WO2017003459A1 - Substrat absorbant amélioré - Google Patents

Substrat absorbant amélioré Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017003459A1
WO2017003459A1 PCT/US2015/038595 US2015038595W WO2017003459A1 WO 2017003459 A1 WO2017003459 A1 WO 2017003459A1 US 2015038595 W US2015038595 W US 2015038595W WO 2017003459 A1 WO2017003459 A1 WO 2017003459A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
foam
hydrophobic
present
surfactant
wettable
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2015/038595
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Palani Raj R. Wallajapet
Akwokwo H. Redhead
Ahmed Khan
Original Assignee
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. filed Critical Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Priority to PCT/US2015/038595 priority Critical patent/WO2017003459A1/fr
Publication of WO2017003459A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017003459A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J9/00—Working-up of macromolecular substances to porous or cellular articles or materials; After-treatment thereof
    • C08J9/36—After-treatment
    • C08J9/40—Impregnation
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J2201/00—Foams characterised by the foaming process
    • C08J2201/02—Foams characterised by the foaming process characterised by mechanical pre- or post-treatments
    • C08J2201/036—Use of an organic, non-polymeric compound to impregnate, bind or coat a foam, e.g. fatty acid ester
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J2205/00—Foams characterised by their properties
    • C08J2205/04—Foams characterised by their properties characterised by the foam pores
    • C08J2205/05—Open cells, i.e. more than 50% of the pores are open
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J2205/00—Foams characterised by their properties
    • C08J2205/06—Flexible foams
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J2207/00—Foams characterised by their intended use
    • C08J2207/12—Sanitary use, e.g. diapers, napkins or bandages
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J2375/00—Characterised by the use of polyureas or polyurethanes; Derivatives of such polymers
    • C08J2375/04—Polyurethanes
    • C08J2375/06—Polyurethanes from polyesters

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a nonwoven substrate treated with a particular surfactant for enhanced absorbent intake.
  • the substrate of the present invention can be used in a variety of personal care articles comprising an absorbent component.
  • Nonwoven materials have often been used in disposable, personal care articles to collect body fluids.
  • Certain fluids, however, such as menses and runny BM (feces) have viscoelastic properties that present a challenge for many manufacturers when trying to capture the right level of absorbency without leakage.
  • menses and runny BM menses and runny BM (feces)
  • viscoelastic properties that present a challenge for many manufacturers when trying to capture the right level of absorbency without leakage.
  • hygienic issues that directly affect the user.
  • the body fluid sits in direct contact with the user which makes for an unpleasant and unclean feel.
  • feminine hygiene products such as sanitary napkins
  • the unpleasant or unclean feeling may lead to poor perception in product performance and the inability to get maximum use from the product.
  • polymeric nonwoven fabrics are employed in the construction of personal care products; however, most of these fabrics are normally hydrophobic and are water-repellant.
  • Open-cell, polymeric foam materials have a cellular structure that is very resilient and soft and could be beneficial for use in personal care articles such as feminine hygiene products like sanitary napkins.
  • a polyester, polyurethane open-cell foam that is hydrophobic would have the desirable resilience but would become suitable for application in a personal care article if the foam could be treated with a suitable surfactant to obtain the desired degree of hydrophilicity to make the foam wettable.
  • the application of this wettable foam in the personal care article would be more beneficial to the wearer compared to a conventional nonwoven substrate.
  • the challenge is to provide an article that promotes a dry, healthy environment at the material/skin interface.
  • the present invention relates to a hydrophobic, open-cell, polyurethane foam treated with from about 0.3% to about 3.0% of a nonionic surfactant to create a personal care absorbent article with enhanced intake properties.
  • a nonionic surfactant of the present invention comprises at least an ethoxylated linear oleochemical alcohol or an ethoxylated acetylenic diol.
  • the foam of the present invention provides enhanced absorbency characteristics that can be utilized in a number of personal care articles, especially feminine care pads.
  • FIGURE 1 shows a cross-sectional SEM image at 20 times magnification of a polyurethane, hydrophobic foam of the present invention with an average cell size of 200 microns measured from scanning electron micrographs.
  • FIGURE 2 shows a cross-sectional SEM image at 20 times magnification of a polyurethane, hydrophobic foam of the present invention with an average cell size of 250 microns measured from scanning electron micrographs.
  • compositions and methods/processes of the present invention can comprise, consist of, and consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations of the invention described herein, as well as any of the additional or optional ingredients, components, steps, or limitations described herein.
  • absorbent article generally refers to devices which absorb and contain body fluids, and more specifically, refers to devices which are placed against or near the skin to absorb and contain the various fluids discharged from the body and, in particular, viscoelastic fluids.
  • absorbent articles include, but are not limited to, absorbent articles intended for personal wear, such as diapers; incontinence products; feminine hygiene products, such as feminine napkins, panty liners, tampons, and interlabial pads; other personal garments; and the like.
  • fouling means the change in permeability of a fluid as it passes through a porous medium. More particularly, fouling is the reduction in permeability that occurs when components of a fluid pass through a porous medium and interact with the material structure, decreasing the inherent permeability of the porous material.
  • hydrophilic refers to surfaces with water contact angles well below
  • hydrophobic refers to the property of a surface to repel water with a water contact angle from about 90° to about 120°.
  • rewetting refers to the amount of fluid that comes from the absorbent core back into and through the top layer, nonwoven surface. This may also be referred to as "flowback”.
  • the present invention relates to an improved absorbent substrate that can be utilized in or as a variety of personal care products, particularly disposable absorbent articles, and more specifically, feminine hygiene products including feminine napkins, panty liners and interlabial pads.
  • Personal care products of the present invention include, but are not limited to, feminine hygiene products like sanitary wipes and menses absorbing devices (e.g., sanitary napkins and tampons), infant and child care products such as disposable diapers, absorbent underpants, and training pants, wound dressings such as bandages, incontinence products, products for wiping and absorbing oils, and the like.
  • the present invention relates to a hydrophobic, open-cell, polyurethane foam treated with from about 0.3% to about 3.0% of a nonionic surfactant, said nonionic surfactant comprising at least an ethoxylated linear oleochemical alcohol such as an alkylphenol ethoxylate, such as LUTENSOL® A65N, commercially available from BASF, or an ethoxylated acetylenic diol such as SURFYNOL® 465, commercially available from Air Products, Allentown, Pennsylvania, to treat the foam and arrive at the present invention.
  • a nonionic surfactant comprising at least an ethoxylated linear oleochemical alcohol such as an alkylphenol ethoxylate, such as LUTENSOL® A65N, commercially available from BASF, or an ethoxylated acetylenic diol such as SURFYNOL® 465, commercially available from Air Products, Allentown, Pennsylvania, to treat the foam and
  • the foam of the present invention is treated with a nonionic surfactant at a concentration of about 0.3%, about 0.8%, about 1.6%, about 2.0% or about 3.0%.
  • concentration levels are critical to the ability for the foam to become hydrophilic in order to provide the intake function desired by the foam.
  • the present invention provides an advantage in that it employs the appropriate surfactant at the optimal concentration level to provide a foam that was contrary to the known characteristics that are typical of a hydrophobic foam and provides surprisingly advantageous results that were never before realized.
  • the significance and advantage of the present invention versus previous foams is that the foam of the present invention provides a more durable and flexible absorbent material that has enhanced performance capabilities.
  • the foam absorbent minimizes mismatch in deformational characteristics between the intake layer (IL) and body-side liner (BSL), thus reducing air gaps and resistance to flow.
  • the table shows and compares the results of LUTENSOL® A65N, STANDAPOL® 215, an anionic surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate, commercially available from BASF, SILASTOL® 207, a hydrophilic finish, commercially available from Schill and Seilacher, and SILASTOL® 163, an anionic surfactant dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, commercially available from Schill and Seilacher.
  • LUTENSOL® A65N was the only chemical found to have the effect needed to provide the improved substrate as desired to reach the presently claimed invention.
  • the combination of the foam, concentration and particular surfactant have been discovered that provides an absorbent foam which, can be used as an absorbent personal care product or as an enhanced intake layer in a personal care absorbent garment.
  • the foam of the present invention provides an enhanced intake and rewet performance by selectively finding the appropriate surfactant type and add-on level that would provide the novel attributes desired.
  • the foam of the present invention is particular to that which is an open-cell or porous, polyester polyurethane, hydrophobic foam.
  • foam can be made by the reaction of a polyester polyol with a toluene diisocyanate.
  • the average cell size of the foam will be from about 100 microns, from about 150 microns or from about 200 microns mm to about 250 microns, 300 microns, or from about 350 microns and the thickness of the foam will be about 1.0 mm, about 1.5 mm, or about 2.0 mm.
  • the basis weight of the foam be about 45 gsm, about 50 gsm or about 55 gsm with a density of about 0.02 g/cc, about 0.03 g/cc or about 0.05 g/cc and an average pore size of about 200 microns, about 250 microns or about 300 microns.
  • the foam is imparted with a durable hydrophilic treatment so that the foam can be used as an absorbent product, as a disposable, absorbent personal care product or within disposable, absorbent personal care and non-personal care products.
  • durable as used herein with reference to a coating of the foam means that the coated porous foam remains wettable after multiple exposure to an aqueous medium, such as water, saline, urine, and other body fluids.
  • the hydrophilicity of the coating on the substrate may vary and can be varied in a controlled manner across at least one dimension of the porous foam.
  • a coated porous foam may have a central region of higher hydrophilicity which extends, for example, along the length of the substrate, with regions of lower hydrophilicity on both sides of the central region.
  • the hydrophilicity of such a substrate would vary in a controlled manner across the width thereof.
  • the method for preparing a treated porous foam of the present invention involves providing a porous, hydrophobic polymer substrate and exposing at least a portion of the foam to a non-ionic surfactant.
  • the treatment composition may further include other components, such as wetting agents, emulsifiers, lubricants, anti-stats, skin care ingredients, anti-oxidants, vitamins, botanical extracts, scents, odor control agents, color, anti-microbials, and the like.
  • exemplary methods of treating the foam of the present invention with the non-ionic surfactant may be by spray coating, "dip and squeeze", foaming, or the like. Such methods that can be used to treat the foam of the present invention are described in detail in USP 7,018,945 to Yahiaoui et al.
  • the "dip and squeeze” method is the preferred method of the present invention as it showed more success in rendering the foam uniformly hydrophilic as compared to other methods that could be employed. While other methods can be used, the present invention found the results to be inconsistent with significant variation in the uniformity of the treatment. Additionally, the "dip and squeeze” method is able to uniformly treat the foam by forcing the large volume of air out of the hydrophobic foam structure and replaces the air volume entirely by the aqueous surfactant solution. The excess surfactant fluid is then removed by squeezing the foam after it is removed from the solution bath thereby leaving a thin surfactant film on all surfaces of the foam. After drying the foam, the surfactant is left on the surface making it wettable.
  • a nonionic surfactant LUTENSOL® A65N was applied to the open-cell polyester polyurethane substrate at various concentration levels using the "dip and squeeze" method in which the polyurethane foam is completely submerged into a bath of the aqueous nonionic surfactant solution with a concentration level of 3.0%. Pressure is applied onto the foam web while it is still submerged followed by a squeezing of excess surfactant solution while the foam substrate is taken out of the surfactant solution bath. The foam substrate was then dried. The concentration of the surfactant on the foam after drying was 2.0%.
  • the "dip and squeeze" treatment, as described, are for open-cell polyester polyurethane foams but could also apply to polyether polyurethane foam as well as other hydrophobic foam substrates such as polyolefin foams. EXAMPLE 2
  • the wettability, fluid intake time and fluid rewet properties of the foam was measured using a menses simulant that was made of swine blood diluted to a hematocrit level of 30% by volume, with sheared, thick egg white added to mimic the mucin component of menses.
  • This simulant is available from Cocalico Biologicals, Inc. of Reamstown, Pennsylvania.
  • the wettability of the foam was screened by placing a drop of menses simulant on the surface of the foam and measuring the time taken for the drop to be taken into the foam structure. Drop intake time of less than 10 seconds was considered to be wettable and further intake measurements were done by simulating an absorbent composite.
  • an absorbent composite was simulated by placing a nonwoven sheet on top of the foam followed by an absorbent airlaid under the foam.
  • the intake properties were measured using the flat intake test method STM00205 and the rewet properties were measured by STM00371 (Details on patents disclosing these methods to be provided). Menses simulant was used as the fluid for the test and 7 ml of fluid in total was insulted; the first insult being 2 ml followed by a trickle of 3 ml and another insult of 2 ml. The time taken for the fluid to be absorbed was recorded as the intake time for the two insults. A blotter paper was placed on the structure and a pressure of 0.5 psi was applied and the fluid transferred from the system to the blotter paper was identified as the amount of fluid rewet.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
  • Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Absorbent Articles And Supports Therefor (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne une mousse polyuréthane à cellules ouvertes et hydrophobe, traitée avec environ 0,3% à environ 3,0% d'un tensioactif non ionique pour créer un article absorbant d'hygiène personnelle possédant des propriétés d'absorption accrues.
PCT/US2015/038595 2015-06-30 2015-06-30 Substrat absorbant amélioré WO2017003459A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2015/038595 WO2017003459A1 (fr) 2015-06-30 2015-06-30 Substrat absorbant amélioré

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2015/038595 WO2017003459A1 (fr) 2015-06-30 2015-06-30 Substrat absorbant amélioré

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2017003459A1 true WO2017003459A1 (fr) 2017-01-05

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ID=57608836

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2015/038595 WO2017003459A1 (fr) 2015-06-30 2015-06-30 Substrat absorbant amélioré

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2017003459A1 (fr)

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3994298A (en) * 1975-01-22 1976-11-30 The Procter & Gamble Company Foam aggregate catamenial tampon
US20020115953A1 (en) * 2000-12-19 2002-08-22 Sun Robert L. Absorbent article
US20050124709A1 (en) * 2003-12-05 2005-06-09 Krueger Jeffrey J. Low-density, open-cell, soft, flexible, thermoplastic, absorbent foam and method of making foam
US20050186416A1 (en) * 2004-02-25 2005-08-25 3M Innnovative Properties Company Hydrophilic articles
US20060216492A1 (en) * 2000-03-31 2006-09-28 Hydrophilix, Llc Foam Composite

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3994298A (en) * 1975-01-22 1976-11-30 The Procter & Gamble Company Foam aggregate catamenial tampon
US20060216492A1 (en) * 2000-03-31 2006-09-28 Hydrophilix, Llc Foam Composite
US20020115953A1 (en) * 2000-12-19 2002-08-22 Sun Robert L. Absorbent article
US20050124709A1 (en) * 2003-12-05 2005-06-09 Krueger Jeffrey J. Low-density, open-cell, soft, flexible, thermoplastic, absorbent foam and method of making foam
US20050186416A1 (en) * 2004-02-25 2005-08-25 3M Innnovative Properties Company Hydrophilic articles

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