EP4204618A2

EP4204618A2 - A method for producing a non-woven textile, and a non-woven textile

Info

Publication number: EP4204618A2
Application number: EP21830350.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Aniela Maria HOITINK
Original assignee: Neffa Holding BV
Current assignee: Neffa Holding BV
Priority date: 2020-08-28
Filing date: 2021-08-27
Publication date: 2023-07-05
Anticipated expiration: 2041-08-27
Also published as: NL2029066B1; WO2022045889A3; PT4204618T; CN116601351A8; MX2023002344A; WO2022045889A2; NL2029066A; EP4204618B1; ES3020338T3; BR112023003271A2; PL4204618T3; US20230295848A1; CA3187914A1; JP2023540940A; NL2026370B1; FI4204618T3; CN116601351A

Abstract

The invention provides a method for producing a non-woven textile, comprising: i) applying a layer of a dispersion comprising dispersion medium and biobased first fibers (110) on a support, wherein the biobased first fibers (110) are fibers derived from a micro-organism cultured in a liquid culture medium, and wherein, prior to said applying, a plasticizer has been added to the dispersion; ii) depositing reinforcing second fibers (120) on the layer of the dispersion, wherein the reinforcing second fibers (120) are separate fibers which are not part of a fabric, and wherein the second fibers have an average length that is at least 10x the average length of the first fibers; and iii) eliminating the dispersion medium to form the non-woven textile (100) comprising a web of biobased first fibers (110). A non-woven textile, and seamless products comprising such a non-woven textile are provided as well.

Description

A method for producing a non-woven textile, and a non-woven textile

The present invention relates to a method for producing a non-woven textile.

Non-woven textiles are well known and widely used from disposable diapers and surgery gowns to durable materials for wind stoppers and rain coats.

Non-woven textiles can be produced by various methods, such as a wet-laid method. In a wet-laid method a dispersion of fibers in a dispersion medium is applied to the surface of a support, after which the dispersion medium is eliminated and the fibers form a web. This web conforms to the shape of the support, thus in case of a three-dimensional support of a desired shape, the non-woven textile has said desired shape without cutting and sewing. The non-woven textile may also have a surface structure, for example if an embossed support is used.

Non-woven textiles may be made from a diverse range of materials, such as synthetic fibers including polyethylene, but textiles based on natural materials are desirable, including the characteristic of how they feel to the touch (skin f eel ) .

It is known in the art to make non-woven textiles from biobased fibers, that is fibers from biological (i.e. natural) origin, but they may lack the desired strength and/or durability. In for example WO 2020/006133 Al, a second material, in the form of a woven textile layer, is embedded in a matrix of biobased fibers to provide strength to the biobased fibers. According to WO 2020/006133 Al however, the biobased fibers in the form of a fungal matrix are grown into the woven textile layer, which is a time-consuming process and di f ficult to control , and requires the biobased fibers to be alive during production of the non-woven textile .

CA 2 , 718 , 435 Al teaches applying fibers in an isotropic orientation in which the fibers are oriented transverse to a product material . These transversely oriented fibers are intended to provide a speci fic feel , but do not contribute substantially to the strength the product material , and in particular these fibers do not form a web .

It is the obj ect of the invention to provide a biofiberbased non-woven textile with enhanced strength and/or durability in a simple way without compromising the skin feel .

To this end, according to a first aspect , the invention provides a method which comprises the following steps : i ) applying a layer of a dispersion compris ing dispers ion medium and biobased first fibers on a support ; ii ) depositing reinforcing second fibers on the layer of the dispersion, wherein the reinforcing second fibers are separate fibers ; and iii ) eliminating the dispersion medium to form the nonwoven textile comprising a web of biobased first fibers .

In this way, an enhanced strength is provided to a nonwoven textile based on biobased first fibers while

- substantially maintaining the simplicity of the method,

- substantially preserving the skin feel at a side o f the non-woven textile facing the support .

The second fibers wil l typically be applied en mas se , for example as a suspension, using a brush or by spraying . In the present application, separate fibers means that they are individual fibers . Thus , they are not part of a fabric, be it woven, non-woven, or a fabric wherein the fibers are interconnected by glue or heat (melting of fibers ) , or by addition of adhesive or cross-linking agents .

At most , part of the dispersion medium may be eliminated before the second fibers are applied, so as to allow the second fibers to become embedded in a wet matrix of the first fibers . Elimination typically involves drying, e . g . by passing dry air across the surface of the layer of the dispersion, taking care not to blow it away . The air may be heated air . In this way, redistribution or dripping of the di spersion appl ied in step i ) under gravitational force is reduced . Therefore , irregularities formed by for example dripping of the dispersion may be reduced and the production of the non-woven textile at non-hori zontal surfaces may be facilitated .

I t is known in the art to make a non-woven texti le having enhanced strength by chemical treatment or chemical modi fication of the biobased fibers or non-woven textiles . Such a treatment may take away from the desired properties of the non-woven textile with respect to skin feel . Should the chemical treatment or modi fication require undesirable use of chemicals , the present invention allows for these to be avoided . The reduction or even elimination of the use of chemicals renders the method more sustainable .

The non-woven textile may be produced without an additional step after step iii ) of interconnecting the first fibers after forming of the web . This reduces the work for producing a non-woven textile by avoiding a separate step of chemical bonding, thermal bonding, mechanical bonding or any other step ( s ) required to link the first fibers to each other .

In the present application, the term biobased first fibers includes refined biobased first fibers such as mycelium, cellulose , etc . but also chemically produced or processed biobased first fibers such as viscose or lyocell . The first fibers are preferably dispersed in a dispersion medium that is water based . But the dispersion fluid may be any fluid suitable for wet-laid processes and may be based on other volatile liquids , such as alcohols like methanol , ethanol or propanol , any other organic volatile fluid or a combination of these liquids , such as water and ethanol . In this way the elimination of the dispersion medium may be facilitated or the first fibers may be dispersed in the dispersion medium more ef fectively . Preferably the dispersion medium i s non-toxic an/or o f natural origin and/or non-harmful to the environment .

The concentration of f irst fibers in the dispersion is at least 0 . 1 % w/v, preferably at least 5% w/v, more preferably at least 10% w/v and most preferably at least 15% w/v . Preferably, the concentration of the first fibers in the dispersion is below 60% w/v .

In an embodiment , after step iii ) , the first fibers comprise 20 - 80 % weight of the non-woven texti le ; the second fibers comprise 1 - 40 % weight of the non-woven textile ; and the plastici zer comprises 5 - 50 % weight of the non-woven textile , wherein the combined % weight of the first fibers , the second fibers and the plastici zer is at least 65% of the weight of the non-woven textile , preferably at least 80% ; and wherein the %weight of the second fibers is less than the %weight of the first fibers .

Preferably the first fibers are less than 50 micrometer, more preferably less than 25 micrometer, even more preferably less than 15 micrometer and most preferably less than 8 micrometer in diameter . In this way, a face of the web facing the support structure adopts a smooth texture after elimination of the dispersion medium . The reinforcing second fibers may be i) fibers with a higher tensile strength than the first fibers, and/or ii) fibers having an average length that is at least 3x the average length of the first fibers, preferably at least lOx longer .

Typically, second fibers have a cylindrical crosssection, but may be flattened, curved, bend or in any other elongated form as well. The method may also be performed with second fibers wherein the circumferential surface of the second fibers is microf ibrilated. In this way the strength and/or durability of the web may be improved.

The second fibers are preferably less than 100 micrometer in diameter, more preferably in the range of 15 to 50 micrometer. In this way, the second fibers provide strength to the non-woven textile, but also allow for a more homogeneous distribution of the first fibers.

The second fibers are preferably at least 0.3 millimeter, more preferably at least 2 millimeter, even more preferably at least 5 millimeter and most preferably at least 10 millimeter long. In this way, the strength and the durability of the nonwoven textile produced according to the method is improved.

In a plane projected parallel to a face of the web, the second fibers typically cover 10% - 90%, preferably 20% - 75%, more preferable 30% - 50% of a total surface of the first fibers lying in the plane.

The second fibers may for example be added by flocking, air laying, fiber spinning or electrospinning. In this way the distribution of second fibers can be controlled precisely, and may the non-woven textile be provided with portions with different properties by the use of different deposit techniques in different portions of the non-woven textile. The surface of the support may be a f lat surface , but may also be a surface of a three dimens ional shape or a structured surface . In this way a two dimensional sheet , a three dimensionally shaped web or a web with a structure may be produced . The surface of the support may be provided by the surface of a mold, but can al so be the surface of a web formed earlier on a mold, whether or not formed by the method according to the invention . The mold may for example be a torso of a person .

The non-woven textile may be removed from the support , but this is not done in case it is desired to provide a support with a non-woven textile , i . e . the non-woven textile is part of a product . In case the non-woven textile is to be removed from the support , the support will typically have a surface that will help in removal of the textile ( chosen not to excessively stick to the textile ) . In case of a product , the opposite is preferred .

According to a favourable embodiment , the layer of the dispersion in step i ) is applied by spraying .

Spraying the dispersion allows for a more controlled application of the layer of the dispersion and the first fibers , resulting in a non-woven textile of higher quality . For example , the risk of formation of air bubbles is smaller, resulting in a more homogeneous and consistent layer of the dispersion and therefore a non-woven textile of higher quality .

According to a favourable embodiment , step i ) is preceded by a step comprising

- supplying a dispersion of biobased first fibers , said first fibers being dispersed in a dispersion medium, and

- eliminating at least part o f said di spersion medium so as to form a web on the support ; which step is performed at least once , and step i ) comprises applying the layer of dispersion onto the web .

In this way, a thicker non-woven textile may be made with a well-controlled thickness and the risk of second fibers protruding to the side of the fabric facing the support and thus delamination of the non-woven textile is reduced . The dispersion medium is typically eliminated by evaporation, which may be facilitated using heat and/or supply of drying air .

Furthermore , this embodiment facilitates the manufacturing of a non-woven textile in a non-hori zontal orientation, since a stack of relatively thin layers can be applied and dried to obtain the desired thickness of the nonwoven textile as opposed to a relatively thick layer being applied in one go . Typically, the step is executed at least 2 times , preferably at least 5 times and more preferable at least 10 times .

According to a favourable embodiment , the method further comprises between steps ii ) and iii ) a step of applying a further layer of a further dispersion on top of the layer of the dispersion, said further dispersion comprising further dispersion medium and biobased third fibers .

In this way, the method provides for a further web which provides the side of the fabric facing away from the support with a skin feel determined by the biobased third fibers that were applied last .

The strength of the fabric may be improved by better embedding of the second fibers .

The further dispersion medium of the further dispersion may be the same di spersion medium as the di spersion medium, of have a di f ferent composition . Furthermore , the biobased third fibers may be the same fibers as the first or second fibers , or may be fibers with different properties, such as antimicrobial or skin-caring properties.

According to an especially preferred embodiment, the biobased first fibers are fibers derived from a micro-organism cultured in a liquid culture medium.

This makes it possible to circumvent the production of plant based fibers which typically require large surfaces of land, pesticides, and expensive harvesting followed by extensive processing of fibers. In contrast, growing a microorganism such as mycelium in a bioreactor can be performed efficiently and the mycelium may be simply harvested (e.g. by filtration) or even as such without a harvesting step and the liquid culture medium is the dispersion medium. Optionally, the mycelium may be diluted or resuspended in dispersion medium (water) , and is then ready for forming the non-woven textile .

The micro-organism may for example be a fungus, protozoa, bacteria or algae.

In addition, or instead of being derived from a microorganism, the first fibers may comprise a biobased material derived from: fungal mycelium, yeast, algae, bacteria, cultured animal or plant cells, and fibers derived from animal and/or plant cells cultured in a liquid culture medium. The cultured animal or plant cells may for instance be cultured in a bioreactor.

According to a favourable embodiment, the biobased first fibers are in the form of a biological material chosen from: fungal mycelium, yeast, algae, bacteria, cultured animal or plant cells, fibers derived from animal and/or plant cells cultured in a liquid culture medium, fruit pulp, pulp from leaves, pulp from stems, fibers from leather, collagen, and/or micronized and/or microf ibrillated forms of any of the aforementioned materials.

In this way the resources for forming the web are cheap and easy to obtain and may require little production facilities for production.

According to a favourable embodiment, the biobased first fibers are not chemically processed.

In this way, the production of non-woven textiles can occur faster and safer, since a step of chemical treatment or chemical modification is not necessary. Suitable biological materials may be for example harvested fungal mycelium, algae material, bacteria, cultured animal or plant cells, fibers derived from animal and/or plant cells cultured in a liquid culture medium, pulped plant material such as pulped fruits, leaves and/or stems, fibers from collagen. Biological materials may also be micronized and/or microf ibrillated, thereby increasing hairiness of the fibers and enhancing mutual binding capacity.

According to a favourable embodiment, the second fibers are selected from natural fibers, regenerated fibers, recycled fibers, synthetic fibers, functional fibers, or any combination thereof, preferably the second fibers are hydrophilic .

In this way, second fibers may be selected which provide the non-woven textile with desired characteristics. Natural fibers can be used if the non-woven textile needs to be biodegradable and may be derived from plant material, such as wood, grass, leaves, cellulose or from animal material, such as wool, mohair, cashmere, angora, silk, spider silk. However, mineral material such as chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite can also be used as second fibers. Preferably, the fibers are natural fibers. Regenerated fibers may be suitable for the same purpose and may be made from materials such as vi scose , lyocell , cel lulose acetate , Azlon or any other modi f ied cellulose . Furthermore , recycled fibers may be used which are too short for respinning and which would have to be discarded for production of woven fabrics . Synthetic f ibers may reduce the cost o f the non-woven textile , suitable synthetic fibers may be made from materials such as polypropylene , polyester, elastane , polyvinyl chloride . Special properties like resistance to environmental conditions such as wear, tear and/or higher temperatures may be provided to the non-woven textile by using second fibers made from aramid, liquid-crystal polymers ( LCP ) , carbon, glass , metallic fibers . Fibers with special properties endow the produced non-woven textile with resistance or electrical conductivity, and may thus confer to a user protection or utility of measuring biological functions like heart rate or muscle function . A mixture of fibers of any of these material may be used to confer multiple properties . Hydrophilic fibers provide for better adherence to the first biobased fibers .

According to a favourable embodiment , the second fibers are added isotropically with respect to each other .

An isotropic orientation of the second fibers with respect to each other may for example be achieved by carding the second fibers prior to step ii ) . The resulting isotropically oriented second fibers may be appl ied manually or by use of for example a robot in step ii ) in a direction parallel to the support . In this way, the isotropic orientation o f the second fibers provides an improved strength to the non-woven textile when they are added to the layer of the dispersion .

CA2718435A1 also applies second fibers in an isotropic orientation; however these fibers are oriented transverse to the support and therefore do not contribute substantially to the strength of the non-woven textile.

According to a favourable embodiment, the second fibers are added anisotropically with respect to each other.

This may for example be achieved by electrostatic flocking, wherein an electric charge is applied on the support while adding the second fibers. This results in at least a portion of the second fibers being oriented perpendicularly to the support. After removing the electric charge, at least part of the perpendicularly orientated second fibers will fall over and adopt an orientation parallel to the support but random with respect to each other. This anisotropic orientation may improve the suppleness of the non-woven textile.

According to a favourable embodiment, a plasticizer is added to the dispersion prior to step i) , wherein the plasticizer is preferably a sugar, a sugar alcohol, a polyol, polyolester and/or an alpha hydroxy acid, or a combination thereof, more preferably sorbitol and citric acid. Typically, the resulting non-woven textile has a plasticizer content of between 5 and 50% wt . , preferably between 10% and 30% wt .

The addition of the plasticizer may render the obtained non-woven textile more durable. The plasticizer may protect the non-woven textile from becoming brittle, fragile, and/or rigid. Examples of plasticizers are glycols, glyceryl triacetate, polymeric polyols, quillaia, but also complex compositions like honey, molasses, aloe vera, castor oil, glycerides, triglycerides and other mineral or organic oils or any combinations hereof.

According to a favourable embodiment, subsequent to all other steps a step of applying a coating is applied on at least one exposed surface, preferably all exposed surfaces of the non-woven textile. The coating can for example be a flexible , protecting and/or reinforcing coating . In thi s way, the durability of the non-woven textile may be improved by retaining dispersion medium and/or retaining the plastici zer in the non-woven texti le after consolidation of the web and or further web . The coating may be biologically degradable and/or UV-resistant , and optionally comprise color pigments .

According to a favourable embodiment , the method comprises a step of applying and adhering at least one component to the web .

In this way, additional functionality can be embedded in the non-woven textile . Components like technical components , for example led-lighting, sensors , RFID tags or NFC chips , or embellishments , for example sequins , beads , cord, applique and lace , may be directly incorporated without glueing, sewing or without otherwise engaging the component to the non-woven textile reducing the cost and number of steps during production of an enhanced non-woven textile .

According to a favourable embodiment , the method comprises a dyeing step . This step is typically carried out prior to step ii ) , e . g . by mixing in a dye and/or pigment in the dispersion that is applied in step i ) .

Preferably in this step, a dye and/or pigment is coapplied with at least one chosen from first and second f ibers . In this way, the dye and/or pigment is taken up in the textile together with the fibers , avoiding a separate dyeing step . In particular, no additional liquid may be required to mix the dye and/or pigment into the textile . The dye and/or pigment is embedded in the textile , making the dye of the textile to be less easily damaged while using the textile . Also, it is no longer necessary to wash the textile to remove surplus dye, which is typically an onerous step in the production of state of the art textiles.

In an embodiment, step ii) is caried out and completed within 2 hours from the start of step i) , preferably within 0,5 hours. Steps i) and ii) of the method of the invention may thus be carried out quickly, in particular without having to wait for fungal cells or the like to provide the first fibers.

In an embodiment, step iii) is carried out and completed within 72 hours from the start of step ii) , preferably within 5 hours. In particular in combination with the previous embodiment, this may allow the non-woven textile to be produced within 4 days.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to non-woven textile, wherein said non-woven textile is obtainable by a method according to any of the preceding claims. Preferably, the non-woven textile has a seamless circumferential surface.

According to a third aspect, the invention provides a non-woven textile, preferably obtained using the method of the invention, comprising biobased first fibres and reinforcing second fibres, wherein said first and second fibers are irreversibly embedded in a matrix comprising a plasticizer; wherein the biobased first fibers are fibers derived from a micro-organism that has been cultured in a liquid culture medium, and wherein the second fibers have an average length that is at least lOx the average length of the first fibers.

Besides the plasticizer, the matrix typically further comprises some moisture, e.g. from a dispersion medium that may have been in accordance with step i ) of the claimed method .

In an embodiment said plastici zer comprises an amorphous matrix comprising a hydroxic acid and a polyol .

In an preferred embodiment , the first fibers comprise 20 - 80 % weight of the non-woven textile ; the second fibers comprise 1 - 40 % weight of the non-woven textile ; and the plastici zer comprises 5 - 50 % weight of the non-woven textile ; wherein the combined % weight of the first fibers , the second fibers and the plastici zer is at least 65% of the weight of the non-woven textile , preferably at least 80% ; and wherein the %weight of the second fibers is less than the %weight of the first fibers .

In an embodiment oil droplets and/or fatty droplets are embedded in the matrix, said droplets having a maximum diameter in the range of 1 pm to 20 pm . For instance , the oil droplets may comprise a drying oil or a non drying oil . Optionally, a siccative is included in the matrix as well .

According to a fourth aspect , the present invention provides a shaped seamless garment , accessory or footwear to be worn, or any other three dimensional seamless non-woven textile product , comprising the non-woven textile of the second or third aspect , and/or a non-woven textile produced in accordance with the first aspect of the invention . Thus , the invention provides a garment , accessory, footwear or other product that is seamless .

The invention will now be illustrated with reference to the example section below, and with reference to the drawing wherein Fig 1 . shows a schematic representation of a cross section of a non-woven textile ;

Figs . 2A-2C respectively show a schematic representation of another embodiment of a non-woven textile according to the invention, and a first detail and a second detail thereof ;

Figs . 3A-3C respectively show a schematic representation of yet another embodiment of a non-woven textile according to the invention, and a first detai l and a second detai l thereof ; and

Fig . 4 shows an embodiment of a non-woven textile in the form of a bag that has a three-dimensional non-planar shape and which has been manufactured according to the method of the invention .

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a cross section o f a non-woven textile 100 compris ing first fibers 110 and second f ibers 120 produced according to the invention . The first fibers 110 were derived from cultured mycelium, and dispersed in a dispersion medium . A first layer of the dispersion comprising first fibers 110 was applied to a support and second fibers 120 were added to the layer of the dispersion . A second layer of the dispersion was added on top of the first layer of the dispers ion, and dispersion medium was eliminated by evaporation at room temperature . In the resulting non-woven textile , the first f ibers 110 present as a continuous web, without distingui shable borders between the first fibers 110 applied in the f irst layer of the di spersion, and the first fibers 110 applied in the second layer of the dispersion . The second fibers 120 are embedded in the continuous web of first fibers 110 .

In order to produce the non-woven textile , fungal biomass in the form of Schi zophyllum commune mycelium from the group of basidiomycota, was grown in standard Malt extract in a 1 liter Duran Erlenmeyer. The growth procedure followed standard culture procedures at 30°C and shaking at 200 rpm. Mycelium was harvested by means of Buchner filtration. Citric acid and sorbitol were pre-mixed with water, and subsequently added to the harvested mycelium comprised and the remainder of the growth medium, forming the dispersion comprising the first fibers .

In step a) , a first layer of the dispersion was applied on a mold by spraying the dispersion on a solid and 3D shaped support surface with a spraying machine used for spraying paint. In step b) , the dispersion medium was eliminated by means of evaporation at room temperature. The dispersion medium was evaporated until a web of mycelium (MYC) dry to the touch was formed at the support.

Steps a) an b) were repeated once more. Subsequently, in step c) a further layer of dispersion was applied on top of the web. In step d) , individual second fibers, such as polyamide (PA) 100 dtex, or carded rayon (CV) 28 dtex were applied by flocking with a FK1-PRO onto the web, while carded flax (LI) was applied by hand. For example, the rayon fibers were 12 mm long with a circular circumferential surface spanning in between two ends. In a plane projected parallel to a face of the second web, the area of the first fibers covered by the second fibers was 30-50%.

Steps a) , b) , c) and d) were then repeated twice, and finally steps a) and b) were performed once.

The resulting non-woven textile was taken from the mold.

In a cross section of the non-woven textile, no individual webs or first fibers were distinguishable, but rather presented as one single web of first fibers with the second fibers embedded within the single web of first fibers. The second fibers do not present as distinct and continuous layers in the non-woven textile. Instead, the second fibers applied in the same step are substantially aligned to either outside surface of the non-woven textile, and may be in contact with each other and may be aligned as well as crossing each other under diverse angles.

From each non-woven textile, the extension and the peak force were measured in order to evaluate the effect of the second fibers on the non-woven textile. The extension and peak force were measured according to EN13934-01, with this exception that the dimensions of the tested samples were 4 x 4 cm. Experiments were performed either as single experiments or in duplicate. As a control, a non-woven textile of pure mycelium was used.

Table 1 shows the effect of various second fibers on the extension and peak force

The addition of second fiber resulted in a peak force which was 1.6 - 6.8 x higher than non-woven textile from pure mycelium, indicating that the addition of the second fiber confers strength to the non-woven textile. Furthermore , the skin feel of the non-woven textiles was evaluated by a panel of 5 people , who independently assessed the skin feel of the non-woven textiles comprising second fibers to be the same as the skin feel of the non-woven textile from pure mycelium .

Fig . 2A shows a schematic representation of a cross section of another non-woven textile 200 comprising first biobased fibers 210 and second reinforcing fibers 220 produced according to the invention . In the cross-section, the textile 200 has an upper outer surface 201 , and a lower outer surface 202 , between the first and second fibers are arranged . Though in the example shown, the f irst and second fibers are embedded in a single fused layer, it will be appreciated that instead the non-woven textile may comprise a stack of multiple fused layers of first and second f ibers . The f irst fibers form a web that is reinforced by the second fibers .

Fig . 2B shows a detail of portion I I-B of Fig . 2A, in which the first fibers 210 and a second fibers 220 are shown in greater detail . As can be seen, the first fibers are smaller by orders of magnitude that the second fibers 220 . In the example shown, the first fibers 210 , which are shown in even greater detail in Fig . 2C, have an average diameter of about 2 pm, whereas the second fibers 220 have an average diameter of about 100 pm . As can be seen, the larger second fibers 220 are substantially aligned with the upper and lower outer surfaces 201 , 202 such that their center lines are substantially parallel to these surfaces 201 , 202 . The first fibers 210 , which are much smal ler , are oriented substantially randomly and are not substantially aligned with the first and second outer surfaces . The first and second fibers are embedded in a matrix 230 comprising a plastici zer, which, besides helping to hold the first and second fibers substantially in place , also provides the non-woven texti le with a degree o f f lexibil ity al lowing it to be bend or folded, without breaking the non-woven textile . The plastici zer preferably comprises 5 - 50 % , preferably 15- 30% by weight of the finished non-woven textile , and preferably comprises a mixture of a polyol , such as sorbitol , and an alpha hydroxy acid, such as citric acid .

Fig . 3A shows a schematic representation of a cross section of yet another non-woven textile 300 according to the invention . In addition to biobased first fibers 310 and second reinforcement fibers 320 that are embedded in a matrix 330 which comprises a plastici zer and optionally any remaining dispersing medium . Further shown are oil droplets 340 which are embedded in the matrix 330 and can have various si zes , with the maximum diameter of each oil drop typically in the range of between 1 pm and 20 pm . The oil droplets 340 may be used for a delayed control or controlled release of beneficial fat-soluable components , and in the present example comprise oil of aloe vera, which provides a nice scent . The oil droplets 340 typically have an average diameter which is larger than the average length of the first fibers , e . g . at least 5 times larger than an average length of the first fibers 310 .

Fig . 4 shows a perspective line drawing of a non-woven textile 400 according to the invention, formed as a non-planar shape , here in the form of a hand-bag . The non-woven textile 400 has been manufactured by applying a layer of a dispersion onto a non-planar support (not shown) that has positive shape of the non-woven textile 400 . The layer is typically applied either by spraying the di spersion onto a non-planar 3D-surface of the support , and/or by using a brush to apply the dispersion to the support . After the layer of dispers ion, which comprises a dispersion medium, first biobased fibers as well as a plastici zer, was applied, a layer of reinforcing second fibers were depos ited onto the layer of dispersion, after which the two layers were allowed to dry to form the non-woven textile 400 . The non-woven textile 400 comprises a circumferential surface 401 , which is provided with ridges 402 , as well as with dimples 403 . In the present example , the layer of dispersion was applied on a flexible support , and after the second f ibers were applied and the dispersion medium was eliminated to form the non-woven textile 400 , the flexible support was collapsed and removed from the inner side of the textile 400 . It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that additionally or instead one or more supports can be used for creating a positive or negative shape , e . g . in ways similar to casting molds used in casting processes , to allow easy removal of the non-woven textile from the support ( s ) . By using one or more supports , the final product may be produced free from stitches or glued seams or the like .

Claims

C L A I M S

1. A method for producing a non-woven textile (100) , wherein said method comprises the following steps: i) applying a layer of a dispersion comprising dispersion medium and biobased first fibers (110) on a support, wherein the biobased first fibers (110) are fibers derived from a micro-organism cultured in a liquid culture medium, and wherein, prior to said applying, a plasticizer has been added to the dispersion; ii) depositing reinforcing second fibers (120) on the layer of the dispersion, wherein the reinforcing second fibers (120) are separate fibers which are not part of a fabric, and wherein the second fibers have an average length that is at least lOx the average length of the first fibers; and iii) eliminating the dispersion medium to form the nonwoven textile (100) comprising a web of biobased first fibers (110) .

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the layer of the dispersion in step i) is applied by spraying.

3. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising removing the non-woven textile from the support .

4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the plasticizer is a sugar alcohol, a polyol, polyolester and/or an alpha hydroxy acid, or a combination thereof .

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the plasticizer comprises a combination of sorbitol and citric acid.

6. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said plasticizer comprises one or more of glycols, glyceryl triacetate, polymeric polyols, quillaia, honey, molasses, aloe vera, castor oil, glycerides, triglycerides and other mineral or organic oil.

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein step i) is preceded by a step comprising

- supplying a dispersion of biobased first fibers (110) , said first fibers (110) being dispersed in a dispersion medium, and

- eliminating at least part of said dispersion medium so as to form a web on the support; which step is performed at least once, and step i) comprises applying the layer of dispersion onto the web.

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises between steps ii) and iii) a step of applying a further layer of a further dispersion on top of the layer of the dispersion, said further dispersion comprising further dispersion medium and biobased third fibers.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the biobased first fibers (110) are in the form of a biological material chosen from: fungal mycelium, yeast, algae, bacteria, cultured animal or plant cells, fibers derived from animal and/or plant cells cultured in a liquid culture medium.

10. The method according to any of the preceding claims, the biobased first fibers (110) are not chemically processed.

11. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second fibers (120) are selected from natural fibers, regenerated fibers, recycled fibers, synthetic fibers, functional fibers, or any combination thereof, preferably wherein the second fibers (120) are hydrophilic.

12. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the concentration of first fibers in the dispersion is at least 0.1% w/v, preferably at least 5% w/v, more preferably at least 10% w/v and most preferably at least 15% w/v.

13. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first fibers are less than 50 micrometer, more preferably less than 25 micrometer, even more preferably less than 15 micrometer and most preferably less than 8 micrometer in diameter.

14. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second fibers (120) are added isotropically with respect to each other.

15. The method according to any of the claims 1 - 13, wherein the second fibers (120) are added anisotropically with respect to each other.

16. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein subsequent to all other steps a step of applying a coating is applied on at least one exposed surface, preferably all exposed surfaces of the non-woven textile (100) .

17. The method according to any of the preceding claims , wherein the dispersion further comprises oil droplets.

18. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises a step of applying and adhering at least one component to the web.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein said at least one component is selected from the group of led-light ing, sensors, RFID tags or NFC chips, or embellishments, for example sequins, beads, cord, applique and lace; wherein said at least one component is embedded in the non-woven textile without gluing or sewing the component to the non-woven textile.

20. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises a dyeing step, preferably wherein dye or pigment is co-applied with at least one chosen from the first and second fibers, more preferably wherein no liquid other than the dispersion is used to apply the dye and/or pigment.

21. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein step ill) the dispersion medium is water based.

22. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the circumferential surface of the second fibres is microfibrilated.

23. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second fibers have a cylindrical cross-section and are less than 100 micrometer in diameter, more preferably in the range of 15 to 50 micrometer.

24. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second fibers are at least 0.3 millimeter, preferably at least 2 millimeter, more preferably at least 5 millimeter and more preferably at least 10 millimeter long.

25. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the support has a three-dimensional non-flat surface.

26. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein, in a plane projected parallel to a face of the web, the second fibers cover 10% - 75% of a total surface of the first fibers lying in the plane.

27. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the dispersion medium is alcohol-based and/or is based on other organic volatile fluid.

28. The method according to any of the preceding claims , wherein step ii) is caried out and completed within 2 hours from the start of step i) , preferably within 0,5 hours.

29. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein step iii) is carried out and completed within 72 hours from the start of step ii) , preferably within 5 hours.

30. Non-woven textile (100) , wherein said non-woven textile

(100) is obtained by a method according to any of the preceding claims.

31. Non-woven textile, preferably according to claim 30, comprising biobased first fibres and reinforcing second fibres, wherein said first and second fibers are irreversibly embedded in an amorphous matrix comprising plasticizer; wherein the biobased first fibers (110) are fibers derived from a micro-organism that has been cultured in a liquid culture medium, and wherein the second fibers have an average length that is at least lOx the average length of the first fibers.

32. Non-woven textile according to claim 30 or 31, wherein said plasticizer is formed from an hydroxic acid and a polyol.

33. Nov-woven textile according to claim 30, 31 or 32, wherein the first fibers comprise 20 - 80 % weight of the nonwoven textile; the second fibers comprise 1 - 40 % weight of the nonwoven textile; and the plasticizer comprises 5 - 50 % weight of the nonwoven textile, wherein the combined % weight of the first fibers, the second fibers and the plasticizer is at least 65% of the weight of the non-woven textile, preferably at least 80%; and wherein the %weight of the second fibers is less than the %weight of the first fibers.

34. Non-woven textile according to any one of claims 30 - 33, wherein oil droplets and/or fatty droplets are embedded in the matrix, said droplet having a maximum diameter in the range of 1 pm to 20 pm.

35. Shaped seamless garment, accessory or footwear to be worn, or any other three dimensional seamless non-woven textile product, comprising the non-woven textile according to any of claims 30-34.