. The
This shows that surface area per gram of glass media is grooves in 4DG™ fibers are large enough to hold many types
more than two times that of synthetic media. of substances, whether they accumulate in use or are inten-
Glass fiber has a higher specific gravity than synthetic tionally placed there for release while being used.
fiber, but its smaller diameter more than compensates for this The photomicrograph in Figure 6. shows that in addition to
and results in a greater surface area. High surface area particulate matter being deposited in the interstices between
enhances the filtration capability of the media. the fibers, it also collects between the grooves. The grooves
Initially, for the synthetic media, electrostatic charges provide areas where eddy currents will preferentially deposit
particles without blocking the
pore of the fabric. This results in
Table 3 longer life and reduced weight of
CALCULATED SURFACE AREA VALUES FOR GLASS the filter [10]. Figure 7 shows
AND SYNTHETIC MEDIA carbon particles placed in the
Denier Total Filament Surface Area) Specific grooves for odor absorbency.
Lenngth in 1m2 m2 Surface Surface Area: Specific surface
of media (m) (m2/g) area of a fiber has a direct impact
Glass 0.01437 31,011,858.04 87. 6395 1. 7699 on the filtration performance of a
Synthetic 0.1904 3,663,467.962 62.1178 0.8015 filter. The cross-section illustra-
tions in Figure 8. show the 4DG
geometry compared to that of

INJ Fall 2002 45


Figure 6
DUST LOADED IN GROOVES 4DG FIBERS DEPOSITED WITH With greater specific surface area of the
OF 4DG FIBER (10)
Figure 8
COMPARISON OF SURFACE AREAS OF 4DG™ AND
ROUND FIBERS OF THE SAME DPF (10)
Figure 9
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DENIER AND
SPECIFIC SURFACE AREA FOR ROUND AND
SHAPED FIBER CROSS-SECTIONS
46 INJ Fall 2002 2
round fibers. Both configurations, by
definition, have the same cross-section-
al area when the polymer type and
denier per filament (dpf) are the same.
But, the measured surface area of the
4DG fiber is 2.3-2.8 times that of a
round cross-sectioned polyester fiber of
the same denier. The size of a single
round fiber needed to match the perime-
ter or surface area of the 4DG fiber is
also shown. .
As shown in Figure 9., when specific
surface areas are compared, 6 d/f 4DG
is found to be equivalent to round poly-
Figure 7 esters of approximately 0.8 d/f [10].
CARBON (10) fibers, the possibility of particles of
interest colliding onto the media fibers
increases, thereby improving the filtra-
tion capability.
Porosity: Filtration performance also
depends on the porosity of the medium.
If the medium is highly porous, it will
allow particles to pass through it easily
and not perform the filtration function
satisfactorily. In glass media the fine
fibers can pack closely, hence the
porosity is less. In synthetic media the
coarser fibers cannot pack as closely
together. The pores in the glass media
being smaller can capture the particles
better by entrapment. Pore size distribu-
tion is an important factor that deter-
mines which particles will be allowed to
pass through and which particles will be
retained.
Design of Filter Media
Nonwoven filter media are designed to accommodate the
environment to be endured and to be functional either from a
structural support or effective surface area availability stand-
point. Parameters such as media pore size distribution and
the relationship between fiber surface area per unit weight or
per unit volume can also be used effectively in designing fil-
ter media structures.
The design goal for filter media is to maximize the space
available for filtration in order to remove large amounts of
undesirable contaminants, while not allowing them to pass
through the filter, and to keep the operating pressure differ-
ential at rated air flow as low as possible to achieve a long
service life. The filter design engineer must have an in depth
knowledge of the application, type of fluid to be filtered
/separated, acceptable power usage allowed to generate flow,
and an understanding of the type and nature of contaminant
to be removed in order to maximize filter performance at
minimum cost [3].
Accordingly, the three design criteria that need to be con-
sidered in a filter product design are: Filtration Efficiency,
Dust Holding Capacity, Filter Resistance to Air Flow and
Environmental Conditions.
Filtration Efficiency is defined as the efficiency of the fil-
ter product in capturing and removing the contaminants of
interest. Different applications require different levels of fil-
tration efficiency. In some processes, the specified level of
filtration efficiency is vital for normal operation. An under-
standing of the filtration mechanisms working in the applica-
tions and their interaction with the filter media structure
selected can lead to creative and marketable solutions to fil-
tration problems.
Dust Holding Capacity characterizes the life of the filter
and hence, to a degree, the cost associated with operation.
Fiberglass filter media are typically twice as thick as synthet-
ic media. The additional volume gives extra dust holding
capacity. Also, the higher stiffness of glass gives greater
structural stability to the glass media. Glass filter media
retains its three-dimensional structure even as the pressure
drop increases during the filter’s use. In contrast, the less stiff
synthetic fibers are not able to resist the higher-pressure drop;
consequently the filter media collapses giving a more two-
dimensional structure. These two factors give glass media a
greater dust holding capacity and higher service life.
The Filter Resistance to Air Flow is a measure of the ener-
gy requirement and cost associated with using the product.
Synthetic filter media is more open and the, pressure differ-
ential across it is lower when compared to glass media.
Initially, synthetic media requires less energy to maintain a
particular airflow. Glass media renders greater resistance to
the flow of air, and hence the fan consumes greater energy in
maintaining equivalent airflow rates [5].
Environmental condition is another important factor to be
considered in the design of filter media. The filter must be
designed to survive the temperature and chemical conditions
it will see in actual use. In most HVAC applications, the fil-
ter is not exposed to temperatures much above that of ambi-
ent air. But in some installations, when the furnace cycles off,
very high temperature air travels out of the furnace’s hot heat
exchanger by convection and can reach the filter. The filter
can melt if this temperature exceeds the melting point of the
fibers in the media.
Laboratory and In Situ Testing Of Fiberglass
and Synthetic Air Filters
Over the past few decades, a number of laboratory test
methods have been developed to measure and characterize air
filters using synthetic dust. Initially, different countries tend-
ed to develop their own test methods using different mea-
surement principles and synthetic test dusts. Today the ten-
dency is more towards international or worldwide standards.
In the U.S., the American Society for Heating,
Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
adopted test standards to characterize filter media. ASHRAE
test standards have obtained approval from the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National
Standard. Eurovent, the European Association for
Manufacturers of air-handling equipment, is leading the
development of new and modern test methods that can meet
today’s requirements for ventilating air filter installations in
indoor environments and other areas. The European
Committee for Normalization (CEN) is working to establish
common standards in Europe (11).
The ANSI/ASHRAE 52.1–1992 test standard,
“Gravimetric and Dust-Spot Procedures for Testing Air-
Cleaning Devices used in General Ventilation for Removing
Particulate Matter,” is a useful method for measuring the dust
spot efficiency of filters, the relative arrestance values of low
efficiency filters and dirt holding capacities (DHC) of all
types of filters. This standard defines Dust Spot Efficiency,
Arrestance and Dust Holding Capacity.
The Dust Spot Efficiency of a filter is its capacity to
remove smaller diameter particles from the atmosphere. This
is measured by comparing the opacity of glass media target
paper, upstream and downstream, of the filter under evalua-
tion.
Arrestance is a parameter that measures the ability of a fil-
ter to remove synthetic dust from the atmosphere. Arrestance
is indicative of the filter’s capability of removing coarse par-
ticles from the atmosphere. It is measured by feeding a
known amount of ASHRAE Test Dust upstream of the target
filter and comparing that with the weight gained by a HEPA
filter placed downstream of the filter being characterized.
Dust Holding Capacity is a measure of the amount of
ASHRAE Test Dust that a filter will capture until a specified
pressure drop is reached. The basic test sequence is as fol-
lows:
1) The pressure drop of a clean filter is measured at 50%,
75%, 100% and 125% of rated airflow.
2) Initial atmospheric dust spot efficiency is tested on a
clean filter
3) The filter is loaded with ASHRAE test dust at various
intervals until a final pressure drop is reached or other condi-
tions are met. The dust spot efficiency and arrestance are
measured for each level of loading.
4) At the end of the test, the average efficiency, arrestance
and dust holding capacity are calculated [5].
ASHRAE 52.1 test standard measures dust spot efficiency
using atmospheric air, an uncontrolled test aerosol that does
not allow accurate repeatable comparisons among different
laboratories and different manufacturers. The test also
requires prolonged sequences that are influenced by outside
weather conditions. This test does not provide information
on the filter’s capability to remove particles of a particular
size range, information that is critical in some applications.
This standard measures the average efficiency of an air filter
over its service life. In actual working, a filter’s performance
is lower initially and then the efficiency improves over its ser-
vice life. This test standard overestimates the performance of
a filter when it is new.
ASHRAE 52.2, “Method Of Testing General Ventilation
Air Cleaning Devices For Removal Efficiency by Particle
Size”, is a significant step forward in filter testing and Indoor
Air Quality (IAQ) control. It is designed not to replace the
INJ Fall 2002 47
earlier standard but to supplement it. This standard
provides a repeatable method for testing and measur- Table 4
ing air filter performance under controlled laboratory COMPOSITION AND PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION
conditions in terms of its fractional efficiency [6]. OF VARIOUS DUST PARTICLE TYPES.
This standard introduces the concept of fractional effi-
ciency. Fractional efficiency is defined as the charac-
teristic of a filter to remove known particle size frac- Type of Dust Particle Size Percentage by
tions from the atmosphere. Knowledge of fractional Ranges (µ µm) Weight
efficiency is vital in critical operations, such as the Atmospheric Dust 10.0-30.0 28%
manufacture of microelectronic devices, in order to 5.0-10.0 52%
facilitate the proper selection of filter media. Also, 3.0-5.0 11%
with increasing IAQ requirements, the ability of a fil- 1.0-3.0 6%
ter to remove the respirable particle size portions of 0.0-1.0 3%
atmospheric contaminants is becoming increasingly
important. Standard Air Cleaner Test Dust
The ASHRAE 52.2 test method uses laboratory- 0-5 39%
generated potassium chloride dispersed in air as the 5-10 18%
challenge aerosol, which yields more consistent 10-20 16%
results than the atmospheric test dust. After an initial 20-40 18%
efficiency measurement, the target filter is loaded 40-80 9%
with the test dust in five different cycles. Particle
counters both upstream and downstream of the target ASHRAE Test Dust SAE 72%
filter count particles in 12 different size ranges from Powdered Carbon 23%
0.3 µm-10 µm for each level of loading to give the No. 7 Cotton Linters 5%
fractional efficiencies for different particle size ranges
for different loading levels. Pressure drop across the
filter is also measured each time. From the above informa- mally be exposed to in real-life situations. The ASHRAE dust
tion, fractional efficiency curves for each particle size range is made up of much larger particles than those present in the
are obtained for incremental loading. From these sets of atmosphere; hence they load the filters rapidly, enhancing the
incremental loading fractional efficiency curves, a composite filter’s mechanical filtration capability. This loading is not
curve is developed that gives the filter’s minimum efficiency seen in actual performance in the atmosphere and hence the
at each particle size range. electrostatic synthetic filter performs poorly. In ASHRAE
The minimum efficiency composite values are averaged 52.2 test standard, potassium chloride particles are used
into three size ranges to group filters into three simple effi- which are different in nature from atmospheric particles. A
ciency classes: high, medium and low efficiency filters des- comparison of challenge dust particle distributions is given in
ignated as E1, E2 and E3 respectively. To target particles in Table 4.
the 0.3-1.0 µm range, an E1 efficiency filter would be For the test standards to closely reflect actual performance
required. To capture particles 1.0-3.0 µm in size, E2 efficien- of a filter, a challenge test dust similar to the particles in
cy filter will be needed. An E3 efficiency filter will trap par- atmosphere in terms of particle size distribution, shape and
ticles 3.0-10 microns in size (5). density is needed. Also, the tests need to take account of the
The main feature of the new ASHRAE 52.2 performance fact that atmospheric dust changes with time (season or even
standard is the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value time of the day) and location (urban or rural). Thus, the chal-
(MERV) system. The minimum efficiency composite values lenge dust must be representative of all conditions.
averaged into three size ranges are used to determine the Another reason for the disagreement between laboratory
MERV, which ranges from MERV 1 (typically a low-effi- and real-life results was discovered from a fractional efficien-
ciency, throw-away filter) to MERV 16 (an over 95% effi- cy test performed on a synthetic charged media in the labora-
ciency filter under ASHRAE standard) (6). The MERV sys- tory. The media were loaded independently with a matrix of
tem makes it easy to compare filters at a glance and provides synthetic dusts of different size ranges with the objective of
a better yardstick in decisions involving choice of filters for determining the dependence of contaminant particle sizes on
different applications. filtration efficiency and to identify the mechanism of dendrite
The ASHRAE 52.2 test procedures and European test pro- formation. Test results showed that particles 1 to 3 µm in
cedures conducted in the laboratory have some limitations, diameter were the major particle size range, which built sig-
which need to be overcome for them to reflect the true per- nificant mechanical efficiency due to dendrite formation.
formance of filters in real life. The foremost difference is in SEM analysis of the filter media showed that the one loaded
the test dust used for the testing. The ASHRAE test dust used with 1 to 3 µm dust particles had dendrite formation very sim-
in the ASHRAE 52.1 test standard is of an entirely different ilar to one seen in real life operational filters [5]. A photomi-
nature from atmospheric dust, the dust that a filter would nor- crograph of ASHRAE test dust used in the laboratory tests is

48 INJ Fall 2002

 Health Concerns
In selecting a filter for a particular end-use,
one must look not only at performance aspects
but also health effects of the product. One con-
cern over the use of glass fibers in filter media
is their possible carcinogenic nature. Asbestos-
related lung diseases revealed the possible dan-
gers of inhaling foreign matter into the deep
lung, resulting in apprehension about using
Figure 10 Figure 11 synthetic vitreous fibers, including glass fibers
ASHRAE TEST DUST (2) ATMOSPHERIC TEST DUST (2) in filter media.
Kern and Harding [12] report that a great deal
shown in Figure 10. [2]. As can be seen, this dust has a very of scientific research has been done to investigate the injuri-
large particle size that clogs the media rapidly. In the synthet- ous effect of glass fibers. A study in the 1940’s on 27,000
ic media, loss in efficiency due to neutralization of charge is fiberglass workers exposed to fiberglass for more that 40
compensated by the large particles that block the voids in the years showed no cause and effect relationship between expo-
media, thereby giving a misleading picture of performance. sure and disease. Since the fiber is inhaled into the lungs,
As shown in Figure 11, atmospheric dust has a greater inhalation studies were considered to be more appropriate.
number of smaller size particles than the ASHRAE test dust. Studies on animals exposed to building insulation showed no
Since the finer particles in the 1 to 3 µm range are the main symptoms of lung-related disease.
contributors to dendrite formation, a period of time is The mechanism by which fibers in the lungs might cause
required for mechanical filtration efficiency to be improved disease is complex, but nevertheless, three key factors called
by loading. As aerosols neutralize electrostatic charges on the the three D’s have been identified that strongly influence the
media within a few weeks of service, there is a loss in effi- process. They are dimension, dose and durability. The fiber
ciency in synthetic charged filters in the early part of their needs to be of a minimum diameter to be respirable. A com-
service life. monly accepted figure is 3 mm. Glass fibers with diameter
Another factor that must be considered is that test condi- greater than 3 mm are considered to be harmless. Research
tions in the laboratory are controlled and are conducted for a has indicated that the longer and finer the fibers, the more dif-
reasonably short period of time. They are not subjected to the ficult it is to remove them out of the lungs by the natural body
environmental and temporal conditions that a filter would be mechanisms. So, fibers with a higher length-to-diameter ratio
subjected to in actual testing conditions. are more likely to cause lung disease. Also, the probability of
SINTEF Refrigerating and Air Conditioning, The Research fibers being inhaled into the lungs depends on the concentra-
Council of Norway and five filter manufacturers collaborated tion of the air being breathed. The greater the number of res-
on a project called “Long Term Tests of Air Filters in Real pirable fibers in the air and the longer a person is exposed to
Environment” [7]. In this work, the tests were done on three such air, the greater the risk factor. The European Union and
types of glass media and two types of synthetic charged the German Government have established standard tests to
media. Two filters were selected from each filter type. So in classify fibers as either carcinogenic or irritants. In North
all, ten filters were selected. All the filters were of EU 7 type. America, control steps and research work are underway to
The filters were mounted in a specially built test rig that was minimize the health risks of synthetic vitreous fibers (SVF’s)
mounted on the roof of the laboratory building. The filters and fiberglass. Since there could always be respirable fibers
were equipped with individual volume regulators to ensure in the media, the effort is to have fibers that are less durable
that identical and constant volumes of air flowed through all in the lung environment. A new biosoluble glass fiber, AF
filters for the entire test period of one year. Pressure drop, fil- 902, has been introduced. This material has passed the
ter efficiency, and the amount of dust accumulated were mea- European Union Biopersistance test and German
sured for the entire period of the test. Fractional efficiency Intratracheal test and has been reported to be performing well
testing was done in a separate test rig using both atmospher- in filtration applications.
ic dust and dioctyl sebacete (DOS) aerosols generated by a With regard to health concerns, the phenomenon of fiber
Laskin Nozzle aerosol generator. shedding from filter media has been studied. A scientifically
The long-term test results show that glass fiber filters main- based method has been developed to give quantitative results
tained a more or less constant degree of fractional efficiency on fiber shedding from organic fiber and fiberglass filter
throughout the test period. Efficiency of electrostatically media [4]. Early methods had problems with the detection of
charged synthetic media fell significantly right from the start the shed fibers and with the introduction of variability and
and did not improve much with service. From this work it can contamination in the sample by uncontrolled ambient air.
be stated that lifetime and in situ testing of filters clearly point This method overcomes these problems by using very clean
out the fact that the challenge dust and testing conditions air for the test by passing the test air through two 99.9% effi-
must correlate more closely to the environment to which a fil- cient High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters in series,
ter would be exposed in actual use. before entering the test chamber. In order to provide for worst

INJ Fall 2002 49

 Table 5
PARTICLE COUNT ANALYSIS
FOR AMBIENT AIR (13)
Particle Size Particles/ft3 Particles/cm3
>5 3384 0.12
>3 6961 0.25
>1 19126 0.68
>0.5 152572 5.4
>0.3 437612 15.5
>0.19 1411000 49.8
Figure 12
CONFIGURATION OF TEST EQUIPMENT FOR
SHEDDING CHARACTERISTICS OF FILTER Table 6
MEDIA (13) PARTICLE COUNT ANALYSIS FOR HEPA
FILTERED AIR (13)
case release of shed particles, the test is performed under high Particle Size Particles/ft3 Particles/cm3
air flow rates across the test filter, about 35 cubic feet per >5 0.03 0.000001
minute, which is about 50% more than that encountered in >3 0.1 0.000004
commercial systems. A square foot area of the test filter is >1 1 0.0004
chosen as sufficient for minimizing the variation within the >0.5 4 0.00015
air filter medium. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) >0.3 7 0.00025
Analysis and Particle Count Method are used to evaluate the 0.19 17 0.00060
system.
As shown in Figure 12, air enters the duct and passes
through the two HEPA filters, then passes through a sufficient Table 7
chamber length before it passes through the test filter in order SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
to ensure laminar flow. The blower maintains a constant flow ANALYSIS FOR FIBER CHARACTERIZATION (13)
rate of 35 cubic feet per minute throughout the six-hour sam-
pling period. The air then passes through an eight inch mix- Product Manville AFS-3B2 Viledon MF95
ing orifice to ensure homogenous air for samples collected on Fiber Diameter
a 0.4 µm pore size nucleopore filter for microscopic sampling Average (µm) 1.0 2.0
and subsequent SEM analysis. As the concentration of the Fiber Diameter
fibers in the nucleopore filter is low, the test sample must be Range (µm) 0.2-8.0 0.3-24
concentrated in order to carry out an appropriate analysis. Fiber Length
Multi-channel Climet laser based airborne particle counters Average (µm) 25 22
are used to determine concentrations both in front and behind Fiber Length
the filter. Table 5. shows the number of particles in unfiltered Range (µm) 2-110* 3-65*
test air obtained by particle counts. * Some fiber lengths were greater than the field of view.
The HEPA filters removed 99.9% of the particles in the
ambient air to provide very clean air for the test as shown in present in ambient air, the number of fibers shed by the filter
Table 6. media is negligible.
SEM Analysis of the Manville fiberglass media (AFS-3B2)
and the synthetic (Polycarbonate/polyester) Viledon media Conclusions
(MF95), on the basis of viewing of 200 separate fields, yield- Test standards form the basis of selection of filters for dif-
ed the results tabulated in Table 7. ferent end-use applications. It is important to have standards
SEM analysis showed that both products shed an extreme- that will test products under controlled conditions and report
ly small number of fibers. Some of them were respirable on their performance so that both users and specifiers can
fibers with a diameter less than 3 mm and length-to-diameter compare products, predict their performance in operating
ratio greater than 3:1. Tables 8. and 9 summarize data on the conditions with reasonable certainty, and determine appropri-
average number of fibers shed per cubic foot and cubic cen- ate air cleaner efficiencies for specific situations. The studies
timeter of monitored air for the six-hour test period. and research work done on filter performance and testing
The analyses show that both types of filter shed fibers, with conclude that present standards need to be modified for labo-
some of them being respirable. Also the difference in fiber ratory-generated test results on filters to predict more closely
shedding between the two filter media is insignificant. The their real-life, in-use performance. Several factors need to be
test results also show that fibers shed from the media taken into account, such as variation in the nature of dust in
decrease with time. As compared to the contaminate particles different environments in terms of composition, particle size

50 INJ Fall 2002

 Results Versus Real Life Performance,” INTC-2000, INDA,
Table 8 Cary, NC, 2000.
FIBER SHEDDING EVALUATION BY 3. Homonoff, E., “Multilayered Materials For Filtration
SEM ANALYSIS (13) and Separation,” Nonwovens World, 2000, Vol 9, No. 6, pp
Manville AFS-3B2 Viledon MF95 43-47.
Fibers/ft3 20 9 4. Gustavsson, J., “Air Filters For Better Indoor Air
Fibers/cm3 0.0007 0.0003 Quality,” INDA, Cary, NC, 1998.
5. Gross, M. L., Arnold, B. D., “Air Filter Performance
Characterization,” INDA, Cary, NC, 1999.
Table 9 6. Thornburg, D., “Filter Testing and IAQ Control - Move
AVERAGE PARTICLE COUNT FOR Forward,” Proceedings of Heating, Piping and Air
AIR FILTRATION MEDIA (13). Conditioning, 1999, pp 54 -56, 95.
Particle size Manville Viledon 7. STF11-A95052, “Long - Term Tests Of Filters in a Real
AFS-3B2 MF95 Environment”, SINTEF Refrigerating and Air Conditioning,
Particles/ft3 Particles/cm3 June 1995.
>5 0.000021 0.0000013 8. Rodman, C.A., “Mechanisms of Filtration/Separation
>3 0.000077 0.000033 Which Take Place in Fibrous Nonwoven Media,” Index 87
>1 0.00033 0.00019 Congress, EDANA, Geneva, 1987.
9. Gregor E., Chiang, S-H., Smith, G., Rubow, K., Forster,
D., “AFS Short Course: An Introduction to Filtration,” AFS
and particle density and the effect of differences in testing Society, Falls Church, VA, 2001.
conditions on performance results of the filter media. Filter 10. www.clemson.edu/cucsm
media manufacturers should evaluate the use of fibers with 11. Gustavsson, J., “Air Filters for Ventilating Systems-
high specific surface area and deep-grooved channels. These Laboratory and In Situ,” International Nonwovens Journal,
irregular cross-section fibers have high shape factors and 1999, Vol 8, No. 2.
very high capillary surface areas, which provide greater par- 12. Harding, F. L., Kern, C. F., “A Biosoluble Glass fir Air
ticle capture and accumulation and hence improved filtration Filter Media”, INTC-2000, INDA, Cary, NC, 2000.
properties. 13. Shumate, M. W., Wilhelm, J. E., “Fiber Shedding
Characteristics Of Commercial Air Filtration Media,”
Bibliography Proceedings Of The Fifth International Conference On
1. Butler, I., Filtration Technology Handbook, INDA, Cary, Indoor Air Quality And Climate, Canada, 1990.
NC, 2000. 14. http://www.eurofiltec.com/diction.html
2. Kern, F. C., Jackson, L .F., “Review Of Ashrae Test 15. http://www.universal-silencer.com/PDFs/94-1368.pdf

Glossary of Terms

Absolute Rating (14): A term used to describe or define the
degree of filtration. Various methods are used to determine
absolute ratings, which are not necessarily interchangeable.
Generally absolute means 100% removal of solids above a
specified micron size
The carbon or charcoal is produced by destructive distillation
of wood, peat, lignite, nut shells, bones, vegetable or other
carbonaceous matter, but must be activated by high tempera-
ture steam or carbon dioxide, which creates a porous partic-
ulate structure.

Absorption (15): The taking up of bulk material by another
matter. Absorbent material extracts one or more substances
for which it has an affinity, and is altered physically or chem-
ically throughout the process. During absorbency one sub-
stance penetrates into another.
Activated Carbon (14): Any form of carbon characterized by
high absorptive capacity for gases, vapors or colloidal solids.
Adsorption (14): A natural phenomenon of a gas, liquid,
vapor or fine particles being attracted and held on to the mol-
ecular surface structure of a material. Not normally a
reversible phenomena as absorption is.
Aerosol (15): A quasi-stable dispersion of small solid or liq-
uid particles in air.

INJ Fall 2002 51

 American Society for Testing and Materials – ASTM (14):
An organization in the United States setting standards for
quantitatively testing and measuring.
ANSI (14): American National Standards Institute
Angstrom (14): A unit of length abbreviated as A. Equals one
hundred millionth (10-8) of a centimeter or 0. 0001 micron.
Arizona (SAE, ISO) test dust (15): Standardized air cleaner
test dusts classified from natural Arizona dust and generally
referred to as SAE or ISO test dusts (old A.C. fine and A.C.
coarse test dusts)
Arrestance (9): The capacity of the filter to separate synthet-
ic dust. The average value of arrestance of the filter is one of
the factors used for filter classification.
Brownian Movement (14): A natural phenomenon caused by
small particles of similar mass to fluid molecules that are
being bombarded by these molecules. In a liquid stream this
causes a random spiraling motion thus enhancing the filter's
chances of removing the particle.
Capillary (14): A very thin tube. In filtration, the term is to
describe pores in a membrane.
CEN (14): European Committee for Normalization
Chemical filters (9): Chemical filters are mainly adsorption
filters based on activated carbon, which, by means of chem-
ical reaction, adsorb and retain gases, which are very diffi-
cult to separate.
Coarse filters (9): Filters made out of glass or synthetic plas-
tic fibers like polyester, acrylic and polyamide and used for
separating mainly particles 5mm or larger in size with very
less influence of outdoor air.
Depth Filtration (14): Filtration of a fluid by passing it
through a deep filter material, providing a tortuous path with
many points for impingement of particles to occur.
Traditionally used in 'Packed Tower' type filters.
Diatomaceous Earth (14): Pre-historic sedimentary deposits
of fossilized diatoms. Used as a pre-coat material because
diatoms are non-compressible.
Differential Pressure (14): See Pressure Drop. The differ-
ence in pressure between the upstream and downstream sides
of a filter.
Diffusion (14): A natural phenomena of gas passing through
a liquid film in a membrane from the high pressure to the
low-pressure side.
52 INJ Fall 2002
Direct Interception (14): The capture of relatively large par-
ticles near the surface of a filter material. The particles col-
lide with the filter structure without moving from streamline,
laminar flow.
DOS aerosols: Dioctyl Sebacete aerosols.
Downstream (14): Portion of the product stream, which
already passed through the system, or the portion of a system
located after separator/filter etc.
Dust Spot Efficiency (9): The capacity of a filter to clean nor-
mal outdoor air. Average dust spot efficiency of the filter is
one of the factors used for filter classification.
Efficiency (14): Degree to which a filter will perform in
removing solids and/or liquids.
Extractables (14): Substances that can and will leak out of a
cartridge during filtration.
Fiber shedding (9): Particulate matter, which is flushed from
the filter during the filtration process, which contaminates
the filtered fluid.
Filter (14): A term generally applied to a device used to
remove solid contaminate from a liquid or gas, or separate
one liquid from another liquid or gas. A filter, as referred to
in the industry today, is limited to a device which removes
solid contaminates only. A filter may be one of a number of
such types as replaceable cartridge, cyclone, edge, leaf, baf-
fle, plate and frame, precoat, centrifuge. The term filter is
sometimes erroneously used to describe the media used
inside the vessel or filter case, but the correct use should be
filter element, cartridge etc.
Filtration (14): Removal of particles, normally solids, from
a fluid. These can be contaminants or valuable products.
Fine Filter (9): Filters that are made mainly from glass fibers
with an average diameter of 0.5-5.0 µm or of coarse plastic
fibers, often in combination with an electrostatic charge.
Fine filters are defined according to the EN 779 as filters
which, when new, have a dust spot efficiency greater than
20%.
Fractional Efficiency (15): The ability of a filter to remove
particles of a specified size, expressed as a percentage.
Fractional efficiency is expressed as EFi = [(C1i-
C2i)/C1i)]*100, where C1i = number of particles of the speci-
fied size i in the upstream and C2i = the number of particles
of the specified size i in the downstream.
HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter (15): High effi-
ciency normally refers to air filters that will remove more
than 99% of airborne particles that are in the size range of
0.1–0.3 µm in diameter. These particles are known as the
most penetrating contaminants. HEPA filters are sometimes
described as HESPA (High efficiency submicron particulate
air) filters.
HVAC (14): Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.
HVACR (14): Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and
Refrigeration.
IAQ (4): Indoor Air Quality.
IARC (12): International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Inertial Impaction (14): The capture of medium sized parti-
cles within the structure of a filter material. The particles col-
lide with the filter structure because they fail to negotiate the
tortuous path and move out of laminar flow.
Interception (15): Dust particle deposition on a fiber or other
collecting surface due to the size of the particles. This filtra-
tion mechanism is characterized by a dimensionless parame-
ter: particle size/fiber diameter.
IPCS (12): International Program on Chemical Safety.
Isokinetic Sampling (15): Any technique for collecting air-
borne particulate matter in which the velocity of the air
stream entering the sampling probe is equal to that of the air
passing around and outside that sampling probe.
LCA (9): An LCA of a filter analyses the environmental effect
with reference to ecological effects, health effects and con-
sumption of resources.
Mechanisms of Filtration (14): The physical methods of
removing particles from a fluid. They are Direct Interception,
Inertial Impaction and Diffusion.
Medium (14): A term used to generally describe a filter mate-
rial.
Microfiltration (14): Filtration of particles between approxi-
mately 10 and 0.1 micron.
MPPS (9): Most Penetrating Particle Size. This statistic is
used as a measure of filtration efficiency in the CEN EN
1822:1998 test method. MPPS is the particle that most fre-
quently penetrates a filter medium.
Particle Size (15): The magnitude of some physical dimen-
sion of the particle. Unless the particle is a sphere it is not
possible to give its size uniquely by a unit of length. For non-
spherical particles the method of measurement must be spec-
ified.
Particle Size Distribution (14): The size range and quantity of
particles, which are measurable in a fluid sample. Used
to determine the micron rating of filters for a specific process.
Perlite (14): A siliceous volcanic glass, containing 2-5%
combined water, which allows for shattering by heat or pres-
sure into a fine powder suitable for a pre-coat.
Pores (14): A term used to describe the openings in a filter
material normally a membrane.
Pore size distribution (15): This is a measure of number of
pores in various groups of sizes.
Porosity (14), (15): A term used to describe a filter material’s
structure - sometimes known as a void volume. The ratio of
voids to the total volume of material, for example, the ratio of
void volume to total cake volume. Also given as the ratio of
the apparent to the true density and expressed as a percentage.
Pressure Drop (14): Loss in applied pressure across a filter
system or process.
Re-entrainment (15): The process of rendering particles air-
borne again after they have been deposited from an air
stream. For example, particles captured in a filter may be re-
entrained if the velocity through the filter is increased slight-
ly or if the filter is subjected to increased vibration.
Retention (15): The ability of a filter medium to retain parti-
cles of a given size.
Surface Filtration (14): Removal of particles on the outside
surface of a filter material.
SVF: Synthetic Vitreous Fiber.
ULPA (ultra efficiency particulate) (15): HEPA filters with an
efficiency greater than 99.997% are termed as ULPA (ultra
efficiency particulate) or UHESPA (ultra high efficiency sub-
micron particulate air) filters
Ultrafiltration – UF (14): A pressure driven membrane fil-
tration system operating in crossflow mode. Used to sepa-
rate macromolecules such as proteins and organic com-
pounds of molecular weight of 300 and over. UF operates at
pressures between 1 and 8 atmospheres and generally sepa-
rates coarser materials than those removed by a Reverse
Osmosis system. — INJ
INJ Fall 2002 53
INJ DEPARTMENTS
THE NONWOVEN
WEB
Dealing With Spam
There are a lot of things in life that are
irritating. However, it is sometimes pos-
sible to reduce the irritation involved
with just a little thought and ingenuity.
The spam (the e-mail type, not SPAM
the branded meat product) found in e-
mail boxes may just be one of the irrita-
tions that can be dealt with, or at least
reduced.
The following are some suggestions.
1. Don’t Respond, ever.
Although it is difficult to do, a good
rule is to NEVER respond to spam.
When you do respond, you’re simply let-
ting the advertiser know that you are a
prime target for even more spam.
Advertisers who send spam in text for-
mat have no way of knowing whether or
not you open and read their messages,
unless you actually respond.
2. Unsubscribe with caution.
An e-mail message will often provide
details about how to remove your name
from a mailing list at the end of the
message. This frequently involves
replying to the sender with “unsub-
scribe” in the subject line or going to a
Web site.
The genuine and legitimate marketers
will usually honor your request and take
your name off their mailing lists. In that
case, you’ll be happy to see the end of
some junk e-mail. However, in the case
of illicit spam, when you try to unsub-
scribe you simply end up confirming
your e-mail address. Frequently this
results in being included on more spam-
mers’ lists of valid and active accounts.
Don’t be surprised if you get pelted with
more unsolicited mail following such
action. So use your good judgment in
this situation. Think twice about using
the invitation to employ the “remove”
option.
54 INJ Fall 2002
3. The Real Slim Spams.
If you can handle multiple e-mail
accounts and remember their passwords,
you might consider using the extra
addresses from such e-mail accounts to
keep spam out of your main in-box. In
general, most ISPs include several free
e-mail accounts with their basic service.
By signing up for extra addresses at your
ISP’s Web site, you can instruct your e-
mail program to download the mail in all
of your accounts at once.
4. Principal Address
If you decide to use extra addresses,
you can keep your main address — the
one you check several times each day
and use for important correspondence--
almost completely spam-free. Protect its
confidentiality by keeping it confiden-
tial, sharing it only with people you
know, such as friends, business associ-
ates, and your family.
Avoid using your main e-mail address
or screen name in a chat room or other
public places. Offer alternate e-mail
addresses on shopping sites and survey
forms, for instance. If you reserve your
main address for personal and business
correspondence, it’s much less likely to
fall into the hands of spammers.
5. Starting Anew
If the spam in your e-mail box is real-
ly out of control, and it’s really getting
you down, think about starting anew
with a completely new e-mail address. If
you or your family members haven’t
used up your quota of extra AOL screen
names, you can start there. This move
may be particularly appropriate for indi-
viduals who aren’t particularly attached
to their e-mail addresses or screen
names.
For the person with a particularly
appropriate name and address, it may be
a little more difficult letting go. Yes, it
can be a hassle to start all over and
inform everyone about your new
address. But consider the benefits of a
new e-mail address: If you give your
new address only to the chosen few, your
in-box might stay uncluttered — as long
as you keep your new address mum.
6. Names and numbers.
Whether you’re setting up a new e-
mail account to be your main address or
just a repository for newsletters, you can
sometimes reduce spam if your e-mail
address has a combination of letters and
numbers. Take, for example,
“your777name@aol.com.” Adding num-
bers to your address (preferably between
your first name and last name) can some-
times foil spammers who use auto-gen-
erators to try to guess every combination
of common names, like “Jim,” “Jimmy,”
“James,” “Jamie,” “JimWelp101,”
“JimWelp102,” and so on.
There are drawbacks, of course.
Having an e-mail address that includes a
string of numbers is more impersonal —
so it may not be acceptable for everyone.
7. Fight Fire With Fire
You may want to consider setting up
an address exclusively for spam. It
sounds crazy at first, but there are some
worthwhile activities online that are,
unfortunately, total spam magnets —
such as discussion boards. If you set up
an address just for spam, you can then
give out that address instead of your
main address any time you expect spam
to follow. Use it when you register at
Web sites, enter a chat room, or post
messages to discussion lists or news-
groups. If you faithfully keep this
address just for junk mail, you’ll only
have to check the mail there occasional-
ly, to delete all the spam (enjoy).
8. Filter and organize.
After you have set up a group of
addresses, you may be able to manage
the system to manage easy. Simply log
on under your various screen names to
check your mail accounts. Toggle among
them if a Switch Screen Name command
is available on the “Sign Off” menu. Just
ignore the spam account until curiosity
gets the better of you, or you want to
clear it out. You may also be able to fil-
ter your incoming e-mail. Some ISPs

have mail controls that let you receive e-
mail from certain addresses but block
others. You can customize the controls
by specifying the domain names from
which you’ll accept messages.
9. Keep Things In Perspective
Stop for a moment and take a deep
breath. Perhaps the single best way to
deal with spam is to put it in perspective.
By its nature, e-mail feels deeply person-
al; it’s intrusive and irritating to get junk
mail in your in-box. But how many
pieces of spam do you get each day, any-
way? Is it really so terrible?
When you compare spam with tele-
marketing, AM radio ads, junk postal
mail, newspaper advertising, and TV
advertising, e-mail spam may seem less
invasive. It doesn’t require an expense,
you don’t have to sit patiently while it
screams at you until “Law and Order”
comes back on, and it doesn’t interrupt
your dinner. When it comes right down
to it, spam probably isn’t worth a lot of
time or loss of sleep.
Getting Information From
The Federal Government
The U.S. Federal Government sits on a
mountain of information. Like most
bloated data banks, however, any specif-
ic piece of information is a little hard to
find, and “unfound information” is of lit-
tle use. Hence, the secret in extracting
value is knowing how you can get the
right information from this government
source. That task doesn’t sound easy.
There are some helps, however, and
knowing them and using them can lead
to success.
The U.S. General Services
Administration (GSA) operates the toll-
free National Call Center (NCC), which
in turn is a part of the Federal Consumer
Information Center.
NCC is a place where anybody can get
answers to almost everything involving
the Federal government. NCC operators
don’t necessarily have the answers too
all questions at their immediate disposal,
of course. Instead, they try to provide
telephone numbers, web site addresses,
publications and other resources to guide
callers on where to go next for more spe-
cific answers to questions. Generally, a
lead as to the next step to take is the most
valuable resource in getting the answer
from the mountain of information.
As you might expect, a call to NCC
(800-FED-INFO; 800/333-4636) puts
you into an automated menu system.
However, the system is quite reasonable.
Options on the first couple of menu are
designed to provide answers to the most
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
These include items on passport infor-
mation, immigration, government fund-
ing and assistance, government jobs,
visas, birth certificates and other vital
records, Social Security and Medicare
information. Eventually, a real live oper-
ator is available. They are well trained
and, of course, have a lot of information
at hand and can frequently provide very
good leads.
The NCC operates Monday through
Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern
Time. As indicated, the Call Center is a
part the Federal Consumer Information
Center located in Pueblo, Colorado. It is
easily accessible on the Internet
(www.pueblo.gsa.gov/call) and can be
very useful. Many of the publications of
the Government Printing Office is avail-
able from this site. While a lot of these
publications are of general interest, some
can be very helpful to the researcher and
product development person.
There are a variety of other federal
government web sites that can be useful
to the nonwovens researcher. These site
will offer information in very specific
areas, but the offering will be extensive
in depth and breadth.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention — very useful in healthcare
and medical information related to spe-
cific diseases and control measures:
www.cdc.gov .
Consumer Product Safety Commis-
sion — deals with the safety of con-
sumer products. Offers a great deal of
information on textile and clothing
flame retardancy and related issues:
www.cpsc.gov.
Environmental Protection Agency —
concerned with environmental issues,
regulations pertaining to land, water, air,
NONWOVENS WEB
use of internal and external environ-
ments: www.epa.gov .
Food and Drug Administration —
control over medical devices, medical
device uses, pharmaceuticals, clearance
procedures, as well as matters relating to
food production, processing and con-
sumption; part of the Department of
Health and Human Services:
www.fda.gov .
Health and Human Services — con-
cerned with human health factors, public
health, disease, some medical informa-
tion: www.dhhs.gov ; also some useful
information is available from the
National Institutes of Health and other
sources at www.healthfinder.gov.
US Geological Survey — information
on land and sea masses, science, space
and technology, physical features of the
earth, above the earth and below the
earth’s surfaces: www.usgs.gov .
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration — regulates matters per-
taining to the work environment and
practices, and to regulations that pertain
to the work environment, including
results of specific plant visits for past
several years: www.osha.gov.
National Institute of Standards and
Testing (NIST) — concerned with wide
range of physical, chemical, mechanical
testing along with test methods develop-
ment and product standards: -
www.nist.gov. Official time is provided
by NIST at Boulder, CO as Coordinated
Universal Time: www.time.gov .
National Technical Information
Service (NTIS) — repository for a vast
number of government documents,
research reports and technical informa-
tion of a very broad nature:
www.ntis.gov .
National Center for Biotechnology
Information — run by the National
Library of Medicine and the National
Institutes of Health:
www4.ncbi.nim.nih.gov
U.S. Government — Provides a pow-
erful set of search tools that look for
information on official government web
sites. Also has information on material in
the National Technical Information
Service (NTIS): www.usgovsearch.com
INJ Fall 2002 55
NONWOVENS WEB
Foreign Trade and Service — provides
market research conducted by Commercial
Service of Department of Commerce, on
more than 90 countries. Also posts sales
leads; has calendar of events and trade
shows: www.usatrade.gov .
Library of Congress — repository of a
vast amount of published and unpub-
lished material. The library’s main web
site: www.loc.gov . There is also a web-
site called American Memory, with his-
torical data: www.americaslibrary.gov .
Bureau of Census — agency of the
Department of Commerce responsible
for vast amount of data on demograph-
ics, business, industry, etc.: www.cen-
sus.gov.
National Science Foundation —
responsible for making policy recom-
mendations for virtually all aspects of
science, technology, and related educa-
tional matters: www.nsf.gov.
National Renewable Energy
Laboratory — laboratory in Golden, CO
concerned with all aspects of renewable
energy sources, and renewable resources
in general: www.nrel.gov .
Los Alamos National Laboratory —
part of the government’s national labora-
tory system; involved in atomic energy
and many other science and technology
items: www.lanl.gov .
Southern Regional Research Center —
part of the US Department of
Agriculture’s Agriculture Research
Service. Laboratory is especially con-
cerned with all aspects of cotton fiber
and some related fibers:
www.nps.ars.usda.gov .
If you want to contact your senator or
representative in Washington, D.C., the
easiest point for starting in likely their
web site. This can be accessed rather eas-
ily from the Internet: Senators
(www.senate.gov , which gives a link to
senators). If you know your senator’s
name, you can go quickly to the site by:
www.name.senate.gov; Representatives
(www.house.gov, which gives a link to
representatives). If you know your repre-
sentative’s name, go directly to that rep-
resentative’s own web site:
www.house.gov/name, inserting his or
her name.
56 INJ Fall 2002
Internet Websites of Nonwovens
Research Interest
A site that is managed by the federal
government but is basically all about
U.S. businesses can be very useful, espe-
cially to those in marketing, business
research, competitive intelligence and
product development. This is the
EDGAR site (Electronic Data Gathering,
Analysis and Retrieval), administered by
the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission of the Department of
Commerce. The site contains full text of
a wide variety of filings by U.S. busi-
nesses made to the federal government.
These filings disclose a broad selection
of factual information such as the biggest
risks the company faces, raw materials
consumed, biographical information on
top officers, and detailed market analy-
sis, including their share of the market in
some cases.
The search interface for the site has
recently been improved so that it is easier
to use. A search can be made based on the
company name or CIK (Central Index Key
— the ID number used by the SEC to
uniquely identify each company). Also,
where less information is available, the
search can be based on the company’s
state or SIC code (Standard Industrial
Classification). The company filings can
be viewed at the EDGAR site as soon as
they are filed with the government -
(http://edgar.sec.gov//edgar/searchedgar/c
ompanysearch.html).
• BBA Materials Technology Group, a
division of the BBA Group of Nashville,
TN, has revised and undated its Internet
site to provide a global overview of this
group. The new site (www.bbamtg.com)
consolidates several previous web site. It
also offers links to 24 product applica-
tions as well as links to the main web site
for BBA (www.bbanonwovens.com ).
• Most every chemical engineer is
familiar with Perry’s “Chemical
Engineer’s Handbook;” every chemist
knows Lange’s “Handbook of
Chemistry” as well as his “Chemical
Properties Handbook.”
Now these three excellent references
are easily available on an online data-
base, which includes a vast amount of
other useful chemistry, engineering and
science items, such as facts, figures, mol-
ecular formulas, tables, graphs and equa-
tion galore. The site is Knovel Scientific
and Engineering Databases” at:
www.knovel.com.
The site is arranged by Subject Areas
(adhesion, ceramics, plastics, chemistry
& chemical engineering, semiconduc-
tors, surface energy, etc.) and by publish-
ers (ChemTec Publishing, CRC Press,
Industrial Press, Institute of Physics,
McGraw-Hill, Noyes/William Andrew
Publishing, etc.). Also, a Featured
Classics section contains such items as
“Dictionary of Substances and Their
Effects,” “Chemical Resistance of
Plastics and Elastomers,” Marks’
“Standard Handbook of Mechanical
Engineers,” Perry’s Handbook and
Lange’s Handbook, etc. There are also
some interactive data tables at the site
• The Project Management Institute
(PMI) is the world’s leading not-for-
profit project management professional
association, with over 86,000 members
in 125 countries worldwide. The mem-
bership comprises individuals practicing
project management is a wide variety of
industries, including aerospace, automo-
tive, business management, construction,
engineering and many others.
The PMI website (www.pmi.org )
describes the organization’s certification
program, three periodicals and other
publications as well as a variety of activ-
ities, services, information and opportu-
nities.
• Polymer Group Incorporated (PGI)
has expanded their website somewhat,
giving it a clean, professional appearance
and utility (www.polymergroupinc.com).
The site highlights in international charac-
ter of the organization, pointing out that it
has 25 manufacturing facilities in 12
countries on 4 continents, serving 85
countries around the world. In addition to
information on the company, the site fea-
tures pages devoted to products, technolo-
gy, news and event items, investors and
careers, and others. — INJ

NONWOVEN
PATENTS
Proposal To Increase Patent Fees
A proposal is before the U.S. House
of Representatives to rather drastically
increase the fees for filing of U.S.
Patent Applications. This proposal
(HR 740 IH), “Strategic Plan and Fee
Legislation for the USPTO” is current-
ly before the Subcommittee on Courts,
the Internet and Intellectual Property
of the Committee on the Judiciary.
At the present time, patent and trade-
mark fees are set to essentially recover
the costs of carrying out these activi-
ties, so there is no additional cost to the
government. The increased fees would
not stay in the USPTO budget to help
achieve a more timely operation or
otherwise benefit this activity. Rather,
the increased fees would revert to the
federal government’s general fund.
Thus, this increase in fees is basically
a revenue-generating move, in essence
an arbitrary tax on patent applications,
and has no rational relationship to the
services of the USPTO.
Consequently; this move is being
resisted by numerous groups that
would be affected. This includes indi-
vidual inventors, patent attorneys,
patent agents and various organiza-
tions that deal with patent and trade-
mark matters.
Proponents of this bill point out that
passage “will discourage and perhaps
even foreclose the seeking of patent
protection by individual inventors and
small businesses. It can further dis-
courage the formation of new start-up
companies.” One group that is opposed
represents the technology managers at
various universities around the nation.
They are concerned that these
increased fees “will have a chilling
effect on the filing of patent applica-
tions on inventions arising from basic
research” at these institutions.
Information on the continuing status
of this bill can be obtained at
www.thomas.loc.gov (this is the
Thomas Jefferson legislative annex of
the Library of Congress, that deals
with congressional matters). To con-
tact your own representative to voice
an opinion on the bill, you can use the
Internet: www.house.gov.name, insert-
ing the name of your representative.
********************
PATENT REVIEW
Variations in Spunbond
Web Width and Density
This invention provides an improved
apparatus for producing spunbond
webs of various machine widths. It
also improves web uniformity and
allows production of a spunbond web
with width-wise differences in web
density or basis weight.
The spunbond apparatus uses the
upper pass of a porous, endless collect-
ing/forming belt below the spin nozzle.
A suction is generated under the form-
ing belt through an elongated slot
extending the full width of the upper
pass. Swingable flaps are provided
along the longitudinal edges of the
intake slot and can be swung indepen-
dently to vary the width of the collect-
ed web filaments.
Also, the swingable flaps allow for
variation in the position at which the
suction is applied to the underside of
INJ DEPARTMENTS
the upper pass of the belt. This allows
for variation in web density across the
web, while maintaining uniform densi-
ty in the machine direction.
With this precision control and
adjustability of the suction, flow and
pressure conditions in the web forma-
tion region, greater flexibility and con-
trol of the web forming parameters are
possible.
US 6,402,492 B1 (June 11, 2002);
filed: August 22, 2000. “Apparatus for
producing spunbond.” Assignee:
Reifenhauser GmbH & Co.
Maschinenfabrik, Troisdorf, Germany.
Inventors: Norbert Achterwinter;
Peter Eilers; Nicole Langen.
Film/Nonwoven Composite
This patent claims a composite
material comprising a laminate made
of a film bonded to a nonwoven,
wherein the nonwoven and the film are
only bonded together at discrete
points; the laminate is stretched in at
least one direction after being formed.
The object of the present invention is
to develop a film/nonwoven composite
material that is relatively more flexi-
ble, more water vapor permeable, has a
reduced elongation and a relatively
increased strength compared to previ-
ous laminates..
In the present invention, the nonwo-
ven and the film are produced inde-
pendently of one another and are
bonded together only in discrete
zones, the laminate thus formed then
being stretched in at least one direc-
tion. By this means the thickness of
the laminate can be reduced to a con-
siderable degree without risking
uncontrollable tears in the film or the
nonwoven. Flexibility and water vapor
permeability are thus considerably
improved. At the same time, increased
orientation of both the fibers forming
the nonwoven and the macromole-
cules forming the film is obtained in
parallel to the direction of stretching,
which increases the relative strength
in this direction. In addition, the area
expansion of the laminate is substan-
tially increased.
In general, the use of stretching
INJ Fall 2002 57
NONWOVEN PATENTS
mechanisms having at least five con-
secutive stretching roller pairs,
whose rotational speed is increased
only slightly from one pair to the
next is preferred. In this way, maxi-
mum stretching can be achieved
while avoiding tears. It has proven to
be advantageous for most applica-
tions if the laminate is stretched both
longitudinally and transversally.
When such stretching is used, it is
useful to use stretching values close
to the maximum available for the
entire available surface of the com-
posite material.
The water vapor permeability of the
film is considerably improved by
stretching. For example, for personal
hygiene applications, in particular for
diaper linings, it has proven to be
advantageous if the laminate is
stretched to a water permeability value
of 800 g/m2 /24h as measured accord-
ing to DIN 53122, Klima B.
The nonwoven and the film are
bonded without the use of a secondary
adhesive by only temporarily melting
at least one of the existing layers in
discrete bonding zones. This allows
not only the quality of bonding
between the nonwoven and the film to
be controlled better than when a sec-
ondary adhesive is used, but also it is
more beneficial for personal hygiene
applications.
The bonding zones may be arranged
along lines running essentially trans-
versally to the direction of stretching.
With such an arrangement, they pro-
vide both attachment between the non-
woven and the film and rigidity of the
product in that direction. This latter
effect is manifested especially when
the bonding zones are configured in a
straight line and arranged in parallel to
imaginary straight lines, particularly as
continuous lines.
U.S. 6,403,505 B1 (June 11, 2002);
filed: February 17, 1999. “Composite
material.” Assignee: Firma Carl
Freudenberg, Weinheim, Germany.
Inventors: Dieter Groitzsch; Engelbert
Locher; Bernhatrd Klein.
58 INJ Fall 2002
Latex Binder for Nonwovens
A latex binder that is especially use-
ful for nonwoven hygienic article
applications is disclosed. The latex is
prepared by a process of polymerizing
a monomer mixture comprising
styrene, itaconic acid, surfactant and a
free radical initiator to form a seed
copolymer.
To this medium is then sequentially
added equal increments of a monomer
mixture consisting of styrene, butadi-
ene and acrylic acid to continue the
polymerization and to form a copoly-
mer of styrene-butadiene-acrylic acid.
An alkali solution is then added to neu-
tralize the copolymer to a pH of about
4.5 to 7.
U.S. 6,425,978 (July 30, 2002); filed
August 2, 2001. “Latex binder for non-
woven fibers and article made there-
with.” Assignee: Omnova Solutions
Inc., Fairlawn, OH. Inventors: David
F. Diehl; Carla Dittman McBain.
Bonded Fluff Pulp Structures
This patent discloses a method for
the production of a bonded fluff pulp
structure suitable for use in an
absorbent hygiene product. In the pro-
duction method, a woodpulp sheet and
a bicomponent heat activated binder
fiber material are fiberized to produce
a fibrous mixture. This mixture is then
contacted with a hot air stream or hot
air knife. This results in heating the
binder fibers in the mixture to the acti-
vation temperature of the binder fiber.
The heated mixture is formed into a
composite matrix structure, such as a
pad for an absorbent product, or alter-
nately, into an absorbent sheet. This
structure is then cooled to set its con-
figuration. The structure can be further
processed through an embosser which
imparts a density gradient to the struc-
ture.
U.S. 6,419,865 (July 16, 2002); filed
September 30, 1997. “Bonded fluff
structures and process for producing
same.” Assignee: Kimberly-Clark
Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI.
Inventors: Stanley Michael
Gryskiewicz; David Martin Jackson;
Jason Douglas Hadley; Jerome Joseph
Schwalen; Frank Paul Abuto; Kuo-Shu
Edward Chang; Susan Carol Paul;
Richard John Schmidt
Bonded Tow
Acquisition Layer/Topsheet
In recent years, the use of a liquid
acquisition layer between the topsheet
and the absorbent core of a disposable
sanitary protection article has become
popular and has been widely used. The
liquid acquisition layer must have the
ability to quickly receive large quanti-
ties of liquid, and to distribute the liq-
uid and to temporarily store the liquid
prior to its being absorbed by the
underlying absorbent core.
This arrangement has become of
considerable importance, especially in
thin compressed absorbent products
that are popular today. These articles
often have a high content of superab-
sorbent polymer (SAP) particles which
have a high absorption capacity, but in
many cases have too low an absorption
rate to quickly absorb the large quanti-
ty of liquid discharged. The porous,
relatively thick acquisition layer meets
the need for instantaneous acquisition
and is able to store the liquid tem-
porarily until it has been absorbed by
the absorbent core.
The materials normally used today
as acquisition layers in absorbent arti-
cles generally function well, but are
relatively expensive and can some-
times exhibit an insufficient acquisi-
tion rate, especially in the second and
third insults, if large quantities of dis-
charge are involved. Also, such materi-
als are difficult to process and store
due to their bulkiness.
This patent discloses an acquisition
layer that overcomes these problems in
an economical manner, and offers the
potential of an effective acquisition
layer which can also function as the
topsheet.
This material comprises a layer of
continuous filament tow, wherein the
spread filaments have been bonded

together in a carefully engineered,
intermittent bonding pattern, leaving
the remainder of the filaments unbond-
ed to each other.
In general, the continuous filament
tow is spread uniformly across the
desired width. This web is then bond-
ed, preferably in a pattern of short, dis-
continuous transverse lines across the
web width; the bonding lines are off-
set in the longitudinal direction, so that
each continuous filament is bonded
many times.
For special purposes, the bonding
pattern can be different in different
portions of the sheet structure. Thus,
according to one preferred embodi-
ment, the bonding pattern is more
sparse in the central portion of the
layer, intended to constitute the liquid
acquisition area of the article, and is
denser in one or several of the edge
portions of the layer. This configura-
tion enables a rapid liquid acquisition
in the central portions of the layer,
while liquid leakage from the edge por-
tions of the layer is rendered more dif-
ficult.
Since the liquid distributing ability
of the material in the longitudinal
direction of the filaments is very high,
it is advantageous if the bonding pat-
tern extending along the edge portions
of the absorbent article exhibits a high
density, which essentially prevents liq-
uid from spreading, whereby edge
leakage can be prevented.
Further, the edge portions of the
absorbent article can have a bonding
pattern comprising one continuous bar-
rier line, which prevents liquid from
spreading and prevents edge leakage.
Also, the layer can exhibit one or sev-
eral continuous directing lines intend-
ed to achieve a controlled liquid distri-
bution in the layer.
Bonding of the filaments within the
tow can be achieved by a variety of
means. This can include
ultrasonic welding or other thermal
bonding means, such as pattern calen-
dering, laser bonding, etc.
As an alternative to thermal bonding,
bonding can be achieved by means of a
chemical bonding agent, using print or
dot bonding. Alternately, mechanical
bonding can be employed, such as fila-
ment entanglement, using needling or
high pressure water jets. The choice of
bonding type is primarily determined
by the type of filaments which are used
in the tow.
Where the material is used as an
acquisition layer, the basis weight of
the bonded tow web should preferably
be in the range of 30-350 gsm. In this
case, the nonwoven topsheet should
exhibit a relatively open structure,
which permits rapid liquid acquisition.
The filament denier can vary, but is
most preferably in the range of 2 to 15
dtex, if the material is to be used as an
acquisition material. The open, lofty
structure in combination with the rela-
tively coarse filament dimension, pro-
vides a very rapid liquid acquisition. In
addition, the material is strong, due to
the longitudinal continuous filaments
which provide strength in the longitu-
dinal direction, and the bonding pat-
tern, which provides strength in the
transverse direction.
In an alternate embodiment, the
bonded tow material can be used as the
liquid-pervious topsheet layer; in this
case, the basis weight should be in the
range of 5 to 200 gsm., with the fila-
ment denier in the range of 2 to 15
dtex. It is also possible to use the mate-
rials as a combined top layer and
acquisition layer. In this case, the basis
weight should be greater than 10 gsm,
and most preferably 30 to 350 gsm, and
the filament denier should be in the
range of 2 to 15 dtex.
The inventors also describe an
embodiment wherein another nonwo-
ven web is used as a carrier material
for the bonded tow web used as a com-
bined topsheet/acquisition layer.
U. S. 6,417,427 (July 9, 2002); filed
June 9, 1999. “Absorbent article hav-
ing layer of continuous fibers bonded
in a pattern.” Assignee: SCA Hygiene
Products AB, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Inventors: Sofia Roxendal; Peter
Ronnberg; Roy Hansson.
NONWOVEN PATENTS
Strengthening Airlaid
Pulp Structures
An absorbent structure is produced
by an airlaid process involving a blend
of hydrophilic fibers (such as wood-
pulp fiber) and SAP particles. Portions
of the airlaid structure or the overall
structure are moistened to a water con-
tent of at least 15%, calculated on the
total weight of the structure.
Thereafter, the structure is dried to an
overall moisture content of 12% at
most. The moisture treatment improves
the tensile strength of the absorbent
structure and also improves the subse-
quent liquid pick-up and dispersion in
the structure as it is used in an
absorbent product.
U.S. 6,410,819 B1 (June 25, 2002);
filed: May 11, 1999. “Method of pro-
ducing an absorbent structure having
improved strength properties.”
Assignee: SCA Hygiene Products AB
(Goteborg, Sweden). Inventor: Kent
Vartiainen.
Heat Bondable
Biodegradable Fiber
Disclosed in this patent are multi-
component sheath/core fibers, wherein
the sheath comprises a conventional,
non-biodegradable, thermoplastic syn-
thetic polymer. The sheath permits
thermal bonding, as its melting point is
10 degrees C. or more below that of the
fiber core, which is a synthetic
biodegradable polymer, such as a poly-
lactic acid.
A nonwoven fabric can be produced
from such a heat bondable, biodegrad-
able fiber by conventional nonwoven
processes, such as drylaid staple fiber
process, spunbond process or melt-
blown process. Accelerated and con-
trolled degradation of the nonwoven
fabric can be initiated by a heat treat-
ment of the fabric, which exposes the
fiber to sufficient energy to decrease
the melt viscosity of the latent adhe-
sive sheath polymer so that it flows off
of, or melts away from the surface of
the biodegradable polymer thereunder.
This exposes the biodegradable poly-
mer core to the environment, triggering
INJ Fall 2002 59
NONWOVEN PATENTS
subsequent degradation.
U.S. 6,441,267 (August 27, 2002);
filed April 5, 1999. “Heat bondable
biodegradable fiber.” Assignee: Fiber
Innovation Technology (Johnson City,
TN). Inventor: Jeffrey S. Dugan.
Biodegradable Polymers
With Enhanced
Extrusion Properties
In a preferred embodiment, this
invention is a method of grafting polar
groups onto biodegradable polymers to
form modified biodegradable polymers
compositions. Theses modified poly-
mer compositions are useful as compo-
nents in flushable and degradable per-
sonal hygiene articles.
Poly(.beta-hydroxybutyrate-co-
valerate), poly(butylene succinate),
poly(ethylene succinate) and poly-
caprolactone are biodegradable poly-
mers which are commercially viable
and, in general, thermally processable.
By grafting polar monomers onto one
or more of these biodegradable poly-
mers, the resulting modified polymer
is more compatible with polar poly-
mers and other polar substrates. Thus,
the resulting modified polymer is more
suitable for use in nonwoven extrusion
processes, such as spunbonding and
meltblowing., either alone, or in con-
junction with polar polymers.
The compatibility of the modified
polymer compositions with a polar
polymer (such as polypropylene, poly-
ethylene terephthalate, and similar
resins) can be controlled by the selec-
tion of the monomer, the level of graft-
ing and the blending process condi-
tions. Tailoring the compatibility of
blends of modified polymer composi-
tions leads to better processability and
improved physical properties of the
resulting blend in nonwoven extrusion
processes.
For flushable material development,
these modified polymer compositions
have enhanced compatibility with
water-soluble polymers, such as
polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene
oxide, compared to the unmodified
60 INJ Fall 2002
biodegradable polymers. Thus, they
are very useful in designing flushable
personal hygiene products
U.S. Patent Application
20020128384 (published September
12, 2002); filed December 29, 2000.
“Method of making a polymer blend
composition by reactive extrusion.”
Correspondent: James S. Pratt of
Kilpatrick, Stockton LLP (for Kimberly
Clark Corporation). Inventors: James
H. Wang, David M. Schertz.
Spunbond With Controlled Loft
A lofty nonwoven have a plurality of
substantially continuous fibers orient-
ed in a Z-direction of the nonwoven
web and a method for producing the
lofty nonwoven from as-formed Z-
direction filaments. This method is
fast, having no mechanical manipula-
tion of the filaments to slow it down,
easily adjustable and allows for in-line
processing. The material can be varied
from preponderantly open to prepon-
derantly closed in its web structure.
U.K. Application GB2,364,071A (pub-
lished 16 January 2002); filed 21 April
2000. “Controlled loft and density non-
woven webs and method for producing.”
Applicant: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide,
Inc. Inventors: James Richard Neely,
Edward Jason White, Kurtis Lee Brown,
John Herbert Conrad, Richard Wallace
Hoefer. — INJ
 INJ DEPARTMENTS
this page) has a maximum throughput of
55 kg./hr. There are two 2” Davis
Standard extruders on this stage that will
provide bicomponent configurations of
sheath/core and side-by-side cross-sec-
tions in blend ratios from 20/80 to 80/20

THE WORLD OF percentages. Meltblown fiber diameters

will range f rom 0.5 micron diameter at
low throughputs to around 7 microns at

ASSOCIATIONS high throughput. The meltblown webs

will have high surface area, soft hand
and good barrier properties.
The spunbond process system (photo
at top of next page) has a maximum
IDEA 04 Expanded To Include New Nonwoven Research throughput of 134 kg/hr. This portion of
Technical Textiles Facilities at NCSU the line is equipped with two 2.5” Davis
INDA has announced that IDEA 04 The Nonwovens Cooperative Standard extruders that will provide
will be expanded to include technical Research Center (NCRC) is an impor- bicomponent configurations of
textiles as well as nonwovens. The tant and integral part of the College of sheath/core, side-by-side, and segment-
event to be held April 27-29, 2004 in Textiles at North Carolina State ed pie cross-sections in blend ratios of
Miami Beach, will be called IDEA 04, University. With the opening of the new 20/80 to 80/20 percentages. Spunbond
International Engineered Fabrics “Partner’s Laboratory,” the NCRC fiber diameters will be nominally 10 to
Conference & Expo. promises to become an even more com- 13 microns. Segmented pie filaments
Ted Wirtz, INDA's president said, prehensive locus for fundamental and following splitting will have effective
“IDEA’s expansion to include all engi- applied research on nonwovens fiber diameters of under 1 micron.
neered fabrics will definitely attract processes and materials. These super-fine filaments will have the
more customers to IDEA as the range of This new $12 million nonwovens lab- feel, texture and surface area of melt-
products increase for purchase. IDEA oratory houses full-sized equipment for blown webs, but the strength and dura-
needs to reflect the marketplace, as the comprehensive study of both the bility of spunbond filaments.
technical textiles and nonwovens over- spunbond process
lap. It simply makes no sense to focus and the hydroentan-
only on nonwovens.” gling process. This
Lee Sullivan, General Manager, Tuft facility supplements
Division, Freudenberg Nonwovens said extensive research
about the expansion, “INDA gets the and processing
right customers to the right place. equipment covering
That’s undeniable. And, now an other nonwoven
expanded IDEA to include technical processes, as well as
textiles and all engineered fabrics will conventional textile
attract even more customers. processing, already
Freudenberg applauds this expansion.” located at NC State.
The IDEA 04 Conference program The Partner’s Lab
will focus on engineered fabrics for a system for studying
myriad of end uses. The IDEA extrusion-based non-
Committee has been reorganized with woven processes is a
this in mind. Each committee member line incorporating
is now an expert in at least one end both spunbond and
product area, which will result in excel- meltblown stages.
lent coverage by the Conference The components of
Sessions of both nonwoven fabrics and this line were sup-
technical textiles.. plied by Nordson
For more: INDA, Association of the Fiber Systems and
Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, P. O. Box Hills, Inc.
1288, Cary, NC 27512;, 919-233-1210. The Meltblown
Fax: 919-233-1282. www.inda.org System (photo on

INJ Fall 2002 61

WORLD OF ASSOCIATIONS
The integrated spunmelt line will
operate at speeds up to 300
meters/minute. The webs may be calen-
der bonded with smooth or embossed
roll patterns. SMS structures may be
produced on this line by unwinding a
pre-formed spunbond fabric and form-
ing a meltblown and spunbond web on
top of it. SMMS structures may be
made by lightly bonding an SM web
and then unrolling it under the melt-
blown and spunbond beams a second
time.
62 INJ Fall 2002
The combination spunmelt
line wall also allow study of
the meltblown process and
the spunbond process sepa-
rately, as well as in combina-
tion.
The Partner’s Laboratory
hydroentangling research unit
is based on Fleissner AquaJet
entangling equipment (photo
below). This line will waterjet
process webs at water pres-
sures up to 250 bar (3600
psi). This is a two-stage sys-
tem, with both horizontal belt
and drum entangling capabil-
ities. The line will operate at
speeds up to 300
meters/minute. Various aper-
ture patterns and designs can
be inserted into the web by
the appropriate selection of
patterned carrier belts and
drum sleeves. The process
water is filtered after each pass through
the manifolds, with filtered water solids
contamination being held to less than 1
ppm.
The final start-up and full commission-
ing of all the systems has been carried out
during the month of September. Trials for
clients are being scheduled on this equip-
ment for early November 2002. These
research and development trials can be
scheduled with Rory Holmes (919-515-
4550; Rory_Holmes@ncsu.edu). He is also
handling the requests for Partner’s
Laboratory visits
and tours, which
have been taking
place for the past
several weeks.
These new facil-
ities obviously
represent a sig-
nificant thrust in
the quest for
advanced non-
wovens research
and development
capabilities.
Significant con-
tributions to this
science and tech-
nology can certainly be expected, both
from academic researchers as well as
industrial technologists.
INJ extends congratulations and best
wishes for the future to the staff and
sponsors of the NCSU Partner’s
Laboratory.
Printing and Dyeing Conference
INDA is in final discussions with the
American Association of Textile
Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) for
the planning and presentation of a con-
ference on the printing and dyeing of
nonwovens and related substrates.
This is a need whose time has come.
While many consider a nonwoven fab-
ric to exist only in the plain, uninterest-
ing white sheet form, some activities in
various parts of the world over the past
few years have proved that this need not
be the only form for nonwoven fabrics.
Colored, multi-colored, and variegated
colored nonwovens, along with a wide
range of exciting print patterns and
designs, even photographs on nonwo-
vens, all have disproved this limited
notion.
With this affiliation, INDA can meld
the strong capabilities of both associa-
tions, as AATCC is one of the top trade
groups worldwide for printing and dye-
ing technology applied to fibrous struc-
tures. Nonwoven fabrics are amenable
to all of these technologies, and all of
these technologies are currently under-
going rapid changes due to the incorpo-
ration of advanced electronic, optical,
digital and computer developments.
Although the final details are yet to
be established, a comprehensive confer-
ence is envisioned for sometime in the
next few months. Such details are
expected to be forthcoming from both
organizations as soon as they are com-
pleted.
For more information: INDA, P.O. Box
1288, Cary, NC 27512; 919-233-1210; Fax:
919/233-1282; www.inda.org; or AATCC,
P.O. Box 12215, Research Triangle Park,
NC 27709; 919-549-3526; Fax: 919-549-
8933; www.aatcc.org. — INJ

WORLDWIDE
ABSTRACTS AND
REVIEWS
A sampling of Nonwovens Abstracts from Pira International —
A unique intelligence service for the nonwovens industry
Bottles into roof linings
Rethmann AG and Freudenberg
Group have formed a joint venture to
recycle used polyester (PET) bottles. A
new plant in Kaiserslautern will trans-
form PET bottles into granulate from
which Freudenberg will produce roof
linings, shoe inner soles, car interior
linings, filters and carpet products. The
new plant will produce 20,000tpy PET
recyclate and is expected to have a
Euro65m turnover. (Short article)
Author: Anon
Source: Allg. Vliesstoff-Rep.
Issue: no. 1, 2002, p. 8 (In German)
2001 nonwoven and paper diaper
production statistics
The Japanese 2001 nonwoven pro-
duction was reported by the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry. Total
production was 298,038t which
decreased by 5% from 2000.
Spunbonded/Meltblown nonwovens
recorded an 15% increase (81,248tpy
production), while productions of
chemical-bonded and spunlace nonwo-
vens significantly decreased by 32%
and 13%, respectively. Polypropylene
was the most used material
(2,020,593tpy), followed by polyester
(716,572tpy) and nylon (88,644tpy).
The consumption of polyester and
polypropylene in 2001 showed slight
increases (1.6% and 6.8% in weight,
respectively), but the usage of nylon
was cut by 7% (in weight) from 2000.
The production of paper diapers for
babies and adults were both stable,
214,481tpy and 128,891tpy, respective-
ly. (3 tab)
Author: Anon
Source: Nonwovens Rev.
Issue: vol. 13, no. 1, 2002, p. 42 (In
Japanese)
Uni Harst KK, a big business poten-
tial in the house pet diaper market
Uni Harst KK is a pet sanitary prod-
uct specialist in the Uni Charm Group,
established in 1986. The number of
household pets is increasing in Japan,
and Deosheet (Uni Harst KK) is the top
brand in the indoor toilet sheet market.
The paper diaper for house pets was
launched in autumn 2001, and currently
holds second place in the market. A
wide variety of sizes are available (SS,
S, M and L), and high performance is
guaranteed based on the advanced Uni
Charms high absorbency polymer tech-
nology. In addition to the structural dif-
ferences, the prioritised performance
for pet-use diapers is different from the
human use diaper: high speed and high
capacity is the most important and soft
texture is not a top priority. (2 fig)
Author: Anon
Source: Nonwovens Rev.
Issue: vol. 13, no. 1, 2002, pp 2-3 (In
Japanese)
Lion KK Pet Care Series, nonwoven
sheets as house dog/cat toilet sheets
Lion Syoji KK launched a pet sheet,
Dogmate Nioi-wo-toru Powersheets, in
INJ DEPARTMENTS
February 2002. The characteristics of
this new spun-bonded nonwoven prod-
uct are: a new natural deodorant compo-
nent (patent pending) to remove ammo-
nium related odour; a special polymer to
stop the back-flow; soft but mechanical-
ly strong; compact packaging. Pet Kirei
is a natural pulp-based nonwoven towel
for pets. It is a soft and bulky towel and
achieves quick drying after shampooing
pets, furthermore, it's washable and can
be used repeatedly. Petguard Mushiyoke
Guard is a body wiping tissue (for pets)
on which anti-insect reagents are
impregnated. It contains safe reagents
for pets and the protection effects last
for 10h. It is especially effective with
combination with Petguard Spray for a
wider area use. (3 fig)
Author: Anon
Source: Nonwovens Rev.
Issue: vol. 13, no. 1, 2002, pp 4-5 (In
Japanese)
Kisyu Binchotan Charcoal Fibre
from Omi Kenshi KK, an environ-
mentally friendly and skin friendly
fibre incorporating Japanese tradi-
tional charcoal characteristics
Omi Kenshi KK has developed Kisyu
Binchotan rayon fibre, based on its
business policy, Ecology Clean Fibre.
Kisyu Binchotan is the white charcoal
made from Ubame-kashi by a special
carbonisation method, and is tradition-
ally highly valued in Japan. The three
characteristics (micro porous structure,
irregular carbon alignment and high
mineral contents) of Kisyu Binchotan
create: a superb deodorant effect; a
moisture control effect; an insulation
effect by infrared; a minus ion effect; a
water quality improvement effect; and a
mineral additive effect. Kisyu
Binchotan Rayon Fibre is binder-free
and washable, and the Kisyu Binchotan
effects will last permanently. It will be
used for textile, towel, bedding and
interior products, and applications as
nonwovens are also believed to have a
high potential. (3 fig)
Author: Asami T
Source: Nonwovens Rev.
Issue: vol. 13, no. 1, 2002, pp 12-13
(In Japanese)
INJ Fall 2002 63
PIRA ABSTRACTS
Fil. Va: new tricomponent fibers for
nonwovens
Fil Va, Varese, Italy, is exhibiting
Trilon tricomponent and bicomponent
sheath-core bonding staple fibres at
INDEX02 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Trilon fibres are designed for technical-
ly advanced nonwovens applications.
They are made by a unique proprietary
process, and are suitable for blending
with polypropylene, polyester, viscose
and cellulose fluff pulp. The tricompo-
nent fibres, obtainable from thermoplas-
tic polymers and copolymers, are made
in versions A and B, with different core
and sheath melting temperatures.
Different types of the two versions are
available for various applications, in
different cuts. (Short article)
Author: Anon
Source: Tech. Text.
Issue: vol. 45, no. 2, May 2002, pp
e44, d62
New Kermel Tech fiber
Rhodia Kermel SA, Colmar, France,
has developed Kermel Tech polyamide-
amide fibre for industrial applications.
Its exceptional technical performances
feature a continuous operating tempera-
ture of 200 deg C, peak operating tem-
perature of 240 deg C, resistance to
acids, high strength and high tensile
yield stretch. It is especially suitable for
needle felts used in filtration, with resis-
tance to the mechanical stresses
involved in unclogging cycles. With
long-term high temperature resistance,
Kermel Tech improves the efficiency of
sleeve-type filters, and is well adapted
to use in high temperature installations
such as metal, mineral and cement pro-
duction, energy generation and waste
incineration facilities. (Short article)
Author: Anon
Source: Tech. Text.
Issue: vol. 45, no. 2, May 2002, p. e44
X-Static fiber from Noble Fiber
Technologies
Speciality nylon filament yarn
processor Noble Fiber Technologies
Inc, Clarks Summit, PA, USA, has
developed a proprietary process for
64 INJ Fall 2002
incorporating metallic silver into a fila-
ment nylon base. X-Static is claimed to
have anti-microbial, heat-transferring,
anti-static and therapeutic properties,
and is safe and non-toxic. It has been
accepted for some US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved med-
ical products and is registered with the
US Environmental Protection Agency
as an antimicrobial product. (Short arti-
cle)
Author: Anon
Source: Tech. Text.
Issue: vol. 45, no. 2, May 2002, p. e44
Introduction of compulsory CE
marking for geotextiles, such as those
used in road construction
A European Union building products
directive requires woven and nonwoven
geotextile products to carry CE certifica-
tion, effective from 30 September 2002.
The ruling applies to geosynthetic and
related products used for filtering,
drainage and separation applications in
road construction. Physical and perfor-
mance property requirements for geotex-
tiles used for these applications are shown
in the DIN EN 13249 standard. The
German Institute for Construction
Technology has published guidelines and
recommendations on production control
and test methods for such materials.
Geotextile products need to be marked
with product name and type, the CE mark
and the identification number of the rele-
vant licensing office. (9 fig, 1 tab, 12 ref)
Author: Magel M; Hierhammer M;
Lieberenz K
Source: Allg. Vliesstoff-Rep.
Issue: no. 2, 2002, pp 32-35 (In
German)
Nonwoven, searching for new func-
tions; Kuraray Domestics Material
Company KK, 30 years history as a
wiping cloths manufacture
Kuraray Domestics Material
Company KK is a leading company in
the JPY1,000m disposable table wiping
cloths market in Japan. Kuraflex is the
top brand in the market, and its main
targets are the catering and restaurant
industries and supermarkets. The new
wiping cloth Kuramp, a high grade non-
woven cloth made from an ultramicro
fibre WRAMP, was launched in
February 2002. WRAMP is a composite
long fibre composed of 65% polyester
and 35% nylon, and is unique with its
highly divided fibre structure. This spe-
cial fibre structure creates an excellent
wiping performance making Kuramp
ideal for polishing glasses and cutlery in
addition to table wiping. Three grades
are available, the glass duster, the table
duster, and the polish cloth. The sales in
the first and third years are expected to
be JPY300m and JPY500m, respective-
ly. (5 fig)
Author: Yamoto T
Source: Nonwovens Rev.
Issue: vol. 13, no. 1, 2002, pp 14-16
(In Japanese)
100% control of nonwovens
production
Automatic contactless inspection sys-
tems developed by ISRA allow surface
and structural defects in nonwovens to
be detected on all line widths and
speeds up to 800m/min. Variable resolu-
tion equipment meets different cus-
tomer requirements, enabling sub-mil-
limetre defects to be shown. Defect
areas are marked, and data linked to
production processes to avoid waste and
optimise quality. ISRA's monitoring
equipment comprises a range of hard-
ware, cameras, illumination and modu-
lar software, with built-in self-diagnos-
tic facilities. High power LED illumina-
tion takes up little space and offers
around 50,000h service life.
Author: Anon
Source: Allg. Vliesstoff-Rep.
Issue: no. 3, 2002, pp 26-27 (In
German)
New machine developments for
hygiene nonwovens
Fleissner Maschinenfabrik is using the
AquaJet Spunlace process to produce
new soft cover sheets for feminine
hygiene and baby diaper products, based
on staple fibres and spunbonded webs of
bicomponent as well as microsegment
split fibres. Acquisition and distribution

layers for these products are made by the
foam impregnation process with
through-air drying. Cellulose fibre based
tissues are made at line speeds to
2000m/min. Composite structure wet
wipes and baby wipes can also be made
using the AquaJet Spunlace process.
Other Fleissner developments include
airlaid products made from fluff pulp
using bonding agents, fibres or spunlace
technology. (2 fig)
Author: Anon
Source: Allg. Vliesstoff-Rep.
Issue: no. 3, 2002, p. 30 (In German)
Increasing the elastic modulus of
lyocell
Research is being conducted to make
lyocell fibres suitable for composite rein-
forcements. The results of experiments at
the Thuringisches Institut fur Textil-und
Kunstoff-Forschung e V (TITK),
Rudolstadt, Germany, are reported.
Stretching and cross-linking tests are
performed on lyocell filament yarns pre-
treated by swelling with water, alkali, N-
methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) or
ammonia. Based on its performance in
previous tests, Lyofix MMA, an alkyl-
modified melamine/formaldehyde deriv-
ative is used as crosslinking agent to
increase elastic modulus, and various
variations of static or continuous stretch-
ing/crosslinking processes are examined.
The relationship between fibre and com-
posite moduli is discussed. The original
elastic modulus of a commercial lyocell
fibre is approximately 700 cN/tex. The
methods tested allow for an increase up
to 1400 cN/tex, which does not meet the
level of cellulose natural fibres, but
because of its fineness, purity, and
absence of odours, lyocell should be suit-
able for middle strain range composites
and rubber materials. (4 fig, 5 tab, 6 ref)
Author: Nechwatal A;
Source: Tech. Text.
Issue: vol. 45, no. 2, May 2002, pp
e50-53, d76-79
Lyocell fiber reinforced plastics com-
posites: state-of-the-art and prospects
Lyocell has advantages over other
PIRA ABSTRACTS
cellulosic man-made fibres, such as its age in the electronics field. The
environmentally friendly production Slotcoater works according to the cur-
process, fewer deviations in mechani- tain coating process with the die placed
cal-physical parameters than for natural between two rollers. Cooling rollers and
fibres, absence of odour and lower den- a UV unit can be activated if required.
sity. The main problem associated with (4 fig, 2 tab)
Lyocell as a reinforcing fibre is its low Author: Glawe A; Reuscher R;
elastic modulus. As the stress-strain Giessmann A
behaviour of traditional reinforcing Source: Tech. Text.
fibres can be described as quasi-linear, Issue: vol. 45, no. 2, May 2002, pp
research at the Thuringisches Institut fur e68-70, d102-103
Textil-und Kuntstoff-Forschung e V,
Rudolstadt, Germany, has focused on Nonwoven based seal sheets
improvement of the E-modulus and Freudenberg Dichtungs-und
adaptation of the stress-strain character- Schwingungstechnik International's
istics to a quasi-linear course. Simrit seal sheets provide good chemi-
Improvements in E-modulus have been cal and heat resistance. The use of
obtained by afterdrawing and crosslink- selected fibres allows sheets with well-
ing pre-swollen Lyocell, although E- defined, even fibre distribution to be
modulus values do not reach those of obtained. The fibres are impregnated
flax fibres. Composites reinforced with with a special NBR binder and cross-
Lyocell have a higher tensile strength linked by passing through heated
but lower E-modulus than those rein- rollers. Depending on end-use, up to 10
forced with flax. Based on the achiev- layers are laminated together under heat
able optimisation of properties, it is not and pressure. (Short article)
currently feasible to commercially pro- Author: Anon
duce suitable Lyocell composite rein- Source: Allg. Vliesstoff-Rep.
forcing fibres by the processes avail- Issue: no. 1, 2002, p. 6
able. (4 fig, 1 tab, 8 ref) (In German) — INJ
Author: Mieck K P
Source: Tech. Text.
Issue: vol. 45, no. 2, May 2002, pp
e58-60, d86, 88-89
New technologies for coating of tech-
nical materials
Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH
has developed two processes for coating
high performance technical textiles. The
Verticoater is designed for vertical dry-
ing and double-side coating. It is
equipped with an impregnation bath and
squeezing roller pair and implements
the coating in a single process step.
Vertical web guidance through the dryer
avoids contact with or stress to the
material before drying. The modular
construction allows modifications for
specific finishing requirements. The
Slotcoater is designed for coating hot-
melt and adhesives with a special die
technology. Very thin coatings are pos-
sible for self-adhesive foils used to pro-
tect displays during transport and stor-
INJ Fall 2002 65
INJ DEPARTMENTS
NONWOVEN
CALENDAR
October 2002
Oct. 1-4, 2002. American
Association of Textile Chemists and
Colorists International Conference and
Exhibition. Charlotte Convention
Center, Charlotte, NC. AATCC, P.O.
Box 12215, Research Triangle Park,
NC 27709; 919/549-3526; Fax:
919/549-8933. www.aatcc.org
Oct. 15-19, 2002. 8th China
International Textile Machinery
Exhibition (CITME). China
International Exhibition Center,
Beijing, China. www.citme.org. Also,
American Textile Machinery
Association, 111 Park Place, Falls
Church, VA 22046; 703/538-1789;
Fax: 703/241-5603. www.atmanet.org
Oct. 16-18, 2002. Fiber Society
Annual Technical Conference. Crowne
Plaza Hotel, Natick, MA. The Fiber
Society, Dr. Subhash Batra, College of
Textiles, North Carolina State
University, Raleigh, NC 27695;
919/515-6635; Fax: 919/515-6532.
Oct. 20-24, 2002. INSIGHT 2002
Conferences. Tampa Marriott
Waterside Hotel, Tampa, FL.
Marketing/Technology Services, Inc.,
41 South Seventh Street, Kalamazoo,
MI 49009, USA; 616/375-1236; Fax:
616/375-6710.
Oct. 24-26, 2002. IFAI Expo 2002.
Charlotte Convention Center,
Charlotte, North Carolina. Susan
Larson, Industrial Fabrics Association
International (IFAI), 1801 County
Road B W, Roseville MN 55113; Tel.:
612/222-2508; Fax: 612/631-9334;
expo@ifai.com. www.ifai.com .
Oct. 28-Nov.1, 2000. Nonwovens
Product Development Workshop.
INDA, Cary, NC and NCSU Pilot
Facilities, Raleigh, North Carolina.
INDA, P.O. Box 1288, Cary, NC;
66 INJ Fall 2002
919/233-1210; Fax: 919/233-1282;
www.inda.org .
November 2002
Nov. 19-21, 2001. 12th Annual
TANDEC Nonwovens Conference.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
TN 37996. Dr. Dong Zhang,
Conference Chairman, Textiles and
Nonwovens Development Center, Tel.:
865/974-3573; Fax: 867/974-3580.
tancon@utkux.utk.edu.
Nov. 20-21, 2002. Symposium in
Memory of Dr. Bernie Miller.
Princeton, NJ. For more information,
contact Eleanor Lehman, Business
Development, TRI/Princeton, 601
Prospect Avenue, P.O. Box 625,
Princeton, NJ 08542; 609/430-4820,
Fax: 609/683-7149. www.triprince-
ton.org.
December 2002
Dec. 3-5, 2002. Filtration 2002
International Conference & 919/233-1282; www.inda.org .
Exposition. Washington Convention
Center, Washington, D.C. INDA, P.O.
Box 1288, Cary, NC; 919/233-1210;
Fax: 919/233-1282; www.inda.org .
Dec. 3-5, 2002. 2001. EDANA
Nonwovens Training Course. Brussels,
Belgium. Cathy Riguelle, EDANA,
European Disposables & Nonwovens
Association, 157 avenue Eugène
Plasky, Bte 4, 1030 Brussels, Belgium;
011+32+2/734-9310; Fax: +32-2/733-
3518; www.edana.org.
Dec. 10-12, 2002. INDA
Nonwovens Training Course. INDA,
Cary; NC. Misty Ayers, INDA, P.O.
Box 1288, Cary; NC 27512; 919/233-
1210; Fax: 919/233-1282;
www.inda.org
.
January 2003
Jan. 26-29, 2003. Vision 2003
Consumer Products Workshop. New
Orleans Marriott Hotel, New Orleans,
LA. INDA, P.O. Box 1288, Cary, NC;
Tel.: 919/233-1210; Fax: 919/233-
1282; www.inda.org .
February 2003
Feb. 18-20, 2003. INDA Nonwovens
Training Course. Cary, NC. INDA,
P.O. Box 1288, Cary, NC; 919/233-
1210; Fax: 919/233-1282;
www.inda.org .
April 2003
Apr. 8-10, 2003. Techtextil
Frankfurt. Frankfurt Fairs, Frankfurt,
Germany. Messe Frankfurt GmbH,
Frankfurt am Main, Germany;
49+69/7575-6712; Fax: 49+69/7575-
6541; techtextil@messefrankfurt.com.
www.techtextil.de .
Apr. 17, 2003. INDA Nonwovens
Statistics Training Course. Cary, NC.
INDA, P.O. Box 1288, Cary, NC;
919/233-1210; Fax: 919/233-1282;
www.inda.org .
May 2003
May 1-3, 2003. INDA Annual
Meeting. Baltimore Harbor Court
Hotel, Baltimore, MD. Contact: Misty
Ayers, INDA, P.O. Box 1288, Cary;
NC 27512; 919/233-1210; Fax:
May 13-15, 2003. INDA
Nonwovens Training Course. Cary,
NC. INDA, P.O. Box 1288, Cary, NC;
919/233-1210; Fax: 919/233-1282;
www.inda.org .
May 21-23 2003. Asian Nonwovens
Exhibition and Conference (ANEX
2003). Intex, Shanghai, China. This is
the major International Nonwovens
Conference and Exhibition for 2003.
Sponsored by Asia Nonwovens Fabrics
Association and China Technology
Market Association and co-sponsored
by INDA and EDANA. Noemi
Belamide, Paperloop Inc., 2018 Powers
Ferry Road, Suite 600, Atlanta, GA
30339; 678/589-8829; Fax: 678/589-
8885. www.anex2003.com — INJ