JPH09279479A - Fiber-treating agent and binder fiber treated therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the passage through the card at a high speed and produce nonwoven fabrics of high quality by applying a treating agent prepared by formulating a specific alkyl phosphate and an amide-polyalkylene-modified silicone to the binder fibers. SOLUTION: A treating agent for binder fibers is prepared by formulating alkali metal salt of an alkyl phosphate of 14 or less carbon atoms on the average comprising 10-30wt.% of potassium octyl phosphate, 40-60wt.% of potassium lauryl phosphate and an amidepolyalkylene-modified silicone. After a binder fiber comprising low-melting polymer such as polypropylene copolymer is treated with the treating agent described above, the binder fiber singly or a mixed fiber in combination thereof is mixed with a general fiber such as polyethylene terephthalate then carded to form webs and made into nonwoven fabric.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a treating agent for binder fibers.

[0002]

Binder fibers are fibers used in the manufacture of non-woven fabrics that have heat-fusible portions themselves. For example, high-melting-point polyolefin fibers or polyester fibers for imparting strength are used as core materials on the surface of the fibers. Low melting thermoplastic polymer (eg olefin fiber or other heat-bonded fiber)
Various materials are known, such as those coated with, and those in which the melting point of the strong fiber itself is lowered to make it heat-fusible.

Nonwoven fabrics using these binder fibers are used as covers for coating water-absorbing materials such as paper diapers and sanitary products, and in this case, they are often hydrophobic as the surface coating on the side in contact with the skin. Binder fibers made of flexible polyester fibers or polyolefin fibers are used. The binder fiber used to manufacture this kind of hydrophobic nonwoven fabric has a large frictional force between fibers and between fibers and metal during the carding process, so static electricity is easily generated, and card passing performance deteriorates, causing problems such as winding. The productivity and quality of the non-woven fabric is significantly reduced.

Regarding the antistatic property in the card process, it has been proposed to treat the surface of the binder fiber with a hydrophilizing agent such as an alkyl sulfate ester salt or an alkyl sulfonate salt. However, the alkyl sulfate ester salt inhibits the dryness of the non-woven fabric, and the alkyl sulfonate salt not only increases the friction of the polyolefin fiber to increase the winding of the card process, but also exudes the surface layer of the non-woven fabric after water permeation. Is large and sticky.

On the other hand, in order to impart a high degree of smoothness to the surface of the binder fiber in terms of cardability in the card process, it is necessary to impart smoothness using silicones such as dimethyl silicone emulsion polymer and amino-modified silicone (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 306
No. 682) has been proposed. However, dimethyl silicone emulsion polymer has poor antistatic property and hinders hydrophilicity.Amino-modified silicone has insufficient antistatic property and hydrophilicity, and causes yellowing of nonwoven fabric and web breakage in card process especially high-speed card. Becomes

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks and is excellent in card passability of binder fiber having high friction resistance between fibers and fiber-metal and poor in openability, and is suitable for high-speed cards. An object of the present invention is to provide a treatment agent for obtaining a binder fiber for a hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric which is excellent in water permeability while passing.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a treating agent for binder fibers for obtaining a non-woven fabric which does not have a sticky feeling even if the surface is wet with water and can maintain dryness.

[0008]

The present invention has an average carbon number of 14
The following treatment agent contains 50 to 85% by weight of alkyl phosphate and 14 to 50% by weight of amidopolyalkylene-modified silicon.

The alkyl phosphate used in the present invention is a phosphate having an alkyl group having an average carbon number of 14 or less, preferably 6 to 14, more preferably 8 to 12 in one molecule, preferably one. Examples of the salt include alkali metal salts and amine salts, but alkali metal salts are preferable. Neutralization is preferably 50% or more of the free hydroxyl group, and particularly a completely neutralized product.

This alkyl phosphate is used for the purpose of hydrophilicity and antistatic action, but if the average carbon number of the alkyl group is greater than 14, the hydrophilicity will decrease, and if it is less than 6, the smoothness will decrease. The content of the alkyl phosphate is preferably 50 to 85 based on the total solid content of the treating agent composition.
%, More preferably 60-80% by weight. If the blending amount is less than 50% by weight, the antistatic property is insufficient, and if it exceeds 85% by weight, the smoothness is insufficient and the card passing property is deteriorated to deteriorate the spun web state and the quality of the nonwoven fabric is deteriorated.

The most preferred alkyl phosphate of the present invention is a combination of an octyl phosphate K salt having an average carbon number of 8 and a lauryl phosphate K salt having an average carbon number of 12, and is excellent in emulsion stability. The blending amount of these is preferably 10 to 30% by weight. The latter 40-
60% by weight.

The amidopolyalkylene-modified silicone used in the present invention has the following general formula:

Embedded image (In the formula, R and R ¹ are hydrocarbon groups, R ² and R ³ are hydrocarbon groups having 10 to 20 carbon atoms, A is an alkylene group having 2 and / or 3 carbon atoms, n is a number of 1 or more, x Is 0 or 1
The above number, y is a number of 1 or more (however, x + y is 10 to 2
000)). R is an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, which may be branched or may have a substituent, and a methyl group is particularly preferable. R ¹ may have a branch or a substituent. An alkylene group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms is preferable, and a methylene group is particularly preferable.

R ² and R ³ are saturated or unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon groups which may have a branch, aromatic hydrocarbon groups or alicyclic hydrocarbon groups which may have a substituent, or cyclic aliphatic groups. Group hydrocarbon groups and the like. Specific examples of R ² include undecyl group, lauryl group, myristyl group, cetyl group, oleyl group; butylphenyl group, octylphenyl group, nonylphenyl group; phenyloctyl group; hexylcycloxyl group.

A is an oxyalkylene residue having 2 and / or 3 carbon atoms, that is, an ethylene or propylene group. Preferred is an ethylene group, but if desired, a propylene group may be used alone or in combination with an ethylene group. When used in combination, it may be block or random.

N is the number of oxyalkylene groups and is a group for adjusting the hydrophilicity of the amidopolyalkylene-modified silicon. n is a number of 1 or more, preferably 1 to 15, and 3 to 7 when A is an oxyethylene residue. When A contains an oxypropylene residue, the water solubility decreases. If it is 3 or less, the antistatic property and hydrophilicity are insufficient, and if it is 15 or more, the smoothness decreases.

Although x and y are collectively shown in the above general formula, this array may be random or block. The sum of x and y is 10 to 2000. x + y is 1
When it is less than 0, the effect of imparting flexibility and smoothness to the fiber material is small, and when it exceeds 2000, emulsification becomes difficult.

The amount of the amidopolyalkylerene-modified silicon compounded is preferably 15 to 15% by weight of the total solid content of the treating agent composition.
It is 50% by weight, more preferably 20 to 40% by weight.
If the blending amount is less than 15% by weight, the smoothness becomes poor and the web becomes non-uniform. On the other hand, when it exceeds 50% by weight, the antistatic property is deteriorated and the entanglement is insufficient, so that the web is cut off at a high speed card.

Other components that may be added to the binder fiber treating agent of the present invention include anionic, nonionic or amphoteric surfactants and known additives.

The treatment agent for binder fiber of the present invention can be used for any binder fiber which is usually used in producing a hydrophobic fiber nonwoven fabric. Examples of the binder fiber include modified polypropylene alone, polyethylene / polypropylene composite fiber, polyethylene / polyethylene terephthalate composite fiber, and modified polyester / polyethylene terephthalate composite fiber in a composite form (cross-sectional shape) of core-sheath type or side-by-side type. The publicly known ones are exemplified.

The treating agent of the present invention is dissolved or dispersed in a suitable solvent such as water, methanol, acetone, hexane, etc., and these are applied to the binder fiber in a predetermined amount before carding. The amount of the treating agent applied to the binder fiber is preferably 0.01 to 3% by weight, and more preferably 0.1 to 0.7% by weight in terms of solid content. Appropriate application methods include immersion, contact, spraying, and the like.

In producing a nonwoven fabric, general-purpose polyolefin, polyester, acrylic,
Vinylon, nylon, rayon, etc., these composite fibers,
Alternatively, cotton or wool can be mixed by a known method such as blending.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be summarized below. (1) Alkyl phosphate 60 having an average carbon number of 14 or less
-80% by weight and 20 to 40% by weight of amidopolyalkylene-modified silicon; (2) Amidopolyalkylene-modified silicon having the general formula:

Embedded image (In the formula, R ¹ is a hydrocarbon group, R ² and R ³ have 10 to 10 carbon atoms.
20 hydrocarbon groups, n is a number of 1 or more, x and y are numbers of 1 or more (where x + y is 10 to 2000), and a treating agent for fibers; (3) R ¹ is a carbon number A fiber treating agent having 1 to 3 alkylene groups; (4) a fiber treating agent having n of 3 to 15; (5) R ² is an optionally branched saturated or unsaturated alkyl group. Fiber treatment agent and (6) Binder fiber treatment agent in which the alkyl phosphate is a monoalkyl phosphate and is a completely neutralized product of an alkali metal.

Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 8 Treatment agents for binder fibers having the formulations shown in Table 1 (Examples) and Table 2 (Comparative Examples) were prepared, and 10 parts by weight were dispersed in 1000 parts by weight of water. Then, 100 parts by weight of ethylene-copolymerized polypropylene alone (low melting point binder fiber 2d × 51 mm) was dipped in the solution and squeezed to 40% to obtain a binder fiber with an oiling amount of 0.40%. After drying the binder fiber,
A web of 25 g / m ² was obtained by carding under the condition of 45% RH, and this was thermocompression bonded by an embossing roller at 150 ° C. to obtain a nonwoven fabric.

The card passing property (cylinder winding, web state), antistatic property, and hydrophilicity of the nonwoven fabric of the cotton wool obtained in the above process were measured by the following methods.

Evaluation method (1) Card passability (cylinder winding) ○: No winding Δ: About 20% winding ×: Full surface winding (2) Card passing (amount of static electricity generation) ○: 0.1 KV or less Δ: 0.5 KV to 3.0 KV ×: 3.0 KV or more (3) Card passability (web state) ◯: Tension is uniform. Δ: There is tension, but there is cloudy or shaking. X: There is no tension and the web is easily cut. (4) Hydrophilicity of nonwoven fabric: Water droplets were dropped on the surface of the dried nonwoven fabric with a pipette, and the disappearance time of the water droplets and the surface condition were observed. ○: Water drops disappeared instantly and no water drops adhered. Δ: Some water droplets are attached to the surface. ×: Water droplets are attached to the entire surface and are in a wet state. (5) Emulsion stability: The compatibility of the three components was observed after 1 month for a water emulsion having a solid content of 30%. ○: There is no separation in a uniform state. △: Slightly cloudy. ×: Phase separated.

[0026]

[Table 1]

[0027]

[Table 2]

[0028]

The binder fiber treated with the treating agent of the present invention has a high-speed card passing property, and a high quality nonwoven fabric can be obtained without problems such as static electricity generation and winding. Further, the resulting nonwoven fabric has excellent water permeability and can be used for diapers and napkins, and this nonwoven fabric is not sticky when worn on the skin and has a good feeling in use. In particular, when an octyl phosphate K salt and a lauryl phosphate K salt are used in combination as the alkyl phosphate, the emulsion has excellent stability over time.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yoshihiko Yoneda 2-3-1, Shibukawa-cho, Yao-shi, Osaka Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Setsuo Kita 2-3-1, Shibukawa-cho, Yao-shi, Osaka No. Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A treating agent for a binder fiber containing an alkyl phosphate having an average carbon number of 14 or less and an amidopolyalkylene-modified silicon. 2. The treating agent for fibers according to claim 1, wherein the alkyl phosphate is a combination of octyl phosphate K salt and lauryl phosphate K salt. 3. A binder fiber to which the treatment agent according to claim 1 is attached. 4. A non-woven fabric obtained from the binder fiber of claim 3.