1.

1 Nonwovens: What are they

Introduction to nonwovens
Nonwovens are known as engineered fabrics. They are created with a view to
  targeted structure and properties by applying a set of scientific principles for a
variety of applications.
Nonwovens are manufactured by high-speed and low-cost processes. As compared
  to the traditional woven and knitting technology, a larger volume of materials can
be produced at a lower cost by using nonwoven technology.
The manufacturing principles of nonwovens are manifested in a unique way based
on the technologies of creation of textiles, papers, and plastics (Figure 1.1), as a
 
result, the structure and properties of nonwovens resemble, to a great extent, to
those of three materials.

Figure 1.1
Nonwovens are already found in many applications, but most are hidden and you
 
do not
 

Figure 1.2
see them. Figure 1.2 displays a few products prepared by using nonwovens. The
 
readers are suggested to identify these products and their applications.
  The most common products made with nonwovens listed by INDA include:
   Disposable nappies
 Sanitary napkins and tampons
 Sterile wraps, caps, gowns, masks, and curtains used in the medical field
 Household and personal wipes
 Laundry aids (fabric dryer-sheets)
 Apparel interlinings
 Carpeting and upholstery fabrics, padding and backing
 Wall coverings
 Agricultural coverings and seed strips
  Automotive headliners and upholstery
 Filters
 Envelops
 Tags
 Labels
 Insulation
 House wraps
 Roofing products
 Civil engineering fabrics/geotextiles

Definitions of nonwovens
Nonwovens are defined in many ways by different standards and different associations.
They are stated below.
As per ISO 9092, nonwoven is defined as “manufactured sheet, web or batt of
directionally or randomly oriented fibers, bonded by friction, and/or cohesion and/or
adhesion, excluding paper and products which are woven, knitted, tufted, stitch-bonded
incorporating binding yarns or filaments or felted by wet-milling, whether or not
additionally needled. The fibers may be of natural or man-made origin. They may be
staple or continuous filaments or be formed in situ.
Note: To distinguish wet-laid nonwovens from wet-laid papers, a material shall be
regarded as a nonwoven if
(a) more than 50 % by mass of its fibrous content is made up of fibers (excluding
chemically digested vegetable fibers) with a length to diameter ratio greater than 300;
or, if the conditions in a) do not apply, then
(b) If the following conditions are fulfilled:
more than 30 % by mass of its fibrous content is made up of fibers (excluding
chemically digested vegetable fibers) with a length to diameter ratio greater than 300
and its density is less than 0.40 g/cm 3.”
The aforesaid definition of nonwoven, given by ISO 9092, has been adapted by CEN
(EN 29092), and consequently by DIN, AFNOR, and all standardization offices in the
EU.
But, ASTM prefers to define nonwoven as “a textile structure produced by bonding or
interlocking of fibers, or both, accomplished by mechanical, chemical, thermal, or
solvent means, and combinations thereof.
Today, there are two leading associations of nonwovens in the world, namely EDANA
(The European Disposables and Nonwovens Association) and INDA (The North
America’s Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry). They have been the voice of
the nonwoven industries in Europe and North America, respectively. Nonwovens are
defined by them as well. Though EDANA has adopted the ISO 9092 or CEN 29092
definition of nonwoven. but, INDA prefers to define nonwovens in another way.
According to INDA, “Nonwoven fabrics are broadly defined as sheet or web structures
bonded together by entangling fiber or filaments (and by perforating films)
mechanically, thermally or chemically. They are flat, porous sheets that are made
directly from separate fibers or from molten plastic or plastic film. They are not made
by weaving or knitting and do not require converting the fibers to yarn.”
It is quite interesting to note that these definitions include raw materials, structures, and
manufacturing processes employed to prepare nonwovens. However, there is no unique
definition of nonwovens found to exist in the world.

1.3 Nonwovens: How are they created?

Basic nonwoven processes
Let us take that the nonwoven manufacturing technology that produces fibre-based
nonwovens generally consists of four basic nonwoven processes namely, fibre
preparation process, web formation process, web bonding process and finishing
process. A brief summary of the nonwoven processes is illustrated in Figure 1.21.

Figure 1.21
The fibre preparation process prepares fibres for web formation process. It includes
fibre opening and mixing and fibre feeding to carding machine or air-lay machine. The
web formation process, as the name implies, indicates those processes that disperses
the fibres or filaments to form a sheet or web and also stacks the webs to form multi-
layered webs, sometimes called as batts. The web bonding processes imparts integrity
to the web and the resulting material is often called as fabrics. Often, the fabrics
undergo mechanical or chemical finishing or both in order to achieve enhanced
properties and appearance.
As expected, these processes along with the choice of fibres determine the structures
and properties of the nonwoven fabrics. It is often said that the nonwoven fabrics are
engineered in a unique way by the nonwoven technology employed and the fibre
materials used so as to offer a set of targeted properties. Here, the word technology
implies a system of sequence of basic processes. As a nonwoven technologist, it is
imperative to learn how these basic processes can be arranged to engineer a wide
spectrum of nonwoven fabrics for a wide variety of applications.
Process augmentations
Often the technology of nonwovens is implied by the name of the nonwoven materials
which are prepared by utilizing a particular sequence of basic nonwoven processes [1].
For example, carded nonwovens refer to a technology in which the staple fibres
undergo a sequence of opening and mixing process, followed by web formation by
carding processes, and then followed by adhesive bonding or thermal bonding.
Similarly, perpendicular-laid nonwovens refer to a technology in which the staple
fibres undergo a sequence of opening and mixing process, followed by web formation
by carding processes, and then web stacking by perpendicular-lay process and finally
followed by through-air thermal bonding process. In a similar manner, air-laid
nonwovens refer to a technology in which the staple fibres undergo a sequence of
opening and mixing process, followed by web formation by air-lay processes, and then
followed by thermal bonding or adhesive bonding. In the same vein, wet-laid
nonwovens refer to a technology in which the staple fibres undergo a sequence of
opening and mixing process, followed by web formation by wet-lay processes, and
then followed by adhesive bonding or thermal bonding. In these cases, the web
formation processes tend to give the name to the technology.
In contrast, the needle-punch technology often refers to systems in which the staple
fibres, taken from bales, are opened, carded by using roller top card or flat top card,
cross-lapped to achieve the desired basis weight of the final web (batt), passed through
a needle loom for bonding and then given a finishing treatment. Similarly,
hydroentanglement technology refers to a system in which the staple fibres are opened
and formed into a web by using air-lay technology, and finally bonded by
hydroentanglement machine. To enhance the properties of fabrics for specific end-uses,
an additional step of resin bonding, drying, and curing may follow; one may think of
this as a finishing process. Note that the hydroentanglement technology is also called as
spunlace technology. In these cases, the web bonding processes tend to give the name
to the technology.
The next set of technologies was developed as a combination of at least polymer
preparation process, web formation process, and web bonding process. We refer to
spunbond technology and meltblown technology. In these technologies, the
characteristics of the polymers used and the principles of the processes followed are
highly different; as a result, the structures and the properties of the resulting
nonwovens are very much different, which demands for different applications of these
nonwovens.
In this course, we will first focus on the nonwoven technologies that are relevant to
staple fibre nonwovens. Then we will focus on polymer-extrusion based nonwoven
technologies namely, spunbond technology and meltblown technology.
Note that in recent years many attempts are made to develop new nonwoven
technologies by combing these processes in a unique way, for example, Evolon
technology, Coform technology, SMS technology, etc. These technologies are often
described as composite nonwoven technologies, which are, however, beyond the scope
of this course.

3.1.1 Needlepunching process

Principle

Needlepunching is a nonwoven process by which the fibres are mechanically entangled

to produce a nonwoven fabric by repeated penetration of barbed needles through a
preformed dry fibrous web. The machine which accomplishes this process is known as
needle loom. Figure 3.1 displays the schematic diagram of a needle loom. The fibrous
web, which is unbonded and therefore thick and voluminous, is fed to the machine by a
pair of feed rollers.

Figure 3.1
It then goes to the working zone of the machine and passes in-between a pair of
perforated bed plates. The needles are arranged in a needle board in width-wise rows.
The needle board is mounted on a beam which is given an up and down reciprocating
motion by means of an eccentric crank mechanism. In the down stroke mode, the
needles descend through the perforations of the top bed plate, through the web, and
through the perforations of the bottom bed plate. During the upstroke, the barbed
needles withdraw upwards and the bed plate strips the web off the needles. As a result,
the fibres are mechanically interlocked, thereby providing the mechanical strength. The
needle bonded nonwoven is delivered by a pair of delivery rollers.

Needle

Needles are the heart of the needlepunching process. The schematic diagram of a
typical needle is shown in Figure 3.2. As shown, a needle has the following parts:
crank, shank, taper, blade, barb, and point. The shank locates in the hole in the
needleboard and the crank is clamped between upper surface of the needleboard and
the needlebeam, thus holding it firmly and vertically aligned in the loom. Traditionally,
the cross-section of a needle is triangular and carries a total of nine barbs, three per
apex. The dimensions of the barbs and their relative arrangement vary depending on
the application and machine operation.

Applications

Today the needle-bonded nonwovens are finding a wide variety of applications,

including geosynthetics, filter media, synthetic leather, waddings and paddings, floor
coverings, automotive fabrics, insulation, blankets, wipes, roofing, etc.
3.1.2 Hydroentanglement process

Principle

Hydroentanglement, spunlacing, hydraulic entanglement, and water jet needling are

synonymous terms describing the process of mechanically bonding the fibres in a web
by means of high energy water jets. The machine which accomplishes this is known as
hydroentanglement or spunlace machine. The basic elements of this machine are shown
in Figure 3.10. A series of multiple high pressure columnar water jets is produced by
pumping water through a series of fine nozzles in a jet strip clamped into an injector
(manifold). The high velocity water jets are directed to the unbonded web, which is
supported on a moving perforated conveyor. The conveyor may have a flat bed surface
or cylindrical surface. The entanglement among the fibres is introduced by the
combined effects of the incident water jets and the turbulent water created in the web
which intertwines neighbouring fibres. The conveyor sleeve being permeable enables
most of the de-energised water to be drawn into the vacuum box for recycling and
reuse.

Figure 3.10
Selection of fibres

Both natural fibres and synthetic fibres are used in hydroentanglement process. The
wood pulp is often blended with staple fibres and used in hydroentanglement process.
Viscose fibre has been found to be mostly used. The important fibre properties for this
process have been fibre flexural rigidity and fibre hydrophilicity. Viscose rayon has a
low wet modulus and this partly explains the ease with which this fibre can be
hydroentangled as compared to polypropylene fibres that have higher modulus. As the
coarser fibres offer higher flexural rigidity as compared to the finer fibres, the former
require more hydroentagling energy as compared to the latter in order to have the same
degree of bonding. Effective hydroentanglement requires uniform and rapid wetting of
the web. That is why the manmade fibres are often treated with hydrophilic finishes
before hydroentanglement.

Critical process factors

The critical process factors of the hydroentanglement process are specific energy and
jet impact force.

Specific energy is defined as the energy expended per unit time for unit mass of fabric
processed per unit time. As the hydroenglement process deals with transfer of kinetic
energy from the water jets to the web, the specific energy is very important in deciding
the degree of bonding of fibres. It is possible to derive the following expression of
specific energy

Nozzle

The nozzles used in hydroentanglement process are capillary cone nozzles, where the
nozzles are usually operated in the cone-down rather than the cone-up position. This
type of nozzles is known as cone-down nozzle. Besides the cone-down nozzle there are
cone-up and cylindrical nozzles available. Figure 3.11 shows the geometry of these
three nozzles. It is of interest to know the discharge coefficient of the nozzles and the
resulting break-up length of the jets.

Figure 3.11
Discharge coefficient is defined by the ratio of the actual mass flow rate to the ideal
mass flow rate of water. Break-up length is defined by the length of jet at which it
breaks after exiting from the nozzle. The higher is the break-up length, the higher is the
energy transmitted to the web. The cone-up nozzle has a remarkably higher discharge
coefficient than the cone-down and cylindrical nozzles. This can be explained by the
natural consequence of the geometry of the nozzles. The images of the jets after exiting
from the three different nozzles for different pressures are displayed in Figure 3.12 [1]

The break-up length profile of these nozzles is displayed in Figure 3.13. It can se seen
that the break-up length of the cone-down nozzle is the lowest among the three nozzles.
At lower pressure, the break-up length of the cone-down and cylindrical nozzles is
practically the same, but at higher pressure the cone-down nozzle shows higher break-
up length than the cylindrical nozzle. This can be explained by the constricted water jet
issued from the cone-down nozzle, while the water jet issued from the cone-up nozzle
is non-constricted. In constricted jet, water is in contact with the ambient air and not
the orifice wall, but in non-constricted jet, water is in contact with the orifice wall.

Web support system

The webs in the working field of the hydroentanglement machine are supported by
forming wires whose surface topography has a direct influence on the appearance of
final product.

Jet streak

One of the major problems associated with the quality of the hydroentangled nonwoven
is related to the jet marks or jet strip. This is undesirable as it spoils the aesthetic
appearance of the fabric and reduces the mechanical properties of the fabric. This effect
can be reduced by having the staggered arrangement of the nozzles having one row
with higher nozzle diameter and other row with lower nozzle diameter.

Applications

The hydroentangled nonwovens are used in a wide variety of applications, including

wipes, surgical fabrics, medical gauge, filter cloths, artificial leather, automotive
fabrics, linings and clothes, etc.
 THERMAL BONDING

Introduction
It is known that the fibres in the webs can be bonded thermally in order to have sufficient resistance to
mechanical deformation. The basic concept of thermal bonding was introduced by Reed in 1942. He
described a process in which a web consisting of thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibres was
made and then heated to the melting or softening temperature of the constituent thermoplastic fibres
followed by cooling or solidify the bonding area. Since then many developments have been made in
thermal bonding processes. Today the thermal bonding processes include calender bonding, through-
air bonding, infrared bonding, and ultrasonic bonding. Thermal bonding requires a thermoplastic
component to be present in the web in the form of homofil fibre, powder, film, hot melt or as a part
(sheath) of bicomponent fibre. The thermoplastic component becomes viscous under the application
of thermal energy. The polymer flows to fibre-to-fibre crossover points where bonding regions are
formed. The bonding regions are fixed by subsequent cooling. The thermal bonding process is
environmental-friendly, as no latex binder is required. The thermal bonding process consumes less
energy compared to foam bonding or hydroentanglement bonding.
Principle of thermal bonding
The formation of a bond during thermal bonding follows in sequence through three critical steps:
(1) heating the web to partially melt the crystalline region,
repetition of the newly released chain segments across the fibre-fibre
(2)
interface, and
subsequent cooling of the web to re-solidify it and to trap the chain
(3)
segments that diffused across the fibre-fibre interface.
The time scales for these processes closely match commercial practice.
The formation of a bond requires partial melting of the crystals to permit chain relaxation and
diffusion. If, during bonding, the temperatures are too low or if the roll speeds are too high, the
polymer in the mid-plane of the web does not reach a high enough temperature to release a sufficient
number of chains or long enough chain segments from the crystalline regions. Thus, there will be very
few chains spanning the fibre-fibre interface, the bond itself will be weak, and the bonds can be easily
pulled out or ruptured under load, as observed. Under-bonding occurs when there are an insufficient
number of chain ends in the molten state at the interface between the two crossing fibres or there is
insufficient time for them to diffuse across the interface to entangle with chains in the other fibre.
Over-bonding occurs when melting occurs and many chains have diffused across the interface and a
solid, strong bond has been formed. If the web reaches a sufficient temperature, many chains or chain
segments are released from the crystal, repeat across the fibre-fibre interface, and form a strong bond.
The fibres within the bond spot have lost their orientation and their strength. At the same time, the
polymer chains within the fibres located in the vicinity of the bond also lose some of their molecular
orientation (and strength) at the fibre-bond interface.
In well-bonded webs, failure occurs at the bond periphery because the bridging fibres are weak in the
region adjacent to the bond, but strong elsewhere. If the bridging fibres have the same strength over
their entire length, including the region at the bond periphery, better load sharing would lead to a
stronger web.
Raw materials
The thermal bonding processes utilize either thermoplastic fibres alone or blends containing fibres
that are not intended to soften or flow on heating. The non-binder fibre components may be referred
to as the base fibres or sometimes, carrier fibres. Commercially, a variety of base fibres are used. The
binder fibre component normally ranges from 5-50 % on weight of the fibre depending on the targeted
properties of the final product made thereupon.
The base fibres can be of natural or synthetic or mineral or metallic origin. The binder fibres can be
momocomoponent (homofil) like polyester (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), and
polyethylene (PE) and bicomponent (sheath-core) like PE/PET, PE/PP, and CoPET/PET. Looking at
the thermal bonding process, it is important to note down the melting temperature of these fibres.
Calender bonding process
In thermal calender bonding process, the fibrous web containing thermoplastic fibres is passed
through a heated calender nip that is created by two rolls (cylinders) pressed against each other
(Figure 3.15).

Figure 3.15
One or both rolls are heated internally to a temperature that usually exceeds the melting point
temperature of the binder fibres to ensure there is sufficient hear transfer to induce softening at the
prevailing line speed. As the web passes between the calender nip, fibres are heated and compressed.
This causes the binder fibres to become soft and tacky and induces polymer flow in and around the
base fibres. The fluid polymer tends to collect at the fibre crossover or contact points and bonding
sites are formed. Cooling leads to solidification of the polymer and bonding.
Types of calender roller
There exist two types of calender rollers, that is, embossed calender and flat calender. These calender
rollers are shown in Figure 3.17.
 Figure 3.17
It is generally known that the point bonding results in softer fabric and the area bonding results
in stiffer fabric.
Heating arrangement
The roll surfaces are heated from inside by direct electrical heat or through the use of heated oil.
Heated oil is preferred because it leads to more uniform temperature distribution along the nip. In
some configurations a fixed quantity of oil is sealed inside the roll and it is heated electrically.
Thermal inertia of internally heated systems with or without oil is generally high. As a result heating
by circulating oil systems is much preferred. The calender roll systems must be so designed as to
provide very uniform temperature and nip pressure profiles all along the nip length. This is an
engineering challenge of major proportions. As a result the technology of making rolls for calender
bonding is quite complex.
Critical process parameters
The critical process parameters of thermal calender bonding process are roller temperature, roller
nip pressure, and contact time.
Roller temperature should be adjusted in such a way that the “sintering” of fibre surfaces can be
achieved while avoiding complete fibre melting and film formation. Increasing bonding temperature
up to a certain point increases the tensile properties of the fabric due to the formation of well-
developed bonding structure. Further increase in temperature reduces the tensile properties which may
be attributed to the loss of fibre integrity and the formation of film like spot as well as the reduction in
load transfer from fibre to bonding point. Over-bonding of this kind leads to “popping” of the
structure under tensile load as the fabric fails at the bond locations.
AIR BONDING
Process description
Figure 3.19 displays the schematic diagram of the through-air bonding machine. The main
component of this system is an air permeable drum with a high open area onto which the web is
transferred and supported by a travelling/carrying wire.

Figure 3.20
The perforated drum is covered with a hood from where the heat is delivered; the hot air is drawn
through the web cross-section by means of a suction fan.
Types of through-air bonding machine
Generally three types of through-air bonding machines are used. They are perforated drum though air
bonding machine, perforated conveyor (flat bed) through air bonding machine, and impingement (air
jetting) through air bonding machine.

Figure 3.21
Figure 3.20 shows the schematic diagram of a perforated drum though air bonding machine. Here the
web is carried by a permeable screen around a perforated drum enclosed in a chamber. The upper part
of the chamber serves as a plenum into which heated air is blown in. Inside the drum, there are baffles
covering the circumference except the portion through which heated air can be sucked in through the
fabric. The air suction is aided by suction boxes located inside the drum. The sucked-in air is then re-
heated and circulated back to the heating zone. This system is suitable for light weight webs of 10 g/m
2 to heavy but permeable webs up to 3000 g/m 2.
Figure 3.21 shows the schematic diagram of a perforated conveyor though air bonding machine. Here
the web to be bonded moves on a permeable support screen over a flat bed. Above the flat bed is a
plenum into which heated air is blown in. Below the flat bed are vacuum units which suck the heated
air from the plenum above, through the passing fabric over the flat bed. The air is circulated back into
the heating zone after re-heating. This system is particularly suitable for bulky, low-density webs
Figure 3.22 shows the schematic diagram of an impingement through-air bonding machine. In
impingement bonding, the web is carried over a permeable screen into an oven. In the oven are a
series of boxes (plenums) positioned across the web passage. Hot air is pumped into the boxes from
one end, the other being closed.

Figure 3.22
The lower surface of the box contains an evenly spaced series of nozzles through which jets of hot air
impinge on the surface of the web passing beneath. While some hot air may diffuse through the web
most of it is deflected in different directions on the surface. Maximum bonding occurs at the surface
and decreases as one goes into the thickness. In the case of denser webs, or to obtain symmetry of
bonding in the web, boxes containing nozzles may be placed below the web carrying screen. In these
cases, the nozzles are aimed upward so that hot air jets. This is mainly used for denser webs or webs
that must be bonded gently.
Infrared bonding process
Figure 3.23 shows the schematic diagram of an infrared bonding machine. The mechanism is thermal
radiation.
Ultrasonic bonding process
Figure 3.24 shows the schematic diagram of an ultrasonic bonding machine. Here the web is
compacted between an embossed patterned roller (anvil) and an ultrasonic horn.

Figure 3.24
horn is vibrated at a frequency of 20-40 KHz. The friction between horn and web surface heats fibers
above the raised points on the anvil. Mechanical energy is converted into thermal energy. This is
mostly used for joining nonwoven laminates.
CHEMICAL BONDING

Introduction
In chemical bonding, chemical binders (adhesive materials) are used to hold the fibers
together in a nonwoven fabric. Chemical binders are polymers that are formed by
emulsion polymerization. The mostly used binders today are water-borne latexes. They
are applied in a number of different ways to nonwovens and because of their viscosity
is close to that of water they can easily penetrate into nonwoven structure by emulsion.
After application of binder by, for example, immersion, they are dried and the water
evaporates. The binder then forms an adhesive film across or between fibre
intersections and fibre bonding takes place.
Chemical binders
There are various chemical binder polymers used including vinyl polymers and
copolymers, acrylic ester polymers and copolymers, rubber and synthetic rubber, and
natural binders, principally starch. These are usually applied in aqueous dispersions but
can be supplied as polymer solutions providing they have sufficiently low viscosity to
allow penetration into the web.
Commercially, latex polymers are the most commonly encountered binder because of
their availability, variety, versatility, ease of application, and cost-effectiveness. The
latex polymers are prepared by emulsion polymerization by controlled addition of
several components. These components include monomers (building block), water
(medium), initiator (decomposes to form free radicals to start the polymerization
process), surfactant (to prevent particle attraction and thus stabilize the emulsion
particles) and chain transfer agent (to control the final polymer molecular weight). The
process of latex formation starts with a distribution of monomer droplets in water,
stabilized by emulsifiers that have accumulated at the interface to the water phase. The
emulsifier molecules have the hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails. In Figure 3.25
the dot indicates the hydrophilic head and the line represents the hydrophobic tail of
emulsifier molecule. If the concentration of the emulsifier is above a critical value, a
spheroidal collection of them is formed. This is called micelle and it typically contains
about a hundred emulsifier molecules.
Methods of binder application
The most common methods of applying a binder to a dry-laid web are saturation,
foam, spray, and print bonding methods. For wet-laid nonwovens, most of the
same methods can be used but bonding must be applied after partial drying. For
printing, the web must be dry.
Saturation bonding process
Saturation chemical bonding involves complete immersion of the nonwoven web in a
bath containing binder. The excess binder can be removed by a pair of nip rolls. Figure
3.26 shows the basic methods of saturation using horizontal padding (a) and vertical
padding (b). The nonwoven web is guided through the saturation bath by rollers and
then presses between a pair of nip rolls to squeeze out excess liquid. The amount of
binder taken up by the nonwoven depends on the basis weight of the nonwoven, length
of time spent in the bath, wettability of the fibres and nip pressure. This method can
provide higher binder to fibre levels uniformly throughout the nonwoven. But as it
includes short wetting time, the method is more suitable for lightweight and highly
permeable nonwovens.
 Figure 3.26
This method also compresses the nonwoven web, hence reduces the thickness of
the ultimate fabric.
Foam bonding process
Figure 3.27 illustrates the foam bonding process. Here, air or water is used to dilute the
binder and as a mean to carry the binder to the fibres. One advantage of diluting
binder with air rather than with water is that drying is faster and energy cost is
reduced remarkably. Foam is generated mechanically and can be stabilized with a
stabilizing agent to prevent collapse during application.
 Figure 3.27
Foam can be applied so as to remain at the surface or can be made to penetrate all the
way through the fabric cross-section. One or two reciprocating foam spreaders are
commonly used to distribute the foam across the width of the fabric. The excess foam
is sucked through the porous portion of the fabric and the perforations of the web
carrying medium to the vacuum extractor as shown in Figure 3.27 The key advantage
of foam bonding is more efficiency drying and the ability to control fabric
softness. The disadvantages include the difficulty in achieving adequate foaming
and in controlling the process to give a uniform binder distribution. Sometimes,
non-stabilized foams, called froths, are formed.

Spray bonding process

Figure 3.28 illustrates a typical spray bonding process. Here the binder is sprayed onto
a moving web in fine droplet form through a system of nozzles, which can be statically
mounted across the machine or transverse from one side to the other side of the
machine. It is used to make highly porous and bulky products. This is possible because
the substrate does not need to pass between nip rollers.

Figure 3.28
The liquid is atomised by air pressure, hydraulic pressure, or centrifugal force and is
applied to the upper surfaces of the web. The depth of penetration of the binder into the
substrate depends on the wettability of the fibres, permeability of the web, and amount
of binder. The main advantage of this method is that the nonwoven is not
compressed and the original bulk and structure is retained. The disadvantages
include lack of control of the uniformity of spraying, poor binder penetration,
high level of overspray and waste, and possible lack of shear stability of the
binder.

Print bonding process

The print bonding process applies the binder only in predetermined areas as dictated by
the pattern of the printing surfaces. Figure 3.29 displays the print bonding process
where the latex is transferred to the web via feed roll and engraved roll. As the web
passes the engraved roll, it is pressed against the surface by a rubber roll, transferring
binder to the fabric.

Figure 3.29
The excess latex is removed by a doctor blade. This method is suitable only for
applying low levels of binder to the surface where a textile-like handle is needled.
Methods of drying
After the binder is applied, the web is dried to evaporate the latex carrier (water) and
allow the latex particles to bond the nonwovens. Crosslinking (if crosslinking groups
are present in the binder formulation) is usually carried out in the same dryer. During
drying, film forming or coagulation takes place as well as evaporation of the water and
cross-linking occurs. There are several types of dryers available such as drum dryer
(Figure 3.30a), flat belt dryer (Figure 3.30b), stenter-based dryer (Figure 3.30c), and
infrared dryer (Figure 3.30d).

Figure 3.30
In drum or belt drying, the web is guided over a perforated conveyor surface through
which hot air passes. Air is then withdrawn from the inside of the drum or through the
perforations of the belt and mostly reused. The fabric shrinkage is one of important
disadvantages of these methods. This can be overcome by stenter dryer. In infrared
dryer, water is marked absorbed by infrared energy as it rapidly converts water into
heat leading to evaporation. It requires less capital investment but high running cost.
They are often used for pre-dry the surface to prevent the coating of binder on the first
drum of a drum dryer and to coagulate the binder to prevent migration or post-dry the
surface to complete crosslinking.
Applications
The chemical bonding process is used to develop nonwovens used as wipes,
interlinings, hygiene and medical products, footwear, automotives, and homefurnishing
products.

4.1 Spunbond technology

The two important polymer-extrusion based technologies that are mainly used to
convert the molten polymer into nonwoven fabrics are spunbond technology and
meltblown technology.
4.1 Spunbond technology
In the spunbond technology, usually a thermoplastic fibre forming polymer is extruded
to form fine filaments fibres of around 15–35 micrometer diameter. The filaments are
attenuated collected on a conveyor belt in the form of a web. The filaments in web are
then bonded to make spunbond nonwoven fabric.
Raw materials
Spunbond technology uses preferably thermoplastic polymers with high molecular
weight and broad molecular weight distribution such as polypropylene (PP) and
polyester (PET) [1]. To a small extent, other polyolefins such as polyethylene of high
density (HDPE) and linear polyethylene of low density (LLDPE) as well as a variety of
polyamides (PA), mainly PA 6 and PA 6.6 are found. Out of these polymers,
polypropylene is mostly used primarily due to its low price and advantageous properties
such as low density, chemical resistance, hydrophobicity, sufficient or even better
strength. The fibre grade polypropylene (mainly isotactic) is the principal type of
polypropylene which is used in spunbond technology. The important raw material
parameters for polypropylene to be a suitable candidate for spunbond technology are
melt flow index (MFI) of about 20–40 g/10 min and polydispersity ratio (M w/M n) of
around 3.5–7.
Nowadays, the bicomponents are found in spunbond fabrics. The cross-section of these
bicomponent filaments has at least two different polymer components. Figure
4.1 shows different geometry of cross-sections of the bicomponent filaments.
Sometimes the bicomponent filaments are splitted or fibrillated into microfibres by
means of hydroentangling energy. The resulting fabrics are extremely soft, particularly
after finishing, and have therefore been considered for use in clothing, hygiene, and
medical dressing components. In addition, bicomponent fibres with eccentric sheath
core arrangement are used to develop crimp in spunlaid fabrics by differential thermal
shrinkage of the two polymer components.

Process sequence
Figure 4.1 displays a schematic diagram of spunbond machine. The spunbond
technology, in its simplest form, consists of four processes namely, spinning, drawing,
web formation, and web bonding. The spinning process largely corresponds to the
manufacture of synthetic fibre materials by melt-spinning process. In the drawing
process, the filaments are drawn in a tensionally locked way. The web formation
process forms a nonwoven web. Web bonding is generally possible by means of the
web bonding processes discussed earlier. The bonding process includes mainly thermal
calender bonding. Mechanical bonding and

Figure 4.1
chemical bonding of spunlaid webs are also reported. The sequence of processes is as
follows: polymer preparation ---> polymer feeding, melting, transportation and filtration
---> Extrusion ---> Quenching ---> Drawing ---> Laydown ---> Bonding ® Winding.
The first step to spunbond technology involves preparation of polymer. It involves
sufficient drying of the polymer pellets or granules and adequate addition of
stabilizers/additives. The drying of the polymer is carried out particularly for polyester
and polyamides as they are relatively high hygroscopic than polypropylene. The
stabilizers are often added to impart melt stability to the polymers. Then, the polymer
pellets or granules are fed to an extruder hopper by gravity-feeding. The pellets are then
supplied to an extruder screw, which rotates within the heated. As the pellets are
conveyed forward along the hot walls of the barrel between the flights of the screw, the
polymer moves along the barrel, it melts due to the heat and friction of the viscous flow
and the mechanical action between the screw and barrel. The screw is divided into feed,
transition, and metering zones. The feed zone preheats the polymer pellets in a deep
screw channel and conveys them into the transition zone. The transition zone has a
decreasing depth channel in order to compress and homogenize the melting plastic. The
melted polymer is discharged to the metering zone, which serves to generate maximum
pressure for pumping the molten polymer. The pressure of the molten polymer is
highest at this point and is controlled by the breaker plate with a screen pack placed
near the screw discharge. The screen pack and breaker plate also filter out dirt and
unmelted polymer lumps. The pressurized molten polymer is then conveyed to the
metering pump.
A positive displacement volume metering device is used for uniform melt delivery to
the die assembly. It ensures the consistent flow of clean polymer mix under process
variations in viscosity, pressure, and temperature. The metering pump also provides
polymer metering and the required process pressure. The metering pump typically has
two intermeshing, counter-rotating, toothed gears. The positive displacement is
accomplished by filling each gear tooth with polymer on the suction side of the pump
and carrying the polymer around to the pump discharge. The molten polymer from the
gear pump goes to the feed distribution system to provide uniform flow to the die
nosepiece in the die assembly.
The die assembly is one of the most important elements of the spunbond technology.
The die assembly has two distinct components: the polymer feed distribution section
and the spinneret.
The feed distribution in a spunbonding die is more critical than in a film or sheeting die
for two reasons. First, the spunbonding die usually has no mechanical adjustments to
compensate for variations in polymer flow across the die width. Second, the process is
often operated at a temperature range where thermal breakdown of polymers proceeds
rapidly. The feed distribution is usually designed in such a way that the polymer
distribution is less dependent on the shear sensitivity of the polymer. This feature
allows the processing of widely different polymeric materials using just one distribution
system. The feed distribution balances both the flow and the residence time across the
width of the die. There are basically two types of feed distribution that are employed in
the spunbonding die, the T-type (tapered and untapered) and the coat-hanger type. An
in-depth mathematical and design description of each type of feed distribution is given
by Mastubara [2-5]. The T-type feed distribution is widely used because it gives both
even polymer flow and even residence time across the full width of the die.
From the feed distribution channel the polymer melt goes directly to the spinneret. The
spinneret is one of the components of the die assembly. The web uniformity partially
hinges on the design and fabrication of the spinneret, therefore the spinneret in the
spunbonding process requires very close tolerances, which has continued to make their
fabrication very costly. A spinneret is made from a single block of metal having several
thousand drilled orifices or holes. The orifices or holes are bored by mechanical drilling
or electric discharge machining (EDM) in a certain pattern. The spinnerets are usually
circular or rectangular in shape. In commercial spunbonding processes, the objective is
usually to produce a wide web (of up to about 5 m), and therefore many spinnerets are
placed side by side to generate sufficient fibers across the width.21 The grouping of
spinnerets is often called a block or bank. In commercial production lines, two or more
blocks are used in tandem in order to increase the coverage of the filaments.
The proper integration of filament spinning, drawing, and deposition is critical in the
spunbonding process. The main collective function is to solidify, draw, and entangle the
extruded filaments from the spinneret and deposit them onto an air-permeable conveyor
belt or collector.
Filament drawing follows spinning. In conventional extrusion spinning, drawing is
achieved using one or more set of draw rollers. While roller drawing can certainly be
used in spunbonding, a specially designed aerodynamic device such as a Venturi tube is
commonly adopted.
Filament deposition follows the drawing step. Filament deposition is also frequently
achieved with the aid of a specially designed aerodynamic device referred to as a
fanning or entangler unit. The fanning unit is intended to cross or translate adjacent
filaments to increase cross-directional web.
Filament deposition follows the drawing step. Filament deposition is also frequently
achieved with the aid of a specially designed aerodynamic device referred to as a
fanning or entangler unit. The fanning unit is intended to cross or translate adjacent
filaments to increase cross-directional web
Figure 4.2a illustrates a system of filament formation. Here air as hot as melting
temperature emerges from closely to the nozzle holes, takes the filaments and draws
them. The emerging air, at the same time, intermingles with the ambient air. It uses
longitudinal spinnerets, with air slots on both sides for the expulsion of the drawing gas
‘1’ (primary air). The room air (secondary air) ‘2’ is carried along and after lay down of
the filaments, the air is removed by suction ‘3’. This process is well suited for tacky
polymers, such as linear polyurethene. The continuous filaments after web collection
bond themselves (self-bond) at their crossover points due to their inherent tackiness.
Crystallization, which then sets in, subsequently eliminates the stickiness of the
filaments after bonding.
 Figure 4.2
Figure 4.2b describes another system. Here the emerging air and the filaments are
taken to a drawing channel. Blowing in additional pressed air the drawing effect can be
realized. It uses higher draw ratio, which results in increased molecular orientation of
filaments. Filaments are drawn with several air or gas streams using drawing conduits.
The air is removed by suction ‘4’ after the web is formed.
Figure 4.2c depicts one more system. Here the cooling and drawing air are separated. It
operates with regular cooling duct ‘1’ and drawing jet ‘3’. The drawing and cooling
arrangements can be operated to give very high spinning speeds with the result that
highly oriented filaments are produced. The room air ‘2’, of controlled temperature and
moisture content, can be entrained to control the development of filament properties.
The air is removed by suction ‘4’ after web formation.
Figure 4.2d illustrates another system that has a mechanical drawing step ‘2’ between
the spinneret and lay down zones. This route is similar to conventional spinning and is
especially useful for polymers, which in regular air drawing do not give optimum
filament ‘4’. Webs with high strength and low elongation are generally made using this
particular system.
Key process factors
The key process factors of spunbond nonwoven technology are p olymer throughput
rate, polymer melting temperature, quench air temperature, quench air velocity, and lay-
down velocity. These process factors play important roles in deciding the morphology
and diameter of the filaments which are the building block of any spunbond
nonwovens. The bonding parameters are also important and their effects are already
discussed earlier.
The polymer throughput rate determines the morphology and diameter of the filaments.
The morphology of the filaments spun at lower throughput rate is better developed than
those at higher throughput rate. Because the rhelogical conditions are more favorable
for crystallinity and orientation of the filaments spun at lower throughput rate. The
filaments spun at lower throughput rate are thus more stable than those spun at higher
throughput rate. The filament diameter increases with increasing throughput rate.
The polymer melting temperature influences on the drawing of the filaments through
the spinneret that in turn decides the diameter of the filaments. The lower polymer
melting temperature results in increase in melt viscosity of the polymer that leads to
difficulty in drawing of the filaments. On the other hand, the higher melting temperature
results in decrease in the melt viscosity of the polymer that makes drawing easier. Too
high polymer melting temperature can cause polymer degradation leading to filament
breakages.
There is a great debate going on the effect of quench air temperature on the diameter
and morphology of the filaments. One group of researcher argues that the lower quench
air temperature results in increase of viscosity that leads to slower draw-down which
finally resulting in higher filament diameter. As the draw-down takes place slowly, an
increase in crystallinity and orientation is observed. The other group argues that lower
quench air temperature is helpful in generating higher spinline stress that leads to
reduction in filament diameter. As the draw-down takes places under higher stress, an
increase in crystallinity and orientation is observed.
The quench air pressure has a role to decide filament diameter. Higher quench air
pressure increases spinline draw ratio that in turn reduces filament diameter. The
pressure drop is known to be proportional to air velocity.
The web is formed by the pneumatic deposition of the filament bundles onto a moving
belt. In order to obtain maximum uniformity and cover, the individual filaments must be
separated before reaching to the belt. This can be accomplished by inducing an
electrostatic charge onto the bundle while under tension and before deposition. This can
be achieved by high voltage corona discharge. The belt is usually made of an
electrically grounded conductive wire, which discharge the filaments upon deposition.
Sometimes mechanical or aerodynamic forces can also separate filaments. If the lay-
down conveyor belt is moving and filaments are being rapidly traversed across the
direction of motion, the filaments are being deposited in a zig-zag pattern on the surface
of the moving belt.

Applications
The spunbond nonwovens are finding applications in a variety of end uses. Today they
are used both for durable and disposable applications. The main applications for
spunbond nonwovens are in automobiles, civil engineering, hygiene, medical,
packaging, and agriculture

4.2 Meltblown technology
The meltblown technology is based on meltblowing process, where, usually, a
thermoplastic fibre forming polymer is extruded through a linear die containing several
hundred small orifices. Convergent streams of hot air (exiting from the top and bottom
sides of the die nosepiece) rapidly attenuate the extruded polymer streams to form
extremely fine diameter fibres (1–5 micrometer). The attenuated fibres are subsequently
blown by high-velocity air onto a collector conveyor, thus forming a fine fibered self-
bonded meltblown nonwoven fabric.
Raw materials
Polypropylene has been the most widely used polymer for meltblown technology.
Besides, a variety of different polymers including polyamide, polyester, and
polyethylene are used. It is known that polyethylene is more difficult to meltblow into
fine fibre webs than polypropylene, but polyamide 6 is easier to process and has less
tendency to make shot (particles of polymers that are larger than fibres) than
polypropylene. In general, the requirements of polymers for meltblown technology are
high MFR or MFI (300-1500 gm/10 min), low molecular weight, and narrow molecular
weight distribution.
Process sequence
Meltblown technology converts polymeric resin to fine fibered nonwoven fabric. The
schematic diagram of this technology is shown in Figure 4.4. It works as per the
following sequence.
 Figure 4.4
Prepares polymers for extrusion
Extrude low viscosity polymer melt through fine capillaries
Blow high velocity hot air to the molten polymer and attenuate the
polymer melt
Cool the molten polymer by turbulent ambient air to form fine fiber
Deposit the fibers onto a collecting device to form useful articles like
fabric.
The preparation of the polymers for extrusion in meltblown technology is the same as
that in spunbond technology. The e xtruder for melt blown technology is longer L/D
(30+) so that more external heating surface is available. The energy for melting comes
mostly from barrel heating and practically no viscous shear heating when high MFR
resins are used. Also, the longer extruder can achieve a higher output rate and better
melt homogeneity than the shorter extruder. Further, longer extruder offers good barrel
support and allowance for thermal expansion due to high screw speed and high barrel
temperature. The extruder should be able to provide heating and cooling. Air cooling
for barrel zones is usually sufficient for melt blown technology. High watt density
heaters are desirable, especially at the first half of the extruder. Extruder throat should
be cooled to assist feeding and prevent melting when the extruder is shutdown. The
design of the extruder screw must be such that a deeper feed section should be used for
better feeding and it should have ability to receive granule and pellets. A shallower
metering section is required for higher shear and better pumping. The compression ratio
must be greater than 3.5. The screws with chrome platting with normal flight tip
hardening are preferable. In the transition/melting section, the barrier flight can improve
melting rate and melt quality.
The die system is known to be one of the important components of meltblown
technology. There are generally two die systems used. The “exxon” die system was
developed in early 60’s by Exxon Chemical Company. It was a coat hanger die feeding
a single row of capillaries and one piece die tip construction. There were 25-35
capillaries per inch of die width. The advantage of this system is that higher quality web
can be produced, but the disadvantage is that the output per unit die width may be
limited. The “biax-fibrefilm” die system has multiple rows of spinning nozzles and
concentric air holes. There are around 200 capillaries per inch of die width up to 12
rows of capillaries. The advantage of this system is that higher output per unit die
width may be obtained (higher hole density), but the disadvantage is that it is more
challenging to maintain uniformity at each hole (air and polymer flow rate and
temperature) and it results in broader fiber size distribution.
The design of air plate is also important. The air gap and set-back are adjustable.
Typical air gap is around 0.5-1.0 mm. A smaller air gap results in higher air velocity,
but lower air volume. A larger air gap results in lower air velocity, but higher air
volume. The entrapment of secondary air for cooling is also required. Typical set-back
is around 0.8-1.2 mm
Ambient air is often used for cooling. Auxiliary cooling devices are also used. Water
spray or cold air is used. In water spray, multiple nozzles create a fine water mist. This
has been an excellent way of quenching fibers. It can be used to incorporate hydrophilic
agent. Its position must be as close to die tip as practical. The water must be sprayed
uniformly across the whole width. It is however difficult to keep all nozzles clean and
functioning and used mostly in sorbent product where high output is a must. The cold
air works in the same principle as that of water spray. It is however less effective as
compared to water spray.
While forming webs, the f ibers are distributed (spread) on a moving belt or rotating
drum. The suction underneath the forming web removes drawing air and holds the fiber
to the web. The distance to forming web (die to collector distance) affects the web
properties. The belt collector provides good fiber support and retention as well as good
web release. It should have minimum wire mark onto the web and proper air flow
(maximum air flow with minimum openings). The most of the belts are constructed of
100% polyester strand materials. The drum collector is generally used in small lines,
less critical applications. Its advantages are simpler, lower cost, easier to operate, less
space requirement, etc. But, its disadvantages are lying in the difficulty to dissipate heat
(metal screen).
Key process factors
The key process parameters in meltblown technology are p olymer melt temperature,
polymer throughput rate, process (primary) air temperature, process (primary) air flow
rate, and die-to-collector distance. The aforesaid process variables play important roles
in deciding the morphology and diameter of the fibers which are the building block of
the meltblown nonwovens.
Melt temperature controls the melt viscosity of polymer at die. To increase melt
temperature, increase the die temperature, the extruder barrel temperatures (last 2-3
zones) and all zones between die and extruder. Melt temperature decreases with
increasing screw speed /output rate, this needs to compensate for lower melt
temperature by using a higher barrel temperature at high screw speed/output rate.
Higher melt temperature results into finer fiber, more tendency to produce “shots”,
higher energy cost (heating and cooling), shorter die tip life (degradation of pigment,
polymer, etc.) The PP with 1500 MFR has a very low melt viscosity (< 10 pa-sec at
normal processing temperature). The viscosity stays fairly constant over a wide range of
shear rate (close to Newtonian fluid)
The process air temperature offers limited range. It is typically kept to be the same or
slightly higher than die temperature (depending on thermocouple location). The lower
air temperature results in better fiber cooling, less shots, whereas higher air temperature
results in finer fiber diameter and more energy cost.
Primary airflow affects fiber entanglement significantly. Increasing primary airflow rate
reduces fiber entanglement, especially when DCD is shorter. Fine fiber bundles are
affected more than coarse fiber bundles when the primary airflow is changed. The
influence of primary airflow rate on fiber entanglement is reduced at larger airflow
rates. Increasing primary airflow rate generally increased global orientation of fibers in
the machine direction. Increasing primary airflow rate reduces pore cover in the webs
substantially. This is thought to occur because the increased airflow decreases fiber
entanglement and reduces fiber diameter.
The die to collector distance plays an important role on the quality of meltblown
nonwoven. The higher distance results in higher fiber entangling, bulkier and softer
web, better fiber cooling, less tendency to disturb fiber lay down, less web uniformity,
and is used for heavy basis weight fabric (sorbent products, etc.). The lower distance
results in less fiber entangling, more compact/stiffer web, balance of process air and
suction capability, more uniformed web with better barrier properties, and is used for
 light basis weight fabric, especially light weight spunmelt composites.
Applications
Owing to the smaller fibres and larger surface area occupied by the fibres the
meltblown nonwovens offer enhanced filtration efficiency, good barrier property, and
good wicking property. They are finding applications in filtration, insulation, and liquid
absorption.
Spunbond versus Meltblown
It is interesting to note the differences between the spunbond and meltblown
technologies and products thereof. The meltblown technology requires polymers with
considerably lower melt viscosity as compared to the spunbond technology. The initial
investment for spunbond technology is three to four times higher than that for
meltblown technology. The meltblown technology consumes more energy than the
spunbond technology because of the usage of compressd hot air. The meltblown
nonwoven is generally found to be costlier than the spubnnond nonwoven.