MXPA01008660A - Layer materials treated with surfactant-modified chelating agents - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermoplastic layer material has at least one odor-reducing surface which is wettable to aqueous liquids and capable of controlling a wide variety of malodors. The thermoplastic layermaterial is treated with a surfactant-modified chelating agent prepared by mixing or chemically reacting an odor-control chelating agent with a surfactant-producing compound. The layer material thus treated can be used in a wide variety of personal care and medical absorbent products, as well as other applications.

Description

Tf LAYER MATERIALS TREATED WITH MODIFIED CHELATANT AGENTS WITH SURFACTANT FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to compounds and chemical mixtures which prevent or control the odor and impart surface wetting properties to the layer materials. In particular, the invention relates to layer materials treated with these compounds and dual-purpose chemical mixtures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Non-woven fabrics, films, foams, and other layer materials and their manufacture have been the subject of extensive development that resulted in a wide variety of materials for numerous applications. For example, nonwovens of light basis weight and open structure are used in personal care articles such as disposable diapers, such as lining fabrics that provide contact with dry skin but that readily transmit fluids to more absorbent materials which may also be non-woven of a different composition and / or structure . The no heavier weight fabrics can be designed with pore structures that make them suitable for filtration, absorbent and barrier applications such as wrappers for articles to be sterilized, wipes or protective garments for medical, veterinary or industrial Even the heavier weight nonwovens have been developed for recreational, agricultural and construction uses. Films, foams, and other layer materials are also used in some of these applications, and may be combined with non-woven fabrics.

It has not always been possible to efficiently produce a layer material which upon forming has all the desired properties, and it is often necessary to treat the material with a surfactant to improve or alter the surface properties such as wettability by one or more fluids, the repellency to one or more fluids, the electrostatic characteristics, the conductivity, and the softness to only name a few examples. Conventional surface treatments involve steps such as embedding the substrate in a treatment bath, coating or spraying the substrate with the treatment composition, and printing the substrate with the treatment composition. For reasons of cost and others it is usually desired to use a minimum amount of treatment composition that will produce the desired effect with an acceptable degree of uniformity.

For many end-use applications of the thermoplastic layer material, it is desirable to reduce, avoid or eliminate odors. For diapers and other incontinence products, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate the ammonia odor which is present in the urine. For women's hygiene products, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate odors of trimethylamine and triethylamine. Other common odor-producing substances include isovaleric acid, dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide.

Odor control agents include odor inhibitors, odor absorbers, odor adsorbers, and other compounds which reduce, prevent or eliminate odors. Odor inhibitors prevent odor from forming. For example, the patent of the United States of America No. 4,273,786 issued to Kraskin teaches the use of an aminopolycarboxylic acid compound to inhibit the formation of ammonia and urea in the urine. Absorbers and odor adsorbers remove the odor after it is formed. Examples of odor control agents that remove odor by absorption or adsorption include activated carbon, silica, and cyclodextrin.

Typical odor control agents based on aminocarboxylic acid compounds (for example ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid salts) and other chelating agents can not be easily applied. Aqueous solutions to thermoplastic layer substrates such as polyolefin non-woven fabrics, films, and foam layers because the surface tension of this solution is too high to wet the hydrophobic substrate. Personal care products such as diapers and pads for women's care typically contain polyolefin non-woven fabrics and / or other thermoplastic cover layers. Therefore, typical odor control agents can not usually be applied to the thermoplastic layer components of personal care products. Instead of this, these odor control agents are usually introduced as powders to the product, which has several disadvantages. For example, placement and containment of the powder in the product can be problematic. More importantly, the powders do not have an optimum surface area for odor absorption due to a fairly low surface to volume ratio. Therefore, more odor control agent will be necessary if it is in powder form.

There is a need or desire for odor-absorbing and odor-preventing compounds and mixtures which can be applied to a hydrophobic layer (eg, thermoplastic) substrate in a liquid or solvent form, and which have properties of sufficient surface wetting to facilitate uniform distribution and durability of the fluid.

SYNTHESIS OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a thermoplastic layer material which has been treated with a surfactant modified odor control agent. The surfactant modified odor control agent can be prepared by mixing an odor control chelating agent with a surfactant, or by chemically reacting an odor control chelating agent with a surfactant producing compound. Surfactant producing compounds include surfactants, and other compounds which behave as surfactants after the chemical reaction. The surfactant modified odor control agent can be applied to the thermoplastic layer material using conventional internal or external application techniques for the surfactants, and is preferably applied using an external application technique. The resulting treated substrate is more wettable to aqueous liquids, and avoids, reduces and / or absorbs odors on its surfaces.

The thermoplastic layer material can be a hydrophobic material, made using one or more thermoplastic polymers. The layer material may be porous and permeable to water. For example, the layer material may be a non-woven thermoplastic filament fabric, a thermoplastic film, a foam layer or a combination thereof. A non-woven thermoplastic filament fabric is preferred. The treated thermoplastic layer material can be used in a wide variety of products for personal care and medical products, and in other applications.

The odor control agents modified with surfactant can be applied to hydrophobic substrates (for example, polyolefin-based films, foam layers and non-woven fabrics) from an aqueous solution, because the surface tension of the solution is sufficiently low to wet the substrate with low surface energy . For example, coating the surfactant modified odor control agent on the polyolefin fibers of a polyolefin nonwoven fabric will optimize the surface to volume ratio of the odor control chemistry, and thus provide better odor control (for example, absorption, adsorption, prevention or inhibition of odor). In addition, the fibers coated with the surfactant-modified odor control agent will be in direct contact with body fluids as fluids enter and transmitted through the fabric components of the personal care product. This will provide optimal odor control since the odors are believed to emanate from body fluids.

It is therefore a feature and an advantage of the invention to provide a treated thermoplastic layer material having at least one surface which is more wettable to aqueous liquids than the untreated layer material, and which inhibits and / or it absorbs common odors.

It is also a feature and an advantage of the invention to provide a personal care product or fabric which uses the thermoplastic layer material which is more moistenable, and inhibits and / or absorbs odors on at least one surface. Exterior.

It is also a feature and an advantage of the invention to provide a medical product or fabric that uses the treated thermoplastic layer material that is more wettable, and inhibits and / or absorbs odors on at least one outer surface.

GJEFINICIONES The term "layer material" refers to a material that exists in the form of a paper-type or flexible-cloth-type material, including without limitation non-woven fabrics and filament fabrics, thermoplastic films, thermoplastic foam materials flexible, and multiple layer combinations that include one or more of these.

The term "water-permeable porous layer material" refers to a material present in one or more layers, such as a film, a non-woven fabric, or an open cell foam, which is porous "and which is permeable water due to the flow of water and other aqueous liquids through the pores.The pores in the film or foam, or in the spaces between the fibers or filaments in a non-woven fabric, are sufficiently large and are often sufficiently they allow runoff and flow of liquid water through the material.

The term "non-woven fabric or fabric" means a fabric having a structure of individual fibers or threads which are interleaved, but not in a regular or identifiable manner as in a woven fabric. Non-woven fabrics or fabrics have been formed from many processes such as, for example, meltblowing processes, spinning processes, air laying processes, and carded and bonded weaving processes. The basis weight of non-woven fabrics is usually expressed in ounces of material per square yard (osy) or grams per square meter (gsm) and useful fiber diameters are usually expressed in microns. (Note that to convert from ounces per square yard to grams per square meter, multiply ounces per square yard by 33.91). The term "microfiber" means small diameter fibers having an average diameter of no more than about 75 microns, for example, having an average diameter of from about 1 micron to about 50 microns, or more particularly, microfibers. they can have an average diameter of from about 1 miera to about 30 micras. Another frequently used expression of fiber diameter is denier, which is defined. as grams per 9,000 meters of a fiber. For a fiber having a circular cross section, the denier can be calculated as fiber diameter in square microns, multiplied by the density in grams / cubic centimeter, multiplied by 0.00707. A lower denier indicates a finer fiber and a higher denier indicates a heavier or thicker fiber. For example, the diameter of a polypropylene fiber given as 15 microns can be converted to denier by placing the square, multiplying the result by .89 g / cubic centimeter and multiplying by 0. 00707. Therefore, a polypropylene fiber of 15 microns has a denier of about 1.42 (152 x 0.89 x .00707 = 1.415). Outside the United States of America, the unit of measurement is more commonly, the "tex", which is defined as grams per kilometer of fiber. The tex can be calculated as denier / 9.

The term "spunbonded fibers" refers to fibers of small diameter which are formed by extruding the melted thermoplastic material as filaments from a plurality of fine capillary vessels of a spinner having a circular or other configuration, with the diameter of the extruded filaments then being rapidly reduced, as shown, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 4,340,563 issued to Appel et al., and in U.S. Patent No. 3,692,618 issued to Dorschner et al., In U.S. Patent No. 3,802,817 issued to Matsuki et al., In the patents of the United States of America nos. 3,338,992 and 3,341,394 granted to Kinney, in the United States of America Patent No. 3,502,763 granted to Hartmann, in the United States of America Patent No. 3,502,538 granted to Petersen, and in • the patent of the United States of America No. 3,542,615 issued to Dobo and others, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Spunbonded fibers are cooled and are generally non-tacky when deposited on a collecting surface. Spunbonded fibers are generally continuous and frequently have average diameters greater than about 7 microns, more particularly, between about 10 and 30 microns.

The term "meltblown fibers" means fibers formed by extruding a melted thermoplastic material through a plurality of thin, usually circular, capillaries, such as melted threads or filaments in gas streams (eg, air). heated at high speed and converging which attenuate the filaments of the molten thermoplastic material to reduce its diameter, which can be to a microfiber diameter. Then, the meltblown fibers are carried by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited on a collector surface to form a randomly dispersed meltblown fabric. Such a process is described, for example, in United States of America Patent No. 3,849,241 issued to Butin et al. The melt blown fibers are microfibers which may be continuous or discontinuous, are generally smaller than 10 microns in diameter, and are generally self-attached when deposited on a collecting surface. The meltblown fibers used in the present invention are preferably and essentially continuous in length.

The term "monocomponent" fiber refers to a fiber formed from one or more extruders using only one polymer. This does not mean that the fibers formed from a polymer to which small amounts of additives for color, antistatic properties, lubrication, hydrophilicity, repellency, etc., have been added are excluded. These additives, for example, titanium dioxide for color, are generally present in an amount of less than 5 percent by weight, and more typically of about 2 percent by weight or less.

The term "coform material" refers to a product containing about 10% by weight to 90% by weight of thermoplastic meltblown fibers and about 10% by weight to 90% by weight of dispersed basic length pulp fibers inside the fiber matrix blown with fusion. Most commonly, coform materials contain about 20% by weight to 70% by weight of thermoplastic melt blown fibers and about 30% by weight to 80% by weight pulp fibers.

The term "film" refers to a thermoplastic film made using a film extrusion process, such as a blown film or cast film extrusion process. The term "porous water-permeable films" refers to films made porous by perforation or perforation, and to films that are made porous by mixing the polymer with the filler, forming a film of the mixture, and stretching the film.

The term "foam material" refers to a thermoplastic layer material made with the aid of a foaming process. The term "open cell foam material" refers to a foam layer whose cells interconnect, or otherwise create pores from one surface of the layer to the opposite surface.

The term "polymer" includes, but is not limited to, homopolymers, copolymers, such as, for example, block, graft, random, and alternating copolymers, terpolymers, etc., and mixtures and modifications thereof. . In addition, unless specifically limited otherwise, the term "polymer" will include all possible geometric configurations of the material. These configurations include but are not limited to isotactic, syndiotactic and atactic symmetries.

The term "bicomponent fibers or filaments" refers to fibers which have been formed from at least two extruded polymers of separate extruders but spun together to form a fiber. The polymers are arranged in distinct zones placed essentially constant across the cross section of the bicomponent fibers and extend continuously along the length of the bicomponent fibers. The configuration of such bicomponent fiber can be, for example, a pod / core arrangement where one polymer is surrounded by another or can be a side-by-side arrangement or an arrangement of "islands in the sea". The bicomponent fibers are taught in U.S. Patent No. 5,108,820 issued to Kaneko et al., In U.S. Patent No. 5,336,552 issued to Strack et al. And in the U.S. Pat. America No. 5,382,400 issued to Pike and others, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. For the two component fibers, the polymers may be present in proportions of 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 or any other desired proportions. Conventional additives, such as pigments and surfactants, may be incorporated in one or both polymer streams, or may be applied to the surfaces of the filaments.

The term "pulp fibers" refers to fibers from natural sources such as woody and non-woody plants. Woody plants include, for example, deciduous and coniferous trees. Non-woody plants include, for example, cotton, flax, esparto grass, benzene, straw, jute, hemp and bagasse.

The term "average pulp fiber length" i refers to the average pulp length determined using a Kajaani fiber analyzer model No. FS-100 available from Kajaani Oy Electronics in Kajaani, Finland. Under the test procedure, a fiber sample is usually treated with a macerating liquid to ensure that no pieces or bundles of fiber are present. Each fiber sample is dispersed in hot water and diluted to around 0.001% concentration. The individual test samples are drawn in approximately 50 milliliter to 500 milliliter portions from the diluted solution and tested using the normal Kajaani fiber analysis procedure. The average heavy fiber lengths can be expressed by the following equation: k KX n / n Xx > 0 where k = maximum fiber length, X = individual fiber length, n1 = number of fibers having a length X1 and n total number of measured fibers.

The term "superabsorbent material" refers to an organic or inorganic material insoluble in water and swellable in water capable, under the most favorable conditions, of absorbing at least about 20 times its weight, preferably at least about 30 times its weight. Weight in an aqueous solution containing 0.9% by weight of sodium chloride.

The term "bound through air" or " " means a process of joining a nonwoven, for example, a woven fabric of bicomponent fiber in which the air is hot enough to melt one of the polymers of which The fibers of the fabric are made by being forced through said tissue. The air speed is often between 100 and 500 feet per minute, the dwell time can be as long as 6 seconds. The melting and resolidification of the polymer provides the bond. Bonding through air has a restricted variability and is generally seen as a second step joining process. Since the union through air requires the melting of at least one component to achieve the bond, it is restricted to two-component fabrics such as bicomponent fiber fabrics or fabrics containing a fiber or adhesive powder. .

The term "thermal point union" involves passing a fabric or fabric of fibers that are to be joined between a heated calender roll and an anvil roller. The calendering roll usually has, although not always, a pattern in some way so that the entire fabric is not bonded through its entire surface. As a result of this, various patterns for the calendering rolls have been developed for functional as well as aesthetic reasons. An example of a pattern points and is the Hansen Pennings pattern or "H &P" with about a 30% bound area with about 200 joints per square inch as taught in U.S. Patent No. 3,855,046 awarded to Hansen and Pennings. The H &P pattern has bolt or square point joining areas where each bolt has a side dimension of 0.038 inches (0.965 millimeters), a spacing of 0.070 inches (1,778 millimeters), a spacing of 0.070 inches (1,778 millimeters) between the bolts, and a joint depth of 0.023 inches (0.584 millimeters). The resulting pattern has a bound area of about 29.5%. Another typical point union pattern is the Hansen and Pennings "EHP" joint pattern which produces a 15% joint area with a square bolt that has a side dimension of 0.037 inches (0.94 millimeters), a bolt spacing of 0.097 inches (2,464 millimeters) and a depth of 0.039 inches (0.991 millimeters). Another typical point union pattern designated "714" has square bolt joint areas where each bolt has a side dimension of 0.023 inches, a spacing of 0.62 inches (1,575 millimeters) between the bolts and a joint depth of 0.033 inches (0.838 millimeters). The resulting pattern has a bound area of about 15%. Yet another common pattern is the star pattern of C which has a united area of about 16.9%. The star pattern C has a bar design in the transverse direction or "corduroy" interrupted by shooting stars. Other common patterns include a diamond pattern with slightly off-center and repetitive diamonds and a wire-woven pattern that looks like the name suggests, like a window grid. Typically, the percent of bonded area varies from about 10% to about 30% of the fabric area of the fabric laminate. As is known in the art, point bonding holds laminated layers together as well as one that imparts integrity to each individual layer by joining the filaments and / or fibers within each layer.

The term "personal care product" includes, without limitation, diapers, underpants, swimwear, absorbent underwear, baby wipes, adult incontinence products, and women's hygiene products. i The term "medical product" includes without limitation garments, inner pads, bandages, absorbent covers, and medical cleansing wipes.

The term "hydrophilic" or "wettable" means that the polymeric material has an apparent surface free energy so that the polymeric material is wettable by an aqueous medium, for example, a liquid medium of which water is a major component. That is, the aqueous medium moistens the non-woven fabric. "Apparent surface free energy" refers to the highest surface tension of an aqueous liquid which moistens the polymeric material. For example, the apparent surface free energy of a polymeric material that is wetted with an aqueous liquid having a surface tension of 72 dynes / centimeter is at least 72 dynes / centimeter and possibly more. In the fabrics of the invention, a surface of the non-woven fabric is treated with a surfactant-modified odor control agent using internal or external application techniques as described below. t The term "surfactant" refers to a compound or a mixture which, when applied to a surface of a substrate, causes the surface to become more "wettable" as defined above. In one case, the substrate is not wettable independently and the surfactant causes it to become wettable. In other cases, the substrate is somewhat humid and the surfactant makes it more humid, or more easily moistened.

The term "surfactant producing moiety" or "surfactant producing compound" refers to a chemical group or compound which, when reacted or mixed with another compound (e.g., an odor control agent, causes the Reacted compound or mixture behave as a surfactant The surfactant-producing compound or moiety may or may not behave like a surfactant prior to mixing or chemical reaction.

The term "odor control agent" includes compounds and mixtures which inhibit the formation of at least one undesirable odor, as well as the compounds and mixtures which absorb an undesirable odor that has already been formed.

The term "surfactant modified odor control agent" refers to a mixture and / or a reaction product, between an odor control agent and a surfactant or a surfactant producing compound, which both act as a surfactant and an odor control agent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1. illustrates a test apparatus used in Examples 1-6.

Figure 2 illustrates a calibration curve used in Examples 1-6.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an ammonia concentration against time, for Examples 1-6.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the concentration of ammonia against time, for Examples i 7-12.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing the ammonia Drager tube readings (representative of the concentration) against time, for Examples 13 to 17.

Figure 6 is a bar graph showing the absorption of triethylamine (TEA) for most of Examples 30 to 44.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CURRENTLY PREFERRED INCORPORATIONS The present invention is a layer material having at least one odor reducing surface. The starting material for the invention is the thermoplastic layer material. Examples of suitable starting materials include thermoplastic non-woven filament fabrics, thermoplastic films, and thermoplastic foam layers. The starting material may be a porous and water permeable layer material. Examples of water-permeable cap materials include thermoplastic non-woven filament fabrics, open-cell foam layers, and films which are perforated or otherwise porous, such as by stretching a film made of a mixture of a thermoplastic material and a particulate filler.

The starting material is treated with a surfactant modified odor control agent. The surfactant modified odor control agent is produced by mixing an odor control chelating agent with a surfactant compound, or by chemically reacting an odor control chelating agent with a surfactant producing compound. The term "surfactant producing compound" refers to surfactants, and other compounds which function as surfactants after the chemical reaction. The surfactant modified odor control agent is applied to the starting material using conventional techniques to apply surfactants externally or internally. Preferably, the surfactant modified odor control agent is applied externally in the form of a liquid, using techniques such as embedding, spraying, brushing, or other liquid coating techniques. The odor control agent modified with surfactant can be mixed with water or another solvent to facilitate its application.

The preferred layer material for the invention is a nonwoven fabric that includes a plurality of filaments made of one or more polymers. The non-woven fabric can be a spunbonded fabric, a meltblown fabric, a bonded and bonded fabric or another type of non-woven fabric, and can be present in a single layer or in a multilayer composite including one or more boxes of non-woven fabric and, in some cases, one or more films or layers of foam. The fabric may include mon component or bicomponent filaments, or a combination that includes one or both types of filament. The non-woven fabric can have a variety of basis weights, preferably ranging from about 0.1 grams per square meter to 200 grams per square meter (gsm). A preferred nonwoven fabric is a coform material, which includes a matrix of blown fibers with polyolefin melting and a large percentage (frequently 30% by weight to 80% by weight) of pulp fibers dispersed in the blown fiber matrix with fusion.

Another preferred nonwoven fabric is an air-laid fabric of polyolefin fibers and pulp fibers.

A wide variety of thermoplastic polymers can be used to build the starting thermoplastic layer material, including without limitation polyamides, polyesters, polyolefins, ethylene and propylene copolymers, ethylene or propylene copolymers with a C4 alpha-olefin -C20, terpolymers of ethylene with propylene and a C4-C20 alpha-olefin, copolymers of ethylene vinyl acetate, copolymers of propylene vinyl acetate, 'styrene-poly (ethylene-alpha-olefin) elastomers, polyurethanes, AB block copolymers in where A is formed of poly (vinyl arene) moieties, such as polystyrene and B is an elastomeric middle block such as a conjugated diene or a lower alkene, polyethers, polyether esters, polyacrylates, ethylene alkyl acrylates, polyisobutylene, poly-1- butene, poly-1-butene copolymers including copolymers of ethylene-1-butene, polybutadiene, isobutylene-isoprene copolymers and combinations of any of the teriores. Polyolefins are preferred. Polyethylene and polypropylene homopolymers and copolymers are most preferred. The odor control agent, which can be mixed or chemically reacted with a surfactant to make a surfactant modified odor control agent, includes a chelating agent. Suitable chelating agents include without limitation aminopolycarboxylic acids, their alkali metal salts, and combinations thereof. Suitable aminopolycarboxylic acids and the alkali metal, i (preferably sodium) salts thereof, include without limitation, ethylenediamine tetracetic acid (EDTA), the alkali metal salts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (e.g., Na 2 EDTA, Na 3 EDTA and Na4EDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid, the alkali (eg, sodium) metal salts of cyclohexanediamine tetraacetic acid, diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA), hydroxyethylene diamine triacetic acid (HEDTA), diethylene triamine pentaacetate pentasodium, hydroxyethyl ethylenediamine triacetic triacetate, and combinations thereof. A particularly suitable aminopolycarboxylic acid is ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Suitable chelating agents also include polyamino disuccinic acids and their alkali metal salts, including the acids and salts of ethylenediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, diethylenetriamine-N, N "-disuccinic acid, triethylenetetraamine-N, N "'-disuccinic acid, 1, 6-hexamethylenediamine N, N-disuccinic acid tetraethylene pentaamine-N, N" "-disuccinic acid, 2-hydroxypropylene-1,3-diamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, 1,2 -propylenediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, 1,3-propylenediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, cis-cyclohexamethylamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, trans-cyclohexanediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, and ethylene-bis (oxyethylenitrile) -N, N'-disuccinic acid. The preferred polyamino disuccinic acid is ethylenediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid. Chelating agents can act as odor inhibitors which prevent odor from occurring by interfering with odor-producing reactions, as well as odor absorbers which remove or minimize existing odor-producing compounds. When single chelating agents are applied to the starting substrate material, the material does not have sufficient wettability to aqueous liquids.

In accordance with the invention, the odor control agent is mixed with a surfactant and / or chemically reacted with a surfactant-producing compound, to give the modified odor control agent with surfactant which can serve both functional. The surfactant and / or the surfactant producing compound should include at least one functional group which is compatible with the thermoplastic polymer used to make the fibrous nonwoven fabric. Suitable functional groups include alkyl groups having about 3-20 carbon atoms, including without limitation propyl, benzyl, isopropyl, butyl, tertiary butyl, allyl, alkyl-benzyl, hexyl, octyl, decyl, lauryl, myristyl, palmityl, cocyl, oleyl, stearyl, and other common alkyl groups. The alkyl groups can be combined with aminopolycarboxylic acids and their salts by mixing an alkyl-containing surfactant with an odor control chelating people based on a salt or aminopolycarboxylic acid. Mixing can occur in a solvent such as water. Alkyl groups may also be chemically reacted with aminopolycarboxylic acids and their salts by reacting a carboxyl group or salt thereof under the appropriate conditions with an alkyl surfactant compound, an alkyl halide, an alkyl alkylating sulfate reagent, or another suitable alkylating compound. Mixing and / or chemical reaction can be achieved using conventional techniques.

Other suitable functional groups include acyl groups having about 3 carbon atoms to 20 carbon atoms, including without limitation, propionyl, butyryl, trifluoroacetyl, benzoyl, caproyl, caprylyl, capryl, lauroyl, myristoyl, palmitoyl, stearoyl, cocoyl, oleyl, and other common acyl groups. The compounds that contain acyl groups? they can be combined with aminopolycarboxylic acids and their salts by mixing with an acyl-containing surfactant with a chelating agent based on aminocarboxylic acid (or salt). Again, a solvent such as water can be employed. The acyl groups can also be formed on the aminopolycarboxylic acids and their salts by chemically reacting a carboxyl group-containing compound or salt thereof with an acyl surfactant compound, acid anhydride, acid chloride, or other suitable acylating compound. Again, mixing and / or chemical reaction can be achieved using conventional techniques.

Other suitable functional groups include any group of aliphatic hydrocarbon derived therefrom which can be mixed or reacted with an aminopolycarboxylic acid to make surfactant. Examples include certain surfactant compounds containing perfluoro and / or siloxane groups, other compounds containing these groups and other suitable compounds. where x = 2 to 11, CH, CH, -fr Si -O Si -CH CH3 CH3 I where x = 2 to 20, and CH, CH, CH, CH, CHj- Si - O - fr Si - O -H- Si -O ^ - Si - CH3 CH, CH, CH, where x = 2 to 20. Another particularly suitable surfactant is AHCOVEL® Base N-62 available from Hodgson Chemical Company. This surfactant is a mixture of hydrogenated and ethoxylated castor oil and sorbitan monooleate. The chemical formulas for these components are as follows: Hydrogenated Castor Oil and Ethoxylated Sorbitol Monooleate The .AHCOVEL® Base N-62 can be mixed or chemically reacted with a suitable odor control chelating agent to produce an odor control agent modified with surfactant. A particularly suitable surfactant modified odor control agent is a mixture of AHCOVEL® Base N-62 with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or a sodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. A presently preferred mixture contains about three parts to 10 parts (more preferably 6 to 8 parts) by weight of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (or a sodium salt thereof) per part by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62, in one solution aqueous containing about 90.0-99.9% water.

Another suitable surfactant is CETIOL® 1414E, available from Henkel Cor oration. CETIOL® 1414E is an ethoxylated ester derivative of myristic acid. A particularly suitable surfactant-modified odor control agent is a mixture of CETIOL® 1414E with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or a sodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. A presently preferred mixture contains about 3-10 parts (more preferably 6 to 8 parts) by weight of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (or a sodium salt thereof) on the one hand by weight of CETIOL® 1414E in a similar aqueous solution.

Another suitable surfactant is MASIL® SF-19, available from PPG Industries, Inc., MASIL® SF-19 is an ethoxylated siloxane, and may be combined with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or a sodium salt thereof, in a manner similar to that described above. for the AHCOVEL® Base N-62 or CETIOL® 1414E.

Other useful surfactant modified odor control agents are acyl modified aminopolycarboxylic acids (EDTA's) and their salts. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid - specific acyl-digested acid is the lauryl ethylenediamine triacetic acid salt mono-, di-, or trisodium (also referred to as NaxLED3A, where x = 1-3), available from Hampshire Chemical Corporation. This is a hybrid reacted compound (as opposed to a mixture, which serves as a surfactant-modified odor control agent.) Another acyl-modified ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid is a mono-, di- or tri-sodium ethylene diamine triacetic acid caprolol acid. (NaxC8ED3A, where x = 1-3) This is also a hybrid reacted compound which serves as a modified odor control agent with surfactant.

The surfactant modified odor control agent can be applied using internal or external application techniques known in the art. Some compounds and mixtures operate more favorably when applied internally and are called "internal additives". Others operate more favorably when applied externally and are called "external additives". Still other compounds and mixtures operate properly as both internal and external additives 4 As is generally known, an internal additive is typically mixed with the polymer used to make the nonwoven fabric, the film, the foam, or other thermoplastic material, and migrates to the surfaces of the filaments of non-woven fabric or other material of layers during and / or after their formation. Frequently, migration results from a stimulus, such as heat applied to the thermoplastic material. An external additive is applied externally to the surfaces of the layer material after it is formed. An external additive may be applied by soaking, soaking, spraying or otherwise coating the thermoplastic layer material with a solvent or other medium containing the additive.

External application methods are currently preferred for the surfactant modified odor control agents used with the treated materials of the invention. The surfactant-modified odor control agent (either formed by mixing or chemical reaction) can be mixed with water or other suitable solvent in a concentration of about 0.1% by weight to 30% by weight of the agent, preferably about 100% by weight. 0.5% by weight to 15% by weight of the agent, more preferably from about 1% by weight to 5% by weight of the agent. The solution can then be applied to a thermoplastic layer material by dipping, spraying, brush coating, printing or other suitable technique. The treated layer material can then be dried using heat, forced air convection, vacuum induced evaporation, or other conventional drying technique.

The treated layer materials thus formed have wettability to aqueous liquids, and odor resistance to a wide variety of odor producing moieties. The terms "odor resistance" and "odor control" refer to the ability of the treated layer materials to react, inhibit, neutralize, form complexes, or otherwise prevent odor-producing compounds from forming or reducing the odors produced by them. Examples of the odor-producing compounds which can be inhibited, reduced or eliminated by the treated layer materials of the invention, include without limitation ammonia, trimethylamine, triethylamine, isovaleric acid, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide , indole, skatole and the like. i The amount of surfactant modified odor control agent necessary to provide sufficient wetting and odor absorption may vary depending on the half of the surfactant and odor control agent mixed or reacted together, the type of base polymer, and if the odor control agent modified with surfactant is added internally or externally. On a solvent-free weight basis, the surfactant modified odor control agent should generally constitute about 0.1% by weight to 10% by weight of the thermoplastic layer material to which it is applied, preferably about 0.5% by weight to 8% by weight, more preferably around 2% by weight to 7% by weight.

The treated thermoplastic layer materials thus formed can be used in a wide variety of absorbent product applications including, in particular, absorbent personal care products. Absorbent personal care products include diapers, underpants, swimwear, absorbent underwear, baby wipes, adult incontinence products, women's hygiene products, and Similar. In the absorbent products, the treated layer material (if permeable to water) can be used as a cover sheet or a containment matrix for an absorbent medium capable of absorbing aqueous liquids. An absorbent medium may include, for example, pulp fibers alone or in combination with a superabsorbent material. The treated layer material can also be used in medical absorbent products, including without limitation, garments, underpants, absorbent covers, bandages, and medical cleansing wipes.

The pulp fibers can be a pulp of high average fiber length, a pulp of low average fiber length, or mixtures thereof. Preferred pulp fibers include cellulose fibers. The term "high average fiber length pulp" refers to the pulp that contains a relatively small amount of short fibers and non-fiber particles. The high fiber length pulps typically have an average fiber length greater than about 1.5 millimeters, preferably about 1.5 millimeters to 6 millimeters, as determined by an optical fiber analyzer, such as a Kajaani tester mentioned above. The sources generally include the non-secondary (virgin) fibers, as well as the secondary fiber pulp which has been analyzed. Examples of high average fiber length pulps include virgin softwood pulp bleached and unbleached.

The term "low average fiber length pulp" refers to the pulp which contains a significant amount of short fibers and non-fiber particles. The low average fiber length pulps have an average fiber length of less than about 1.5 millimeters, preferably about 0.7 millimeters to 1.2 millimeters, as determined by a fiber optic analyzer such as a Kajaani tester mentioned above. Examples of low fiber length pulps include virgin hardwood pulp, as well as secondary fiber pulp from sources such as office waste, newsprint, and cardboard cutout.

Examples of high average fiber length wood pulps include those available from U.S. Alliance Coosa Pines Corporation, under the trade designations Longlac 19, Coosa River 56, and Coosa River 57. Low average fiber length pulps may include some virgin hardwood pulp and secondary fiber pulp (for example, recycled) from sources that include, reclaimed cardboard, newspaper, and office waste. Mixtures of high average fiber length pulp and low average fiber length pulp may contain a predominance of low average fiber length pulps. For example, the blends may contain more than about 50% by weight of the pulp of low average fiber length and less than about 50% by weight of pupa of high average fiber length.

The term "superabsorbent" or "superabsorbent material" refers to an organic or inorganic material insoluble in water, and swellable in water capable, under the most favorable conditions, of absorbing at least about 20 times its weight, and more desirably , at least about 30 times its weight in an aqueous solution containing 0.9 percent by weight of sodium chloride.

The superabsorbent materials can be natural, synthetic and modified natural materials and polymers. In addition, the superabsorbent materials may be inorganic materials, such as silica gels, or organic compounds such as crosslinked polymers. The term "cross-linked" refers to any means for effectively making materials normally water-soluble and essentially insoluble, but swellable in water. Such means may include, for example, physical entanglement, crystalline domains, covalent bonds, complexes and ionic associations, hydrophilic associations, such as hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic associations or Van der Waals forces.

Examples of the synthetic superabsorbent material polymers include the ammonium and alkali metal salts of poly (acrylic acid) and poly (methacrylic acid), poly (acrylamide), poly (vinyl ethers), copolymers of maleic anhydride with ethers of vinyl and alpha olefins, poly (vinyl pyrrolidone), poly (vinyl morpholinone), poly (vinyl alcohol), and mixtures and copolymers thereof. Additional superabsorbent materials include modified natural and natural polymers, such as hydrolyzed acrylonitrile grafted starch, acrylic acid grafted starch, methylcellulose, chitosan, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, and natural gums, such as alginates, xanthan gum, gum carob and similar. Mixtures of natural and fully or partially synthetic superabsorbent polymers can also be used in the present invention. Other suitable absorbent gelation materials are described by Assarsson et al. In U.S. Patent No. 3,901,236 issued August 26, 1975. Processes for preparing synthetic absorbent gelation polymers are described in the US Pat. United States No. 4,076,663 issued February 28, 1978 to Masuda et al., And United States of America No. 4,286,082 issued August 25, 1981 to Tsubakimoto et al. i The superabsorbent materials can be xerogels which form hydrogels when wetted. The term "hydrogel", however, has been commonly used to also refer to both wetted and unmoistened forms of the superabsorbent polymer material. The superabsorbent materials can be in many forms such as flakes, powders, particles, fibers, continuous fibers, nets, fabrics and spun filaments of solution. The particles can be of any desired shape, for example, spiral or semi-spiral, cubic, rod-type, polyhydric, etc. Needles, flakes, fibers and combinations can also be used.

The superabsorbents are generally available in particle sizes ranging from about 20 to about 1,000 microns. Examples of commercially available particulate superabsorbents include SANWET® IM-3900 and SA ™ WET® IM-5000P, available from Hoescht Celanese located in Portsmouth, Virginia, DRYTECH® 2.035LD available from the Dow Chemical Company, located in Midland, Michigan. , and FAVOR® SXM880, available from Stockhausen, located in Greensboro, North Carolina. An example of a fibrous superabsorbent is' OASIS® 101, available from Technical Absorbents, located in Grimsby, England.

As indicated above, the treated thermoplastic layer material may be a cover sheet or a matrix for an absorbent medium. Non-woven filaments can be used as a matrix, and can be combined with pulp fibers and (optionally) a superabsorbent material using processes well known in the art. For example, a coform process may be employed, in which at least one meltblowing matrix head i is arranged near a conduit through which other materials are aggregated while the tissue is being formed. The coform processes are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,818,464 to Lau and 4,100,324 to Anderson et al., The descriptions of which are incorporated herein by reference. Thermoplastic non-woven filaments and pulp fibers can also be combined using hydraulic entanglement or mechanical entanglement. A hydraulic entangling process is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,485,706 issued to Evans, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

When the treated thermoplastic nonwoven filaments are used as a matrix for an absorbent nonwoven fabric composite, the composite should contain about 5% by weight to 97% by weight pulp fibers, preferably about 35% by weight to 95% by weight. % by weight of pulp fibers, more preferably around 50% by weight to 95% by weight of pulp fibers. When a superabsorbent material is present, it should constitute about 5% by weight to 90% by weight of the compound, preferably about 10% by weight to 60% by weight, more preferably about 20% by weight to 50% by weight . In either case, the thermoplastic nonwoven matrix should constitute about 3% by weight to 95% by weight of the compound, preferably about 5% by weight to 65% by weight, more preferably about 5% by weight to 50% by weight. % by weight.

After combining the ingredients together, the absorbent non-woven composites can be joined together using the thermal spot bond, or the air binding techniques described above, to provide a high integrity and coherent structure.

Examples 1-6 (Odor Inhibition) The following procedures were used to measure the inhibition of ammonia odor generated by synthetic urine. The base fabric tested was a coform material that contained 30% by weight of meltblown polypropylene fibers and 60% by weight of pulp fibers dispersed within the meltblown fiber matrix. The coform material has a basis weight of 170 grams / square meter. The samples of the base fabrics were treated with various coatings by soaking the fabric in an aqueous solution containing the surface coatings, squeezing the excess solution from the treated fabrics, and drying the treated fabrics. The treated fabrics were cut into samples that weighed 0.5 grams each.

The treated fabric samples (weighing 0.5 grams) were each exposed to a 6 milliliter discharge of synthetic urine at 37 gradyos centigrade which had been inoculated with 5.6 x 109 colony forming units / milliliter of proteus mirabilis bacteria. The amount of 6 milliliters was selected because the fabric sample of Example 2 (described above) was able to absorb and retain the amount of the fluid. This bacterium, which is typically present on the surface of human skin, facilitates the formation of ammonia from urea in the urine. Synthetic urine has the following composition per aqueous liter, and a pH of 6.69. i Urea 25 grams NaCl ', 9 grams MgS04 * 5H20 0.4 grams Ca (OAc) 2 0.7 grams K2S04 4 grams (NH4) 2S04 2.5 grams Prior to the discharge of synthetic urine, each sample of fabric was placed in a 125 milliliter glass Erlenmeyer bottle at 37 degrees centigrade as shown in figure 1. The bottle 1 was equipped with a glass tube 2 of 5 millimeters in diameter. outer diameter, which was extended into the bottle through a Fisher brand twist stopper 3. Above the bottle, the Fisher 4 pure latex tube connected glass tube 2 on one end, and Drager 5 ammonia diffusion tube on the other end. The Drager tubes were identified as Drager 8101301. The ammonia diffusion tube 5 operates according to a color code, and changes to different colors depending on the ammonia concentration inside it. Over time (eg to a stable state), there is a linear correlation between the ammonia concentration inside the Drager 5 tube and the concentration inside the bottle 1. This correlation is known from preset calibration tests, and is shown in the Figure 2. The calibration curve was generated using the Drager tubes attached to the bottles containing zero, 60, 150, 480, 600 and 750 parts per million ammonia, and from two normal ammonia calibration controls (60 parts per million and 600 parts per million of ammonia). Referring to Figure 2, the actual ammonia concentration inside the bottle, and the concentration detected within the Drager tube, are related according to the following equation: Total .68 Even though the test for ammonia concentration has some subjectivity, the currents observed below must be maintained if the tests are repeated. The six examples evaluated for the release / inhibition of ammonia odor using synthetic urine, treated with bacteria were characterized as follows: Example 1: Only 6 milliliters of synthetic urine, treated with the bacteria, were injected into the bottle without a sample of cloth.

Example 2: A sample of coform fabric treated with 0.6% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62, a surfactant mixture of hydrogenated and ethoxylated castor oil and sorbitan monooleate, supplied by Hodgson Chemical Co. The percentage of aggregate was calculated as follow: f cloth weight less dry cloth weight j X% surfactant mixture in [Dry cloth weight J solution.

The AHCOVEL® Base N-62 was applied to the fabric from an aqueous solution that contained 0.30% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62.

Example 3: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 2.0% by weight of Na2EDTA (disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) which has the chemical formula C10H14N2O8Na2 »2H2O, and 0.6% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62. The; Na2EDTA was supplied by Sigma Corporation. The aqueous solution used for the coating was prepared by mixing 1.0% by weight of Na2EDTA with water and then adding 0.30% by weight of AHCOVEL® to the solution.

Example 4: A coform fabric sample was treated with 2.0% by weight of NaxLED3A from Hampshire Chemical Corporation and 0.6% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62. The aqueous solution used for the coating was prepared by mixing 1.0% by weight of NaxLDE3A with water, and then adding just enough hydrochloric acid to reduce the pH to around 6.5% (which also reduced the surface tension of the solution) . Then, 0.30% by weight of AHCOVEL® was added to the mixture.

Example 5: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 2.1% by weight of Na2EDTA. The aqueous solution used for the coating was prepared by mixing 1.0% Na2EDTA and 0.5% by weight of hexanol with water.

Example 6: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 2.1% by weight of NaxLED3A. The aqueous solution used for the coating was prepared by mixing 1.0% NaxLED3A with water, and adding just enough hydrochloric acid to reduce the pH to around 6.5 (thereby reducing the surface tension of the solution).

Each example was run in duplicate, with the results reported as an average of duplicate samples.

For each sample, the ammonia concentration was measured every hour for 10 hours. All the fabric samples except for example 5 (treated with Na2EDTA only) had sufficient ability to rapidly absorb (within a few seconds) the insult of the bacterium / synthetic urine. The fabric of Example 5 retained urine discharge on its outer surface for about 6 minutes-7 minutes before completely absorbing it. Nevertheless, it took about 5 hours for most of the examples to produce enough ammonia to give reliable ammonia readings.

Actual ammonia concentrations in the bottles for the periods between 5 hours and 10 hours are shown in graphs in Figure 3. Higher ammonia concentrations reflect a lower inhibition of ammonia formation. Synthetic urine by itself (Example 1) and AHCOVEL® by itself (Example 2) exhibited no inhibition and exhibited high ammonia release levels. The combination of NaxLED3A and Ahcovel® (Example 4) also did not inhibit the formation of ammonia.

The combination of Na2EDTA and AHCOVEL® (Example 3) showed the inhibition of ammonia formation, as shown by the lower release levels. The Na2EDTA by itself (example 5) inhibited the formation of ammonia, but did not exhibit adequate surface ing, as indicated by the long time required for the discharge of synthetic urine / bacteria to enter the fabric. NaxLED3A by itself (example 6) inhibited the formation of ammonia to some extent, and had adequate surface ing. t The proteus mirabilis bacterium must be present in the synthetic urine in order for the ammonia to be found. The three additional examples (not shown in graphs) produced no ammonia. These were: a) an empty bottle, b) synthetic urine without the bacteria, and c) coform fabric treated with 0.58% of AHCOVEL® Base N-62 and exposed to synthetic urine without the bacteria.

Examples 7-12 (Odor Inhibition) Essentially the same procedures described above for the examples. 1-6 were used to measure the ammonia odor inhibition generated from human urine (stagnant of three female donors). The same coform material and sample sizes were used. The fabric samples were treated with surface coatings using the same procedures of soaking, squeezing and drying. The treated fabric samples were then each placed in a 125 milliliter glass Erlenmeyer bottle at 37 degrees centigrade as shown in figure 1, and each was exposed to a 6 milliliter discharge of real urine at 37 degrees centigrade, which had been inoculated with 5.5 x 109 colony forming units / milliliter of proteus mirabilis bacteria and had a pH of 5.93.

The six examples evaluated for the inhibition / release of ammonia odor using real urine, treated with the bacteria, were characterized as follows: Example 7: Only 6 milliliters of real urine, treated with the bacteria, were injected into the bottle without a sample of cloth.

Example 8: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 0.6% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62, using the technique described for example 2.

Example 9: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 2.0% by weight of Na2EDTA, and 0.6% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62, using the technique described for example 3.

Example 10: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 2.0% by weight of NaxLED3A, and 0 * .6% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62, using the technique described for Example 4.

Example 11: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 2.1% by weight of Na2EDTA, using the technique described for example 5.

Example 12: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 2.1% by weight of NaxLED3A, using the technique described for example 6.

Each example was run in duplicate, with the results reported as an average of duplicate samples. For each example, the ammonia concentration was measured every hour for 10 hours. The total ammonia concentration was determined from a Drager tube using the calibration technique described above for Examples 1-6. In this case, the calibration technique generated the following relationship: Total NH, con.ppm = / f (Drager tube reading / exposure hours) + 8.0032ppm 11-31.91 (After 9 hours, all the examples had produced the maximum ammonia (1500 parts per million) that could be measured by the Drager tube.All the fabric samples except example 11 (treated with only Na2EDTA) had sufficient wettability to absorb The volume of ammonia in the bottles, as measured by hours, is plotted in Figure 4. Again, higher ammonia concentrations reflect a lower inhibition of ammonia formation.

Of the six examples exposed to human urine, only two of these showed an odor inhibition compared to the control (example 7) which did not use a cloth. The two examples that showed inhibition were the cloth treated with Na2EDTA and AHCOVEL® (example 9) and the cloth treated with Na2EDTA alone (example 11). Of the two, only the fabric of Example 9 exhibited adequate surface wetting.

Again, the proteus mirabilis bacteria must be present in human urine in order for ammonia to be found. Three additional examples (not plotted) produced no ammonia. These were: a) an empty bottle, b) human urine without the bacteria, and c) coform treated with 0.6% of AHCOVEL® Base N-62 and exposed to human urine without the bacteria.

Examples 13-17 (Inhibition of Odor) Procedures similar to those of Examples 7-12 were used to measure odor inhibition generated by human urine in Examples 13-17. Examples 13 to 17 were designed to test the odor inhibition of the inoculated urine with a higher level, -7.4 x 109 colony forming units / milliliter, of proteus mirabilis bacteria using higher levels of Na2EDTA in the modified odor control agent. with surfactant. The same coform material and sample sizes were used. The fabric samples were treated with the surfactant modified odor control agents using the same soaking, squeezing and drying procedures. The treated fabric samples were then each placed in a glass Erlenmeyer bottle of 125 milliliters at 37 degrees centigrade as shown in figure 1, and were exposed to a 6 milliliter discharge of human urine at 37 degrees centigrade, the which had been inoculated with the bacteria, and which had a pH of 5.96. For each sample, three fabric samples were treated, and the results were averaged.

The five examples evaluated for the release / inhibition of ammonia odor in this game were characterized as follows: Example 13: Only the 6 milliliters of real urine, treated with the highest amount of bacteria, were injected into the bottle without a sample of cloth.

Example 14: A sample of coform fabric was treated with 0.6% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62, using the technique described for example 2.

Example 15: A coform fabric sample was treated with 4.6% by weight of Na2EDTA, and 0.7% by weight of AHCOVEL® Base N-62, using a similar aqueous solution to that of Example 3 except for the higher concentrations.

Example 16: A coform fabric sample was treated with 0.7% by weight of CETIOL® 1414E, an ethoxylated ester derivative of myristic acid, obtained from Kenkel Corporation. A technique similar to that of Example 2 was used, except that CETIOL® was used instead of AHCOVEL®.

Example 17: A sample of coform fabric treated with 4.8% by weight of Na2EDTA and 0.7% by weight of CETIOL® 1414E, using an aqueous solution similar to that of Example 15, except for CETIOL® was used instead of AHCOVEL® .

The Drager tube readings in the bottles for periods between 3 hours to 8 hours are plotted in Figure 5. The upper Drager tube readings reflect a lower inhibition of ammonia formation. Human urine by itself (example 13) exhibited no odor inhibition and exhibited high ammonia release levels. Ammonia release levels were even higher for fabric samples treated with only AHCOVEL® (example 14) and with CETIOL® only (example 16). The fabrics treated with the surfactant modified odor control agents (examples 15 and 17) showed substantial inhibition of ammonia formation, indicated by very low release levels. Of these, the samples treated with the combination of Na2EDTA / AHCOVEL® (example 15) was somewhat more effective in inhibiting the formation of ammonia than the samples treated with the combination of Na2EDTA / CETIOL® (example 17). i Examples 18-22 (Antimicrobial Behavior) The samples (0.5 grams each) of coform fabric had a dry basis weight of 170 grams per square meter and contained 30% by weight of fibers blown with polypropylene melt and 75% by weight of pulp fibers, were exposed to a discharge of 6 milliliters of human urine at 37 degrees Celsius. The urine had been inoculated with 7.4 x 109 cfu / ml of proteus mirabilis bacteria. Prior to the urine discharges, and procedures similar to those described in the preceding examples, the coform samples were treated in aqueous solutions to give the coatings described in Table 1, based on the dry weight of the coform. After the urine discharges, the samples were allowed to settle in the Erlenmeyer bottles as described, at 37 degrees Celsius for eight hours. After eight hours the concentration of proteus mirabilis in the urine was measured, for each of the samples discharged with urine. Table 1 reports the results of these measurements, reflecting an average of three samples for each example.

Table 1 - Populations of Proteus Mirabilis After Eight Hours As shown in Examples 18-22, the surfactant modified odor control agent did not result in lower concentrations of proteus mirabilis compared to the surfactant only controls. Specifically, the fabric treated with AHCOVEL® and Na2EDTA (example 21) maintained a concentration of proteus mirabilis superior to that of the fabric treated only with AHCOVEL® (example 19). Similarly, the fabric treated with CETIOL® and Na2EDTA (example 22) maintained a concentration of proteus mirabilis superior to that which had already been manufactured with only the CETIL® (example 20). Therefore, the inhibition of odor formation resulted from the use of the odor control agents modified with surfactant, and is not due to the antimicrobial activity.

Examples 23-29 (Odor Inhibition) The main purpose of these examples was to compare the odor inhibiting properties of the surfactant-modified odor control agents formed by chemical reaction with those formed by mixing a surfactant with an odor control agent. Each example represented an average operation of two coform samples of 170 grams per square meter (70% pulp fibers, 30% meltblown polypropylene) having weights of 0.5 grams. The surfactants, the surfactant modified odor control agents, were applied by soaking the coform samples in aqueous solutions similar to those described in the preceding examples, and the coform samples were dried using similar procedures. The samples were each exposed to a discharge of 6 milliliters of human urine, which had been inoculated with 8. - 6 x 109 cfu / ml of proteus mirabilis bacteria. The samples were each placed in an Erlenmeyer flask, and the ammonia readings were recorded using a Drager tube using the procedures described above. Table 2 identifies each sample, and establishes Drager tube measurements (average of two samples for each example) after two hours, four hours, five hours and six hours.

Table 2 - Reading Drager Tube (ppm x hrs) against time Drager Tube and Standard Deviations Readings As shown above, the fabrics treated with the odor control agents modified with surfactant formed by chemical reaction (examples 27 and 28) resulted in slightly lower drager tube readings (slightly better inhibition of odor control) than the fabric treated with the surfactant only (example 26). However, the fabric treated with the surfactant modified odor control agent formed by mixing a surfactant and an odor control agent (example 29) exhibited by far the best odor inhibition. i Two of the controls (examples 23 and 24) confirm that no ammonia odor was detected in any empty bottle, or a bottle containing urine that has not been inoculated with the proteus mirabilis bacteria. Again, the formation of ammonia results from an interaction between proteus mirabilis, which is found in human skin, and urea which is found in urine.

Examples 30-44 (Odor Absorption) Examples 30-44 tested the fabric samples treated for the absorption of an existing odor, as opposed to the inhibition of odor formation. The odor absorption test uses upper space gas chromatography (upper space GC) to measure the amount of an odorous compound that is removed from the gas phase by a treated fabric.

The upper space GC test was carried out on a Hewlett-Packard HP5890 GC with an HP7694 Headspace Sampler (group K-C RAST). A J & DB DB-624 column (film 30 meters long, 0.25 millimeters l.D, 1.4 μm) and the flame ionization detector (FID) were used. The column is relatively stable, and usually produces deviations in the range of 5% to 10% for duplicate moths.

Two fragrant compounds triethylamine were used (TEA) and trimethylamine (TMA), in the upper space procedure GC. These compounds are both soluble in water and increase the pH (organic bases). These are suspected to cause the odor in the menstrual fluid.

The procedure involves placing a piece of heavy fabric (0.14 grams) inside a container of top space of 20 cubic centimeters. Using a syringe, an aliquot of odor was also placed in the container, being careful not to let the liquid and fabric come into contact. The container is then sealed with a lid and a septum and placed in the GC space furnace at body temperature (37 degrees Celsius). After 10 minutes, a syringe was inserted through the septum and into the container to remove a 1 cubic centimeter sample from the upper space (air inside the container) which is then injected into the GC. This short 10-minute exposure time to odor remains constant for all fabrics. The GC is run isothermally at 100 degrees centigrade for triethylamine (TEA) and 110 degrees centigrade for trimethylamine (TMA). The GC cycle time is 10 minutes.

The peak for triethylamine occurs between 5 minutes and 5.5 minutes, and the peak for trimethylamine occurs between 3 minutes and 3.5 minutes. Initially, a standard container with only the aliquot part of odor (without fabric) was tested to define 0% odor absorption. To calculate the amount of upper space odor removed by a fabric, the peak area for triethylamine (or for trimethylamine) from the container with the fabric was compared to the peak area from this standard container (without fabric). The test is typically done with two μl of 99% pure triethylamine or 5 μl of 40% pure trimethylamine and 0.14 grams of cloth. The results are presented as "% odor absorption" and as "odor absorbed mg / g fabric".

The fabric samples were tested in both the wet and dry state. It was expected that the fabric will exist somewhat between these two states in the use of actual product. For the wet test, the cloth was sealed and stored in the wet state immediately after the treatment, or a treated and dried cloth was imbibed in distilled water and squeezed to remove the excess liquid just before the upper space GC procedure. In this procedure, 0.14 grams of the wet cloth were used. The wet cloth was tested and then allowed to dry. The cloth was then weighed again when it was dry to determine the amount of liquid that was present. The wet fabric samples contained different amounts of liquid so that odor absorption had to be normalized for the amount of wetting. This normalization must be done because it was found that the amount of liquid in a sample influences the amount of triethylamine that is absorbed. The following is a calculation that has been used to normalize odor absorption for wet samples.

Assume that cloth A has the following characteristics: 1. In the dry state, 0.14 grams of cloth A absorb 5 milligrams of triethylamine / gram of dry cloth. 2. In the wet state, 0.14 grams of cloth A absorb 10 mg of triethylamine / g of wet cloth. 3. The wet cloth A was allowed to dry and is repelled. The dry weight was found to be 0.056 grams. A calculation is made using the dry weight and gives 25 milligrams of absorbed triethylamine / gram of dried cloth. 4. The "% humidity" for the wet state of fabric A was calculated with the following equation: weight of wet cloth-weight. of dried cloth x 100% =% Humidity weight of dried cloth Using the equation given above with 0.14 grams for the wet cloth and 0.056 grams for the dried cloth, "150% moisture" was calculated for the wet state of the cloth A .

. A "moisture factor" is then calculated by taking the "moisture percent" for the wet state of cloth A and dividing it by 100% moisture. This gives a "moisture factor" of 1.5 for the wet state of fabric A (150% moisture divided by 100% moisture). 6. Finally, the "mg of absorbed triethylamine / g dried fabric" for the wet state of fabric A was divided by the "moisture factor" of 1.5: mq triethyla ina / one dried cloth = 16.7 mg triethylamine / g "dry" 1.5 fabric (Moisture Factor) All triethylamine and trimethylamine data for fabrics in the wet state expressed as "odor mg / dry fabric" has normalized in this form.

Copies (typically duplicates) of each fabric were run using the GC upper space procedure.

Sithe fabric samples were typically exposed to odor for a constant time of only 10 minutes, the odor absorption properties are more likely to be compared in a kinetic regime rather than under equilibrium conditions.

To ensure that the odor exposure time is kept constant for the fabrics, care must be taken to place the aliquot portion of odor in the container just before the container is placed in the oven. Some of the fabric samples were also exposed to odor for a longer time (e.g. at night) to obtain equilibrium absorption values, but these values are probably not indicative of the conditions experie by the fabrics in actual use. It is believed that odor absorption must occur rapidly, in a certain way before the user of the product is able to detect the odor.

Examples 30 to 44 were run using coform fabrics of 170 grams per square meter (30% by weight of meltblown polypropylene fibers, 70% by weight of basic length pulp fibers). The coform fabric samples were treated with the disodium salt form of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Na2EDTA »2H20) and with the combination of Na2EDTA« 2H20 and the surfactant (AHCOVEL® Base N-62 or CETIOL® 1414E). The hexanol has to be used in the treatment solution that contained only the Na2EDTA «2H20 to lower the surface tension and therefore facilitate the application of Na2EDTA to the coform. Remember from the odor inhibition data given above that the treatments of N42EDTA + AHCOVEL® and Na2EDTA + CETIOL® provided coform with improved inhibition properties to ammonia and with better fluid handling properties, compared to the fabric treated with only Na2EDTA . These treatments were also compared in the triethylamine absorption studies (TEA) using the GC space space technique (described above). Table 3 shows the data. Also, Figure 6 shows a scheme of the amount (%) of the upper space triethylamine absorbed by the fabrics treated with Na2EDTA, AHCOVEL®, and Na2EDTA + AHCOVEL® Table 3 - Absorption of Triethylamine from Treated Coform Samples The data in Table 3 and Figure 6 illustrate that the absorption of triethylamine (based on the weight of dry cloth) follows the same flow for fabrics in the dry and wet states. Therefore, the wet state does not adversely affect the absorption properties of. triethylamine for any of the fabrics.

The AHCOVEL® treatment (0.6% by weight at 0.7% by weight) increased the absorption of triethylamine by a factor of two for both dry and wet states (examples 31 and 40), compared to untreated coform fabrics (examples 30 and 39).

The CETIOL® treatment (0.6% by weight at 0.7% by weight) increased the absorption of triethylamine by a factor of two for the fabric treated in the dry state (example 32) and, to a lesser extent in the wet state (example 41). ), compared to untreated coform fabric (examples 30 and 39). i The dry coform treated with 2.4% Na2EDTA (example 33) provided the same absorption of triethylamine as the fabric treated with both Na2EDTA (2.3% aggregate) and the AHCOVEL® (0.7% aggregate) (example 34). The Na2EDTA treatment and the Na2EDTA + AHCOVEL® treatment produced 50% more absorption of triethylamine compared to the treated coform with only 0.7% by weight of AHCOVEL® (example 31).

In both dry and wet states, as the Na2EDTA level was increased for the coform treated with Na2EDTA + AHCOVEL®, the amount of absorption of triethylamine also increased (Examples 34-36 and 42-43).

The coform treated with Na2EDTA + CETIOL® (example 38) and the coform treated with Na2EDTA + AHCOVEL® (example 36) absorbed similar amounts of triethylamine in the dry state. In the wet state, the coform treated with Na2EDTA + AHCOVEL® (example 43) was better than the coform treated with Na2EDTA + CETIOL® (example 44).

As the time of exposure to the triethylamine promoted from 10 minutes to overnight, the amount of absorption of triethylamine increased from 74% to 91% for the coform treated with 4.9% Na2EDTA + 0.7% AHCOVEL® (examples 36 and 37).

It is obvious that from the data of triethylamine for the coform treated with chelating agent of disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or the surfactant (AHCOVEL® or CETIOL®) + disodium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (Table 4 and Figure 6) that the agent, chelator only provides so much absorption of triethylamine as the combination of chelating agent + surfactant. Therefore, in terms of the absorption of odor of triethylamine, not in benefit in including AHCOVEL® or CETIOL® as part of the ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid for the coform fabric. However, as shown in the previous examples, the inhibition properties for ammonia formation and fluid handling properties were not as good for the coform treated with only ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. In fact, the combination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and surfactant (AHCOVEL® or CETIOL®) improved odor inhibition.

Examples 45-64 (Odor Absorption) The primary purpose of Examples 45-64 was to compare the odor absorption of triethylamine using the different salt forms of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (namely, Na2EDTA, Na3EDTA, and Na4EDTA). The treated fabric samples were prepared by soaking cloth samples in aqueous treatment solutions (as described in the previous examples) and allowing them to dry or leave them in the wet state. For Examples 45-54, 170 grams per square meter of coform fabric (70% by weight of pulp fibers, 30% by weight of blown fibers with polypropylene melt) were used. For Examples 55-64, 50 grams per square meter of fabric placed by air was used. The fabric placed by air contained 85% by weight of pulp fibers, 11.2% by weight of bicomponent basic fibers (polyester core / polyethylene sheath) and 3.8% latex adhesive.

To make the odor control agents modified with surfactant, each salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was mixed with water and ahcovel® Base N-62 surfactant. The surfactant under the surface tension of the solution, and was necessary in order to moisten and effectively treat the coform fabrics. Also, the fluid handling properties of the fabrics would be compromised if the surfactant was not used.

The fabric samples were tested for odor absorption using the procedure described above, for examples 30-44. Table 4 shows the data obtained using the examples of coform fabric. Table 5 shows the data obtained using the samples of fabric placed by air.

Table 4 - Absorption of Triethylamine from Treated Coform Samples Table 5 - Absorption of Triethylamine from Samples Placed by Air Treated The data in Tables 4 and 5 illustrate that for both coform fabrics and placed by air in the dry state, the absorption of triethylamine was the best for the fabrics treated with the odor control agents modified with combined surfactant the salt form of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid with AHCOVEL® Base N-62. The absorption of triethylamine becomes progressively lower for the higher salt forms of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, such as the combination of Na3EDTA with AHCOVEL® performed similarly to AHCOVEL® alone.; For both the coform and the fabrics placed by air in the wet state, the absorption of triethylamine remained high, and the lower and upper salt forms of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid combined with AHCOVEL® were quite consistent for both. Apparently, the presence of the water either masked or decentered any negative absorption defects caused by the higher salt forms of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.

Examples 65-84 (Odor Absorption) The primary purpose of Examples 65-84 was to compare the absorption of triethylamine odor for other surfactant modified odor control agents; including NaxLED3A, NaxC8ED3A, and a combination of sodium gluconate and AHCOVEL® Base N-62; with that resulting from the use of AHCOVEL® Base N-62 only. Again, the fabrics were treated with aqueous solutions of the surfactant modified odor control agents, using techniques similar to those described in previous examples. The treated fabric samples were tested for odor absorption using the techniques described for examples 30-44. Table 6 showed the data obtained using the 170 grams per square meter of coform of examples 45-54 as the fabric. Table 7 shows the data obtained using the 50 grams per square meter of fabric laid by air of Examples 55-64, such as the fabric.

Table 6 - Absorption of Triethylamine from Treated Coform Fabrics Table 7 - Absorption of Triethylamine from Fabrics Placed by Air Treated The treatments of chelating surfactant (NaxLED3A and NaxC8ED3A) caused an improved triethylamine absorption for the fabric samples placed by air, but not so much for the coform fabric samples. However, the combination of sodium gluconate and AHCOVEL® Base N-62 did not cause an improved odor absorption. i Examples 85-88 (Odor Absorption) The primary purpose of Examples 85-88 was to select some of the best fabric samples based on the above triethylamine absorption results and to test them for trimethylamine (TMA) absorption. Fabrics similar to those evaluated in Examples 36 and 38, combining the higher levels of Na2EDTA with either AHCOVEL® Base N-62 or CETIOL® 1414E, were selected for these tests. Table 8 shows the absorption results for trimethylamine, using coform fabric samples of 170 grams per square meter (70% by weight of pulp fibers, 30% by weight of meltblown fibers, of polypropylene).

Table 8 - Absorption of Trimethylamine from Treated Coform Samples As shown in Table 10, surfactant-modified odor control agents were very effective in absorbing trimethylamine, in both dry and wet states. The fabrics of the invention of Examples 87 and 88 showed a considerably higher absorption of trimethylamine than that of the untrimmed fabrics (Example 85), and that the fabrics treated only with AHCOVEL® Base N-62 (Example 86).

Although the embodiments of the invention described herein are presently preferred, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims, and all changes that fall within the meaning and range of equivalents are intended to be encompassed here.

Claims (52)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S

1. A treated thermoplastic layer material comprising a thermoplastic substrate layer treated with a surfactant modified odor control agent selected from the group consisting of a) a mixture of a surfactant with an odor control chelating agent, b) a product of reaction of a surfactant producing compound with an odor control chelating agent; and c) combinations of the foregoing.

2. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in the clause 1, characterized in that the substrate comprises the non-woven thermoplastic filament fabric.

3. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the substrate comprises a thermoplastic film.

4. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the substrate comprises a thermoplastic foam layer.

5. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the substrate comprises a water permeable and porous layer.

6. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the substrate comprises a mixture of pulp fibers and nonwoven filaments.

7. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the substrate comprises a fabric placed by air.

8. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the odor control chelating agent comprises a compound selected from aminopolycarboxylic acids, alkali metal salts of aminopolycarboxylic acids, and combinations thereof.

9. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 8, characterized in that the odor control chelating agent comprises a compound selected from ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, the sodium salts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid, hydroxyethylene diamine triacetic acid, diethylenediamine pentaacetate. pentasodium, trisodium hydroxyethylethylenediamine triacetate, nitrile triacetic acid, the sodium salts of cyclohexanediamine tetraacetic acid, and combinations thereof.

10. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that the odor control chelating agent comprises a compound selected from ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, sodium salts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and combinations thereof.

11. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the odor control chelating agent comprises a compound selected from polyamino disuccinic acids, alkali metal salts of polyamino disuccinic acids and combinations thereof. í

12. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 11, characterized in that the odor control chelating agent comprises a compound selected from ethylenediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, diethylenetriamine-N, N "-disuccinic acid, Triethylenetetraamine- N, N "'-disuccinic acid, 1,6-hexamethylenediamine N, N-disuccinic acid, tetraethylene pentaamine-N, N" "-disuccinic acid, 2-hydroxypropylene-1,3-diamine-N, N'-acid disuccinic, 1,2-propylenediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, 1,3-propylenediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, cis-cyclohexanediamine-N, N'-disuccinic acid, trans-cyclohexanediamine-N'N ' disuccinic acid, ethylene-bis (oxyethylenenonitrile) -N, N'-disuccinic acid, and combinations thereof.

13. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the surfactant or the surfactant-producing compound comprises an alkyl group.

14. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in Clause 13, characterized in that the alkyl group comprises about 3-20 carbon atoms.

15. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the surfactant or the surfactant producing compound comprises an acyl group.

16. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the acyl group comprises about 3 carbon atoms to 20 carbon atoms. i

17. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the surfactant or the surfactant producing compound comprises an aliphatic hydrocarbon moiety.

18. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 10, characterized in that the surfactant comprises a mixture of ethoxylated hydrogenated castor oil and sorbitan monooleate.

19. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 10, characterized in that the surfactant comprises an ethoxylated ester derivative of myristic acid.

20. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the surfactant or the surfactant producing compound comprises a perfluoro group.

21. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the surfactant or the surfactant producing compound comprises a siloxane group.

22. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a sodium salt of lauroyl ethylenediamine triacetic acid.

23. The thermoplastic layer material treated as j and as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a sodium salt of capryloyl ethylenediamine triacetic acid.

24. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the odor control agent modified with surfactant is applied externally.

25. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the odor control agent modified with surfactant is applied internally.

26. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that it comprises about 0.1% by weight to 10% by weight of the modified odor control agent with surfactant.

27. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that it comprises about 0.5% by weight to 8% by weight of the modified odor control agent with surfactant.

28. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that it comprises from about 2% by weight to 7% by weight of the modified odor control agent with surfactant.

29. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the thermoplastic substrate layer comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polyolefins, polyesters, ethylene and propylene copolymers, ethylene or propylene copolymers with a C4-C20 alpha-olefin, terpolymers of ethylene with propylene and a C4-C20 alpha-olefin, copolymers of ethylene vinyl acetate, copolymers of propylene vinyl acetate, elastomers of styrene-poly (ethylene-alpha olefin), polyurethanes, copolymers of AB block wherein A is formed of poly (vinyl arene) moieties such as polystyrene and B is an elastomeric middle block such as a conjugated diene or a lower alkene, polyesters, polyester esters, polyacrylates, ethylene alkyl acrylates, polyisobutylene, polybutadiene, copolymers of isobutylene-isoprene, and combinations of any of the foregoing.

30. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the thermoplastic substrate layer comprises a polyolefin.

31. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the thermoplastic substrate layer comprises a copolymer or a polyethylene homopolymer.

32. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the thermoplastic substrate layer comprises a copolymer or a polypropylene homopolymer.

33. A treated thermoplastic layer material comprising a non-woven thermoplastic filament fabric treated with a surfactant-modified chelating agent; the treated nonwoven fabric has better wetting and better odor control than the nonwoven fabric without the surfactant modified chelating agent; wherein the odor comprises a malodor selected from ammonia, trimethylamine, triethylamine, isovaleric acid, dimethyldisulfide, dimethyltrisulfide, indole, eskatol and combinations thereof.

34. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 33, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a reaction mixture or product of a polyaminocarboxylic acid or an alkali metal salt thereof, with a compound of alkyl.

35. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 33, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a reaction mixture or product of a polyaminocarboxylic acid or an alkali metal salt thereof, with a acyl compound

36. The thermoplastic layer material treated as claimed in clause 33, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a sodium salt of lauroyl ethylenediamine triacetate.

37. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 33, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a sodium salt of capryloyl ethylenediamine triacetic acid.

38. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 33, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a mixture including a salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, hydrogenated and ethoxylated castor oil, and sorbitan monooleate.

39. The treated thermoplastic layer material as claimed in clause 33, characterized in that the surfactant modified odor control agent comprises a mixture including a salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and an ethoxylated ester derived from myristic acid.

40. An absorbent product comprising: an absorbent medium capable of absorbing aqueous liquids; Y a thermoplastic layer material having a treated surface capable of inhibiting or reducing at least one selected odor of ammonia, trimethylamine, triethylamine, isovaleric acid, dimethyldisulfide, dimethyltrisulfide, indole, eskatol, and combinations thereof; wherein the treated surface comprises a chelating compound modified with surfactant.

41. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises a diaper.

42. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises training underpants. i

43. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises swimming clothing.

44. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises absorbent underpants.

45. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises a baby wiping cloth. , '

46. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises a product for adult incontinence.

47. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises a product for the hygiene of women.

48. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises a medical garment.

49. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises an inner pad.

50. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 4? , characterized in that it comprises an absorbent cover.

51. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises a bandage.

52. The absorbent product as claimed in clause 40, characterized in that it comprises a medical cleaning cloth. SUMMARY A thermoplastic layer material having at least one odor reducing surface which is wettable with aqueous liquids and is capable of controlling a wide variety of odors. The thermoplastic layer material is treated with a surfactant modified chelating agent prepared by mixing or chemically reacting an odor control chelating agent with a surfactant producing compound. The layer material thus treated can be used in a wide variety of medical absorbent and personal care products, as well as in other applications.