JP2871864B2 - Spunlace nonwoven fabric with good formation and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spun lace nonwoven fabric which has a good formation and is excellent in drapability, texture and air permeability, and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, nonwoven fabrics have been widely used in many fields instead of woven fabrics. Because of its low cost and high productivity, it can be used as a substitute for a conventional woven fabric, or can be used as a functional nonwoven fabric because it can impart performance that cannot be obtained with a woven fabric. Further, conventionally, the use of nonwoven fabrics in the field of paper pulp as a raw material has been actively utilized as a high-performance material by utilizing the functionality of the nonwoven fabric.

Typical methods for forming a nonwoven web include a spunbond method, a melt-blow method, a dry method, and a wet method.

[0004]

However, individual methods cannot cover all fields.

[0005] Nonwoven fabrics obtained by the spunbonding method have high strength such as tensile strength and are widely used as industrial materials requiring high strength. However, since the method of joining the web is mainly by thermocompression bonding, there is a drawback that the web is dense, the nonwoven fabric is hard, and the drapability is poor.

[0006] Further, the nonwoven fabric produced by the melt blow method can produce an ultrafine fiber sheet, but has poor formation, is low in productivity, and is expensive.

[0007] The web formed by the card method or the air lay method by the dry method has a bulk and a feeling as compared with those obtained by the above method. However, for the purpose of imparting sheet strength, a binder is applied or heat is applied. When crimping is performed, bulkiness,
The texture decreases. Further, the card method cannot be applied to fibers having a diameter of 7 μm or less. In the air lay method, it is difficult to uniformly disperse long fibers exceeding 6 mm.

[0008] Nonwoven fabrics and special public sho 4 by the needle punch method
As disclosed in JP-A-8-13749, a spunlaced nonwoven fabric obtained by entanglement of a web formed by a card with a columnar water stream can be formed into a sheet with no binder, has a good texture, and has excellent drape properties. I have.

[0009] However, the web obtained by the above method has a problem that the formation is generally worse than that of the wet papermaking method.

On the other hand, the web obtained by the wet papermaking method has higher productivity, can use fibers having a small fiber diameter, can mix a plurality of fibers at an arbitrary ratio, and has a very good formation. There is an advantage that there is. However, in a usual method, the fiber length is required to be short in order to obtain a uniform dispersion in water and a uniform web . However , the strength is weak and the application is limited.

Conversely, when the fiber length is increased, the fibers are entangled and tied, and uniform dispersion becomes difficult.

[0012] Furthermore, since the drying method after paper-making is press-bonded to a Yankee or multi-cylinder dryer, or even when a through-type dryer is used, the fiber length is short and the fibers are two-dimensionally oriented. It is paper-like, and has poor air permeability and drapability, and the one using ultrafine fibers has a problem that the density is high and the air permeability is poor.

According to the method disclosed in JP-A-2-6651, a short fiber web having a fiber diameter of 7 to 25 μm and a ratio (L / D) of the fiber diameter (D) to the fiber length (L) of 800 to 2000 is used. Is disclosed. The wet nonwoven fabric is obtained by three-dimensionally entangled with a high-pressure columnar water flow.

This nonwoven fabric has been noted as an improvement over the weakness of the wet nonwoven fabric, which is a weakness due to a short fiber length, which is a drawback of the wet nonwoven fabric, as described in the prior art in this specification. In order to disperse the fibers uniformly in water, it is generally required that the fiber length is about 3 to 7 mm. Like
It cannot be said that the advantages of wet papermaking, such as good formation, were taken advantage of. Further, since the fiber diameter is relatively large 7～25Myuemu, skin touch, there is a problem that softness is poor.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-27067, an ultrafine synthetic fiber filament is provided with a non- (difficult) water-soluble sizing agent, bundled into a fiber bundle, cut into 20 mm or less, and made into a paper by a wet papermaking method. A method is described in which this is laminated with a woven fabric, entangled with a high-pressure jet, and then the glue is removed. In this method, the fiber bundle is dispersed by the high-pressure jet,
The dispersed fiber only spreads at that portion and has directionality, and the overall formation and feel are not good.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-28709, a web containing splittable fibers is split by a water jet.
Furthermore, a method of performing confounding with a water jet is described. However, this method has a problem that the texture is not uniform in portions where splitting is not performed, and the feel is poor.

The present invention takes advantage of the characteristics of wet nonwoven fabric, such as good formation, uniformity, and the use of ultrafine fibers.
An object of the present invention is to provide a spunlaced nonwoven fabric which has improved disadvantages of a wet nonwoven fabric such as low strength, poor drapability, poor texture, and poor air permeability.

[0018]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors diligently studied the above problems. As a result, the fiber diameter was 1 to 5 μm, and the ratio (L / D) of the fiber length (L) to the fiber diameter (D) was 2
Fibers with 000 <(L / D) ≦ 6000 are wet papermaking methods
It has been found that spunlace nonwoven fabric which is formed into a sheet and is three-dimensionally entangled with a water stream has a good formation and can solve the above-mentioned problems.

The nonwoven fabric has a fiber diameter of 1 to 5 μm and a ratio (L / D) of the fiber length (L) to the fiber diameter (D) is 2.
000 <(L / D) ≦ 6000, a water- or hot-water-soluble binder is added to the fiber, formed into a sheet by a wet papermaking method, and then the sheet is laminated in a single layer or two or more layers.
It has been found that it is produced by three-dimensionally entanglement of short fibers while eluting a binder component with a high-pressure water stream.
The present invention has been achieved based on these findings.

The fiber diameter of the fiber used in the present invention is 1 to 5 μm.
The ratio (L / D) of the fiber diameter (L) and the fiber length (D) in the range of
Is in the range of 2000 <L / D ≦ 6000.

If the fiber diameter is smaller than 1 μm, the fibers are entangled during dispersion, and the entanglement does not come off, so-called tying occurs, and it is difficult to form a well-formed web. If it exceeds 5 μm, the fiber length exceeds 30 mm even if it corresponds to the range of L / D, and uniform dispersion in water becomes difficult, and a uniform web with good texture cannot be obtained.

The fiber warp is 1 to 5 μm and the fiber L / D is 20
In the range of 00 or less, a three-dimensional confounding state in which a large strength is obtained cannot be obtained. When L / D exceeds 6000, the fiber length becomes long, and it becomes difficult to uniformly disperse the fibers in water, and it is not possible to obtain a uniform web with good formation.

Further, a non-woven fabric processed using a web formed from a slurry in which the fibers are not uniformly dispersed,
Even those having L / D larger than the range of the present invention,
Not only is the uniformity inferior, but also the strength and texture are inferior.

That is, the spunlaced nonwoven fabric of the present invention has a fiber length itself shorter than that obtained by entanglement of a web obtained by a normal dry method with a high-pressure water stream, but has an ultrafine fiber diameter which cannot be obtained by a dry method. In addition, since the formation is very good, three-dimensional confounding is firmly performed, and the strength is comparable to these. In other words, the L / D range of the fiber having a warp of 1 to 5 μm satisfying these conditions is 2000
<(L / D) ≦ 6000.

The fibers used in the present invention are preferably organic fibers such as polyester fibers, polyolefin fibers, rayon fibers and acrylic fibers. These fibers preferably have low rigidity. Not very rigid fibers
Even in the range of L / D according to the present invention, the entanglement is difficult, and when a higher pressure water stream is used, the arrangement of the fibers is disturbed, and the sheet becomes uneven or the sheet is damaged.

Further, as long as the fibers are in the L / D range of the present invention, two or more kinds of fibers may be mixed. In addition, other fibers may be mixed in a small amount as long as the performance of the nonwoven fabric of the present invention is not impaired.

Next, the method for producing the nonwoven fabric of the present invention will be described.

Since the L / D of the fiber used is large,
Particular attention must be paid to the method of dispersion. For disaggregation and dispersion, a rotary type can be used. It is preferable to disperse the dispersant uniformly in an aqueous solution before disintegrating the fibers. Alternatively, it is also effective to pre-soak the fiber in a solution of about 1% of a dispersant.

Next, the fibers are sequentially added to the water. If the fibers are not sufficiently disintegrated, the stirring speed is instantaneously increased to give an impact to the undisintegrated fiber bundles, thereby promoting disintegration. The stirring speed is only temporarily increased, and if the stirring time is long, binding between fibers is formed, which is not preferable.

Next, the dispersion is performed under as gentle agitation as possible to prevent the binding of the fibers. The concentration of the pre-disintegrated slurry is further reduced by adding water, and then the tackifier is quickly added. During this time, stirring is performed as slowly as possible as described above.

A binder soluble in water or hot water is used for the purpose of retaining the above fibers of the web. As a material, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or the like is preferable,
There is no particular limitation. The method may be such that a fibrous material is mixed in a slurry, the web is formed, then the web is impregnated in a binder solution, or both are used in combination.

The content of the binder is preferably in the range of 1 to 10% by weight based on the weight of the wet nonwoven fabric obtained by the wet papermaking method. If the content is less than 1% by weight, the sheet strength is low, the handling of the sheet is difficult, and post-processing cannot be performed. If it exceeds 10% by weight, a large water pressure is required for confounding, which is not preferable. Also confounding
Is insufficient and delamination occurs between layers.

The thus-prepared slurry is formed by wet papermaking, and the formed web can be dried by a normal drying method using a Yankee dryer, a multi-cylinder cylinder dryer, an air dryer, or the like. . The present invention aims at obtaining a spunlace nonwoven fabric having a good formation.
In order to achieve this, it is necessary to obtain a wet nonwoven fabric that is as good as possible, and it is necessary to lower the slurry concentration during papermaking, and it is preferable to increase the suction at the wire part. There is no restriction on the basis weight, but 70
g / m ² or less is preferred.

Comparing the case where the entanglement is carried out on the machine and the case where the entanglement is carried out with the off-machine after the papermaking, the web is maintained only in the form of water through the fiber between the fibers in the on-machine. The fiber used in the invention has a fiber diameter of 1 to 5
The fineness is as small as μm, and the fibers are two-dimensionally displaced by the water flow, causing a deterioration in formation. In contrast, in the off-machine is fixed through the binder fiber textiles, the reduction in the formation by a water less.

Further, when controlling the basis weight of the nonwoven fabric of the present invention on-machine, it is necessary to cope with it by changing the papermaking conditions, and it is difficult to stably supply a web having a good formation. On the other hand, in the off-machine, the basis weight can be easily controlled by forming a sheet having a low basis weight at a high speed and changing the number of laminated sheets.

The papermaking speed in the wet papermaking method is 500 m /
Minutes or more are possible, while spunlace is at most 100-200m / min.
Since the processing part in the spun lace is the rate-determining stage, the on-machine is not advantageous in terms of productivity.

In the present invention, L / D is 2000 <
(L / D) ≦ 6000 and the fiber diameter is as thin as 1-5 μm. It is easy to entangle the fibers in the web by post-processing with high-pressure water flow. It is.

A single layer or a plurality of layers of the wet nonwoven fabric thus obtained can be laminated, and the sheets can be entangled with a high-pressure water flow. The diameter of the nozzle for driving the water flow is 10 to 500 μm in order to perform the confounding firmly and keep the formation good.
The range of m is preferred. Nozzle spacing is 10 to 1500 μ
m is preferred.

These nozzles are oriented at right angles to the papermaking direction.
It is necessary to have a range that covers the width of the sheet to be processed,
For the papermaking direction, web type, basis weight, processing speed,
In consideration of the water pressure, the number of nozzle heads can be changed and used as long as sufficient confounding can be obtained.

The water pressure is preferably used in the range of 10 to 250 kg / cm ² . More preferably, 50 to 250
kg / cm ² . The processing speed is preferably used in the range of 15 to 200 m / s.

The water pressure can be gradually increased from the initial stage to the final stage of processing, and is preferable in that the surface quality is improved. Further, the nozzle diameter and / or the nozzle interval can be sequentially reduced, which is also preferable in that the surface quality of the spunlace nonwoven fabric is improved. Further, it is possible to further improve the surface quality by rotating the head of the nozzle or oscillating the wire left and right.

The confounding method can be performed on one side only or on both sides. Further, after the entanglement is performed, the sheets can be further laminated to perform the entanglement.

Although the sheets before entanglement contain a binder component, most of them elute during the entanglement process. However, when the water flow is weak, or when the binder component is further removed, it is possible to extract the binder component by passing the web through water or hot water before and / or after the entanglement.

To reiterate, in the present invention, in order to produce a spunlaced nonwoven fabric which is uniform and has good formation, the formation of the wet nonwoven fabric has a great effect. Therefore, the slurry concentration is preferably as low as possible. Therefore, even when obtaining a spunlace nonwoven fabric having a large basis weight, a low basis weight wet nonwoven fabric that can be easily produced even with a thin slurry is produced by adding a binder soluble in water or hot water, and then laminated and subjected to high pressure water treatment. By doing
A uniform and well-formed spunlace nonwoven fabric can be produced.

Of course, it is possible to entangle the sheet with another nonwoven fabric such as a dry nonwoven fabric, a pulp sheet, or a wet nonwoven fabric containing fibers outside the scope of the present invention from one side or both sides. Needless to say, it should not be in a range that hinders the purpose of the above.

The web thus obtained and subjected to three-dimensional entanglement is obtained by removing excess moisture by a method such as suction or wet pressing, and then using an air dryer, an air through dryer, a suction drum dryer or the like. It is preferable to perform drying by a drying method that does not form a nip in the thickness direction of the web during drying.

The spun lace nonwoven fabric with good formation of the present invention obtained by the above method can be subjected to post-processing such as bending, resin impregnation, and water-repellent processing. Performance can be imparted.

As the use of the spun lace nonwoven fabric of the present invention having good formation, medical and sanitary materials can be considered. Rich in drapability, especially because the fiber diameter is as fine as 1-5 μm,
It is soft and comfortable and has excellent barrier properties.
It is suitable for applications such as masks and surgical gowns.

Further, despite the fact that the fiber diameter is fine,
It is suitable for use as a liquid or gas filter because it has good air permeability, and is subjected to a water-repellent treatment with a water-repellent agent to improve liquid barrier properties.

Further, since it has a good texture and good texture, it is suitable for artificial leather, especially for use as a base material for high-quality suede-like artificial leather.

[0051]

The spunlaced nonwoven fabric of the present invention comprises fibers having a specific fiber diameter and L / D ratio. This is a novel nonwoven fabric having extremely good formation, excellent drapeability, good touch, good texture, good air permeability, and high strength, and at the same time, contradicting performance.

[0052]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.
All parts and percentages described in the examples are by weight. The fineness indicates an approximate value.
The fiber length and the fiber diameter represent the average fiber length and the average fiber diameter, respectively.

The rigidity shown in the examples is JIS-L1
The measurement was performed using the 45-degree cantilever method described in No. 096, and the average value in the vertical and horizontal directions was shown. As air permeability, JIS-B99
The pressure loss was measured at a wind speed of 5.3 cm / sec according to Model No. 08.

The formation of the non-woven fabric was visually evaluated on a scale of 4 in which ◎ was very good, 良 い was good, △ was slightly bad, and x was bad.

Example 1 97 parts of polyethylene terephthalate fiber having a fineness of 0.1 denier and a fiber length of 7 mm (fiber diameter 3 μm, L / D = 2333), hot water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol fiber having a fineness of 1 denier and a fiber length of 3 mm (VPB103) , Manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.)
Three parts were impregnated with a 1% nonionic dispersant solution. This was put into water and gently stirred by a reciprocating rotary stirrer (Agitator, manufactured by Shimazaki Seisakusho). Then immediately,
A 0.1% solution of polyacrylamide was mixed and subsequently gently stirred. Thus, a uniform slurry was prepared. Using the slurry was paper width 50 cm, a basis weight of 20 g / ^{m 2} polyethylene terephthalate wet-laid nonwoven fabric in Fourdrinier.

Four wet nonwoven fabrics were laminated, and entangled with a columnar water flow using a nozzle head of 3 heads. The nozzle of the first head has a nozzle diameter of 120 μm, a nozzle interval of 1.2 mm,
Two rows have a water pressure of 100 kgf / cm ² , the second head has a nozzle diameter of 120 μm, a nozzle interval of 0.6 mm, and a single row has a water pressure of 10 μm.
0 kgf / cm ² , the third head has a nozzle diameter of 100 μm,
Nozzle spacing 0.6 mm, water pressure 120 kgf / cm in one row
² . A 100-mesh support made of stainless steel was placed under the laminated nonwoven fabric, and passed through the laminated nonwoven fabric under the above-mentioned water flow to entangle the fibers and elute the polyvinyl alcohol binder. Similarly, the same processing was performed on the back surface. The confounding speed was 20 m / min. Using a suction through dryer, the entangled sheet is
Drying was carried out at ℃, and a spunlace nonwoven fabric having a good formation, which was the object of the present invention, could be obtained.

Example 2 A spun lace nonwoven fabric of the present invention having a good formation was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the fiber length was changed to 10 mm (L / D = 3333). The void diameter of this nonwoven fabric was determined as a maximum diameter and an average diameter by a bubble point method and a mean flow point method described in ASTM F-316. Maximum diameter is 40.6 μm, average diameter is 15.5 μm
m. Further, the collection efficiency of 0.3 μm DOP (dioctyl phthalate) aerosol measured at the same wind speed as the pressure loss measurement was 28.5%.

Example 3 A spun lace nonwoven fabric of the present invention having a good formation was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the fiber length was changed to 15 mm (L / D = 5000).

Comparative Example 1 A spun lace nonwoven fabric was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the fiber length was changed to 3 mm (L / D = 1000). Since this nonwoven fabric has a small L / D and a short fiber length, sufficient confounding cannot be obtained and the strength is low. In addition, the surface quality and formation were disturbed by the water current.

Comparative Example 2 A spun lace nonwoven fabric was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the fiber length was changed to 20 mm (L / D = 6667).

Before the entanglement, the wet nonwoven fabric made by a paper machine had many undisintegrated portions and bundles of fibers. This is considered to be due to the difficulty in disintegrating the fibers and the entanglement of the fibers during stirring. Due to this, the entanglement was insufficient and the woven fabric after entanglement had low strength, and furthermore had poor formation and surface quality.

Comparative Example 3 A web having a basis weight of 80 g / m ² was formed by using the fiber of L / D = 3000 of Example 2 without using a binder, and entangled on an on-machine under the same conditions as in Example 1. The spun lace nonwoven fabric was obtained.

In this nonwoven fabric, as described above, the web only maintained its shape through water between the fibers, and the water flow treatment caused disturbance between the fibers, resulting in poor formation. Also,
At the time of papermaking, when the web having a basis weight of 80 g / m ² was visually observed, unevenness in formation was also observed here.

Example 4 A wet nonwoven fabric was obtained in the same manner as in Example 2. The wet nonwoven fabric is used in a single layer, and the confounding conditions are the first head, the second head,
The water pressure of the third head is 50/50 / 70kgf /
to cm ^2, and except that the entangled surface only on one side performs the same process as in Example 1, it was possible to obtain a good spunlace nonwoven formation.

Example 5 The entangled web of Example 2 was passed through water at 60 ° C.
The binder component was extracted. Subsequent operations were performed in the same manner as in Example 2. A spun lace nonwoven fabric with a good formation, which was the object of the present invention, could be obtained.

Comparative Example 4 Fineness: 1 denier (fiber diameter: 10 μm), fiber length: 51 mm
A spunlace nonwoven fabric was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that (L / D = 5100).

In the wet nonwoven fabric produced by the paper machine, many undisintegrated portions of fibers and binding were observed. Although L / D is within the range of the present invention, it is considered that the fiber diameter is large, the fiber length is long, the fiber is difficult to disintegrate, and the fibers are entangled during stirring. As a result, the entanglement of the spunlace nonwoven fabric was insufficient, and the formation, touch, and texture were poor, and the drapability was poor.

Example 6 97 parts of acrylic fiber (fiber diameter: 3.5 μm, L / D = 2860) having a fineness of 0.1 denier and a fiber length of 10 mm, and hot water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol fiber (VPB103) having a fineness of 1 denier and a length of 3 mm , Kuraray Co., Ltd.) was impregnated with a 1% solution of an anionic dispersant. This was put into water and gently stirred with a reciprocating stirrer (Agitator, manufactured by Shimazaki Seisakusho). Then, a 0.1% solution of polyacrylamide was immediately mixed, followed by gentle stirring. Thus, a uniform slurry was prepared. Using this slurry, an acrylic wet nonwoven fabric having a width of 50 cm and a basis weight of 20 g / m ² was made by a fourdrinier method.

The confounding conditions were the same as in Example 1. Drying was carried out at 100 ° C. using a suction through dryer, and a spunlace nonwoven fabric having a good formation and intended for the present invention could be obtained. The maximum diameter of this nonwoven fabric is 49.
The average diameter was 19.1 μm.

Example 7 97 parts of polypropylene fiber (fiber diameter 4 μm, L / D = 2500) having a fineness of 0.1 denier and a fiber length of 10 mm, and hot water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol fiber (VPB103, Kuraray having a fineness of 1 denier and a length of 3 mm) 3 parts) was impregnated with a 1% nonionic dispersant solution. This was put into water and gently stirred with a reciprocating stirrer (Agitator, manufactured by Shimazaki Seisakusho). Then, a 0.1% solution of polyacrylamide was immediately mixed, followed by gentle stirring. Thus, a uniform slurry was prepared. Using the slurry was paper width 50 cm, a basis weight of 20 g / ^{m 2} polypropylene wet-laid nonwoven fabric in Fourdrinier.

The confounding conditions are the first head, the second head, and the third head.
Head pressure of 120, 140, 150kg respectively
The procedure was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that f / cm ² was used. Dry using a suction through dryer, 100
C., the spunlaced nonwoven fabric of the present invention having a good formation was obtained. The maximum diameter of this nonwoven fabric was 49.2 μm, and the average diameter was 21.9 μm.

Comparative Example 5 Polyethylene terephthalate fiber 90 used in Example 1
And 10 parts of a core-sheath type polyester binder fiber having a denier of 2 denier and a fiber length of 5 mm (sheath part melting point: 110 ° C., melty: 4080 type, manufactured by Unitika Ltd.). And dried at 110 ° C. to obtain a wet nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 80 g / m ² .

Although the fiber length is within the range of the present invention, since it was produced only by the wet papermaking method, it became a nonwoven fabric having a high density and tightness, and was inferior in texture and drapability. In addition, despite the use of a binder fiber having a large fiber diameter and a melted portion having only a surface portion (sheath portion) as a binder, air permeability is also higher than that of the spunlace nonwoven fabric of the present invention.
Was inferior.

[0074]

[Table 1]

[0075]

The fiber diameter is 1 to 5 μm, 2000 <(L /
D) The spunlace nonwoven fabric in which short fibers of ≦ 6000 are three-dimensionally entangled has a good texture, excellent drapability, and good air permeability. These are realized for the first time with a well-formed spunlaced nonwoven fabric produced by the specific method of the present invention, and the nonwoven fabric of the present invention is a completely new nonwoven fabric which has never existed before.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-191759 (JP, A) JP-A-2-229253 (JP, A) JP-A-2-234965 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) D04H 1/48 D21H 25/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] The fiber diameter is 1 to 5 μm, and the ratio (L / D) of the fiber length (L) to the fiber diameter (D) is 2000 <(L
/ D) The fibers satisfying ≦ 6000 are made into sheets by a wet papermaking method.
Spunlaced nonwoven fabric that has been formed and is three-dimensionally entangled with water flow . 2. The fiber diameter is 1 to 5 μm, and the ratio (L / D) of fiber length (L) to fiber diameter (D) is 2000 <(L
/ D) A binder soluble in water or hot water is imparted to the fiber satisfying ≦ 3500, formed into a sheet by a wet papermaking method, and then the sheet is laminated in a single layer or two or more layers, and the binder component is eluted by a high-pressure water flow. A method for producing a well-formed spunlace nonwoven fabric, wherein fibers are three-dimensionally entangled.