Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L13/00—Implements for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
  • A47L13/10—Scrubbing; Scouring; Cleaning; Polishing
  • A47L13/16—Cloths; Pads; Sponges
  • A47L13/17—Cloths; Pads; Sponges containing cleaning agents
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
  • D21H—PULP COMPOSITIONS; PREPARATION THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES D21C OR D21D; IMPREGNATING OR COATING OF PAPER; TREATMENT OF FINISHED PAPER NOT COVERED BY CLASS B31 OR SUBCLASS D21G; PAPER NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D21H13/00—Pulp or paper, comprising synthetic cellulose or non-cellulose fibres or web-forming material
  • D21H13/10—Organic non-cellulose fibres
  • D21H13/20—Organic non-cellulose fibres from macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
  • D21H13/22—Condensation polymers of aldehydes or ketones
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/04—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres having existing or potential cohesive properties, e.g. natural fibres, prestretched or fibrillated artificial fibres
  • D04H1/26—Wood pulp
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
  • D04H1/425—Cellulose series
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
  • D04H1/4326—Condensation or reaction polymers
  • D04H1/435—Polyesters
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/44—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties the fleeces or layers being consolidated by mechanical means, e.g. by rolling
  • D04H1/46—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties the fleeces or layers being consolidated by mechanical means, e.g. by rolling by needling or like operations to cause entanglement of fibres
  • D04H1/492—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties the fleeces or layers being consolidated by mechanical means, e.g. by rolling by needling or like operations to cause entanglement of fibres by fluid jet
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
  • D21H—PULP COMPOSITIONS; PREPARATION THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES D21C OR D21D; IMPREGNATING OR COATING OF PAPER; TREATMENT OF FINISHED PAPER NOT COVERED BY CLASS B31 OR SUBCLASS D21G; PAPER NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D21H13/00—Pulp or paper, comprising synthetic cellulose or non-cellulose fibres or web-forming material
  • D21H13/10—Organic non-cellulose fibres
  • D21H13/20—Organic non-cellulose fibres from macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
  • D21H13/24—Polyesters
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
  • D21H—PULP COMPOSITIONS; PREPARATION THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES D21C OR D21D; IMPREGNATING OR COATING OF PAPER; TREATMENT OF FINISHED PAPER NOT COVERED BY CLASS B31 OR SUBCLASS D21G; PAPER NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D21H21/00—Non-fibrous material added to the pulp, characterised by its function, form or properties; Paper-impregnating or coating material, characterised by its function, form or properties
  • D21H21/14—Non-fibrous material added to the pulp, characterised by its function, form or properties; Paper-impregnating or coating material, characterised by its function, form or properties characterised by function or properties in or on the paper
  • D21H21/22—Agents rendering paper porous, absorbent or bulky
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
  • D21H—PULP COMPOSITIONS; PREPARATION THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES D21C OR D21D; IMPREGNATING OR COATING OF PAPER; TREATMENT OF FINISHED PAPER NOT COVERED BY CLASS B31 OR SUBCLASS D21G; PAPER NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D21H27/00—Special paper not otherwise provided for, e.g. made by multi-step processes
  • D21H27/002—Tissue paper; Absorbent paper

Definitions

• the present disclosure refers to a moist wipe or hygiene tissue comprising a hydraulically entangled nonwoven material impregnated with a wetting composition. It is especialiy related to moist toilet paper and other wipes or hygiene tissue intended to be flushable in a sewer. It further refers to a method for making the flushable moist wipe or hygiene tissue.
• Pre-moistened wipes or hygiene tissue are commonly used for cleansing different parts of the human body. Examples of specific uses are baby care, hand wiping, feminine care and toilet paper or a complement to toilet paper.
• a wet wipe made of a hydroentangled three ply sandwich structure comprising outer layers of synthetic fibres and a middle layer of cellu!osic fibres is known through US patent no. 6,110,848.
• EP 1 320 458 B1 discloses a wet wipe capable of disintegrating under mild agitation in water and comprising at least 50% by weight cellulose fibres, at least 5% by weight manmade high crystailinity cellulose fibres and at least 0.5% by weight binder fibres.
• the fibres are hydroentangled and the binder fibres create a network that after activation and fusing lightly bonds the pulp fibres and high crystailinity cellulose fibres together.
• US 5,935,880 discloses a dispersible wet wipe comprising a hydroentangled fibrous web containing pulp fibres, optionally synthetic fibres and a binder composition, said binder composition comprises a divalent ion inhibitor, which facilitates the disintegration process.
• EP 0 303 528 A1 discloses a hydroentangled disintegratable nonwoven fibrous web used as a wet wipe. It comprises at least 70 weight% pulp fibres and at least 5 weight% staple length regenerated cellulose fibres.
• the fibrous web comprises at least 50 weight% cellulose fibres and may further contain poly(lactic acid) fibres.
• the web contains a wet strength agent.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a moist wipe or hygiene tissue intended to be flushab!e in a sewer.
• the moist wipe or hygiene tissue comprises a hydraulicaily entangled nonwoven material impregnated with a wetting composition, said nonwoven material containing at least 70%, by fibre weight, pulp fibres, wherein said moist wipe or hygiene tissue comprises at least 5%, by fibre weight, poly(lactic acid) fibres having a length between 8 and 20 mm and a fineness between 0.5 and 3 dtex, said poly(lactic acid) fibres are non- melted, and that the moist wipe or hygiene tissue is free from added binders and wet- strength agents.
• the moist wipe or hygiene tissue may comprise up to 10%, by fibre weight, regenerated cellulose staple fibres and/or natural fibers having a fibre length of at least 4 mm.
• the poly(lactic acid) fibres may have a length between 12 and 18 mm.
• the polyflactic acid) fibres may have a fineness between 1 and 2 dtex,
• the poly ⁇ lactic acid) fibres may be monocomponent fibres having a melting point of at least 140°C.
• the moist wipe or hygiene tissue may have a basis weight between 40 and 100 g/m 2 , wherein the basis weight is calculated on the nonwoven material without the wetting composition.
• the moist wipe or hygiene tissue may be a moist toilet paper.
• the moist wipe or hygiene tissue may have a wet strength in cross direction between 25 and 200 N/M, preferably between 40 and 200 Him,
• the poly(lactic acid) fibres may form an open interlaid structure mechanically bonded to the pulp fibers and the optional regenerated cellulose staple fibers and/or natural fibres.
• the poly(lactic acid) fibres may have a modulus according to ASTM method
• D2256/D3822 of between 20 and 50 g/denier, preferably between 30 and 40 g/denier.
• the invention further refers to a method of making a moist wipe or hygiene tissue, said comprises the steps of: foam-forming a fibre mixture of at least 70%, by fibre weight, promisp fibres and at least 5%, by fibre weight, poly(lactic acid) fibres having a length between 8 and 20 mm and a fineness between 0.5 and 3 dtex, hydroentangling said mixture to form a hydroentangled nonwoven web, drying said web, wherein said web are free from added binders and wet-- strength agent and wherein the poly(lactic acid) fibres are non-melted, and impregnating the web with a wetting composition.
• Fig. 1 is a microscope picture of a hydroentangled nonwoven web according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 illustrates flushability tests performed with four hydroentangled moist wipe materials as described below.
• a premoistened wipe or hygiene tissue according to the invention comprises a
• the wetting composition may contain a major proportion of water and other ingredients depending on the intended use.
• Wetting compositions useful in moist wipes and hygiene tissue are well-known in the art.
• Hydroentangling or spunlacing is a technique for forming a nonwoven web introduced during the 1970'ies, see e g CA patent no. 841 938.
• the method involves forming a fibre web, which is either dryiaid or wetlaid, after which the fibres are entangled by means of very fine water jets under high pressure. Several rows of water jets are directed against the fibre, web which is supported by a movable foraminous support or a perforated drum. In this process the fibres entangle with one another providing sufficient bonding strength to the fibrous web without the use of chemical bonding agents. The entangled fibrous web is then dried.
• the fibres that are used in the material can be natural fibres, especially cellulosic pulp fibres, manmade staple fibres, and mixtures of pulp fibres and staple fibres. Spunlace materials can be produced with high quality at a reasonable cost and they possess a high absorption capacity.
• the fibres used in the moist wipe or hygiene tissue according to the invention are at least 70%, by fibre weight, pulp fibres and at least 5%, by fibre weight, pQiy(iactic acid), PLA, fibres having a length between 8 and 20 mm and a fineness between 0.5 and 3 dtex.
• the PLA fibres may have a modulus between 20 and 50 g/denier, preferably between 30 and 40 g/denier, according to ASTM method D2256/D3822.
• manmade staple fibres may be included.
• These manmade staple fibres should preferably be biodegradable, such as regenerated cellulose fibres, e.g. viscose, rayon and lyoceli.
• the nonwoven web may contain up to 10% by fibre weight of such manmade staple fibres, other than PLA fibres.
• the length of these manmade fibres may be in the range of 4 to 20 mm.
• Other natural fibres than pulp fibres may also be included in the fibrous web, such as cotton fibres, sisal, hemp, ramie, flax etc. These natural fibres usually have a length of more than 4 mm.
• Cellulose pulp fibres can be selected from any type of pulp and blends thereof.
• the pulp is characterized by being entirely natural cellulosic fibres and can include wood fibres as well as cotton.
• Preferred pulp fibres are softwood papermaking pulp, although hardwood pulp and non-wood pulp, such as hemp and sisal may be used.
• the length of pulp fibres may vary from less than 1 mm for hardwood pulp and recycled pulp, to up to 6 mm for certain types of softwood pulp. Pulp fibres are advantageous to use since they are inexpensive, readily available and absorbent.
• PLA is a hydrophobic polymer prepared from renewable agricultural raw materials. Fibres made of PLA are thus also hydrophobic and are considered to be non absorbent. As only minor amount of water is absorbed no major plasticteing (softening) effect is obtained and the wet flexura! modulus of the PLA fibre is essentially the same as the dry flexura! modulus and the PLA fibres are relatively stiff also in water.
• the entanglement energy must however be on a relatively low level so that the pulp is not flushed away from the web.
• the entanglement energy must also be balanced and kept on a relatively low level to secure a good disintegration. For that reason it is not believed that any major entanglement between PLA fibres occurs at low
• Fig. 1 is showing an image obtained with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) of a hydroentangled material made according to the invention with PLA and pulp fibres.
• SEM Scanning Electron Microscope
• the reinforcing network structure created by the PLA fibers is shown as well as the shorter and mobile cellulosic pulp fibers that have entangled and fiiied up the spaces between the PLA fibers. This image supports the theory described above.
• regenerated cellulose fibres it is believed that they will entangle to a higher degree than the PLA fibres at the low hydroentanglement energy levels.
• the regenerated cellulose fibres may thus also entangle with each other and with PLA fibres to create strength.
• the PLA fibers may according to one embodiment have a length between 12 and 18 mm.
• the PLA fibres are non-melted so that the reinforcing network may be broken when the web is flushed in a sewer, for example. This will make the web to disintegrate.
• the mechanicai strength of a hydroentangied staple fibre-pulp composite material is a function of staple fibre concentration, staple fibre length, staple fibre coarseness, staple fibre flexural modulus, input of hydroentanglement energy as well as a function of the formation, including how the fibres are aligned in the structure.
• the material strength in the machine direction is always higher compared to the cross directional strength because of the alignment of the fibers in the direction of manufacture, due to the hydrodynamic shear as the sheet is formed, as well as because of the stress exerted on the material at web transfer through hydroentanglement and drying to the rewinder.
• a simple fibre network approach it is usually considered that the number of fiber crossings can be described by simple probability distributions.
• a theoretical value of number of crossover points between the PLA fibres can be calculated as described be!ow. For a web having a basis weight of 80 g/m 2 and a concentration of PLA fibres of 5 weight% the amount of PLA fibres will be 3 g/m 2 .
• PLA fibres having a fineness of 1.5 dtex the total fibre length PLA fibres will be 20 000 m for 1 m 2 web.
• Half total fibre length is 10 000 m/m 2 .
• the distance between fibres in mm is calculated by dividing 1000 (mm) with half the total fibre length, which in the above example will be 0.1 mm. By dividing the actual fibre length with this distance a theoretical value of number of crossover points can be obtained.
• the number of crossover points shows a linear relationship with the actual fibre length and with the concentration of PLA fibres and is illustrated in Table 1 below. Table 1
• the PLA fibres may have a melting temperature of at least 14G D C so that they will withstand normal drying processes without softening or melting. Preferably they are monocomponent fibres.
• the moist wipe or hygiene tissue should be free from added binders and wet strength agents. Addition of binders and wet strength agents will deteriorate the flushability of the wipe since it makes it more difficult to break up and disperse in a sewer. Even smaii amount of wet strength agents may have big effects on the flushability.
• PLA fibres are wettable and biodegradable, which is an advantage for their use in a moist wipe or hygiene tissue intended to be disposed after use.
• the PLA fibres, pulp fibres and optional other fibres are mixed and formed into a fibrous web.
• the fibrous web is preferably foam formed, which is a variant of a wet-laying process.
• a surfactant is added to a dispersion of the fibres in a liquid, normally water.
• the foamed fibre dispersion is deposited on a foraminous support member where it is dewatered to form a continuous web-like material.
• the fibre dispersion may be diluted to any consistency that is typically used in conventional papermaking process. A very even fibre distribution is achieved in a foam forming process and it is also possible to use longer fibres than in a conventional wet-laying process.
• the formed fibrous web is then subjected to hydroentanglemenf from several rows of manifolds, from which water jets at a high pressure are directed towards a fibrous web, while this is supported by the foraminous support member.
• the fibrous web is drained over suction boxes.
• the water jets accomplish an entanglement of the fibrous web, i.e. an intertwining of the fibres.
• Appropriate pressures in the entanglement manifolds are adapted to the fibrous materia!, grammage of the fibrous web, etc.
• the entangling energy is relatively low to ensure that the fibres in the web are not too strongly entangled, but that the web will be disintegratable as desired.
• the water from the entanglement manifolds is removed via the suction boxes and is pumped to a water purification plant, and is then re-circulated to the entangling stations.
• Hydroentangling may occur in one or several steps and from one side of the web or from both sides thereof.
• the web may be transferred to another foraminous support between two subsequent hydroentangling steps.
• the entangled material is dewatered and brought to a drying station for drying before the finished material is reeled up and converted. Drying can be performed by blowing hot air through the fibrous web, by IR dryers or other non-compacting drying technique.
• the entangled web is converted into wipes or hygiene tissue of appropriate dimensions
• the wet strength in the cross-machine direction should be between 25 and 200 N/m, preferably between 40 and 200 N/m.
• the wet strength in machine direction is usually higher.
• the wet strength is measured with water according to the test method SS-EN !SQ12625-5:2005.
• the basis weight of the wipe or hygiene tissue is preferably between 40 and 100 g/m 2 as calculated on the dry weight of the fibrous material, excluding the wetting composition.
• the relatively low strength at least in cross-machine direction may be accomplished by controlling the hydroentangling process, for example the pressure in the entanglement manifolds and/or the web speed through the process.
• the strength properties of the hydroentangled web will usually be lowered, especially the strength in the cross-machine direction.
• the strength in the machine direction will always be higher due to the fibre orientation and not effected by the hydroentangling process to the same extent as the cross-machine direction strength.
• the fibre orientation in machine direction can be effected during the formation of the fibre web by controlling the speed of the jet of the fibre dispersion from the inlet box relative to the speed of the forming wire.
• the wipe or hygiene tissue may be creped, embossed or otherwise textured to enhance softness of the product. Normally, working the web to enhance softness tends to reduce the wet strength of the web.
• the wipe or hygiene tissue is impregnated with a wetting composition containing ingredients depending on the intended use of the product. A major proportion of the wetting composition is normally water. Other ingredients may include cleansing agents, skin care agents, bactericides, fungicides, emollients, perfumes, preservatives etc.
• a moist toilet paper may be aqueous based and may contain ingredients like propylene glycol, phenoxy ethanol, coco- g!ycocide, polyaminopropy! biguanide, dehydroacetic acid, perfume, coeoamidopropyl betaine, chamomilla recutita, bisabolol, citric acid, amylcinnamal, citonellol,
• the moist wipe or hygiene tissue is either individually packed in a sealed package thai can be torn open by the user, or a dispenser containing a large number of wipes or tissue that may be dispensed through a dispenser opening in the dispenser.
• PLA fibres at a length of 12 J and 18 mm were supplied by Fibre Innovation Technology (Johnson City, TN, US).
• Lyocell fibres i.e. regenerated cellulose fibres at a length of 12 mm were supplied by Lenzing.
• Pulp fibres were supplied by International Paper. The pulp and staple fibre compositions were wet laid onto a forming wire with a
• the disintegration of the material in the form of a sheet 18.5x12 cm is illustrated in the form of photos taken after 480 rotations in a tipping tube according to EDANA flushabiiity test and is shown in Fig. 2, wherein photo 1) represents material 1 , photo 2) represents material 2 etc.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Paper (AREA)
• Nonwoven Fabrics (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (13)

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Citations (18)

Family Cites Families (10)

• 2012
  • 2012-07-12 RU RU2014106996/12A patent/RU2014106996A/ru unknown
  • 2012-07-12 WO PCT/SE2012/050832 patent/WO2013015735A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2012-07-12 US US14/234,676 patent/US20140189970A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2012-07-12 MX MX2014000960A patent/MX2014000960A/es unknown
  • 2012-07-12 CN CN201280037044.0A patent/CN103814163A/zh active Pending
  • 2012-07-12 EP EP12817769.8A patent/EP2737119A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2012-07-12 AU AU2012287545A patent/AU2012287545A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2014
  • 2014-01-16 IL IL230491A patent/IL230491A0/en unknown
  • 2014-02-20 CO CO14036229A patent/CO6890091A2/es unknown

Patent Citations (18)

Non-Patent Citations (4)

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