Among other things, the inventive subject matter generally relates to nonwoven textiles consisting of webs of superfine fibers, i.e., fibers with diameters in nanoscale or micronscale ranges, for use in articles that have, for example a predetermined degree of waterproofness with breathability, or windproofness with breathability.

The invention relates to a water-repellent and lipophilic composite needle-punched nonwoven fabric and a preparation method thereof. The method comprises the following steps: blending a PET fiber and a polyolefin-based fiber in a mass ratio of 3:1-1:3, and performing needle punching to obtain a composite needle-punched nonwoven fabric; carrying out hot-drying treatment on the composite needle-punched nonwoven fabric at 110-160° C. for 40-90 min; and carrying out water-repellent finishing on the hot-dried fabric using 50-70 mL/L of an aqueous solution of a modified resin-based fluorine-free waterproofing agent, and drying to obtain the water-repellent and lipophilic composite needle-punched nonwoven fabric, wherein the water-repellent finishing is dip rolling, the air pressure is 1.8 kPa and the liquid carrying rate is 160-230%. The preparation method of the invention is simple, and the prepared composite needle-punched nonwoven fabric has significantly improved water repellency, lipophilicity and tensile strength compared with the fabric before treatment.

A process comprising forming fibers having at least a first region and a second region wherein the first region comprises an ethylene/alpha olefin interpolymer composition characterized by: density in the range of 0.930 to 0.965 g/cm.sup.3; melt index (I2) in the range of from 10 to 60 g/10 minutes; molecular weight distribution in the range of from 1.5 to 2.6; tan delta at 1 radian/second of at least 45; a low temperature peak and a high temperature peak on an elution profile via improved comonomer composition distribution (ICCD) procedure; and full width at half maximum of the high temperature peak is less than 6.0° C. and stretching the fibers to an elongation of at least 20% thereby increasing curl of the fiber. The process may further include forming a non-woven from the fibers and the stretching of the fibers may occur before or after forming of the non-woven.

Thermally stable absorbable fiber populations, i.e. fiber populations that do not undergo thermally induced crystallization, can be intermixed to yield a stabilizing effect without altering morphological properties of a first fiber system. By addition of a stabilizing fiber population one may minimize thermally induced shrinkage and maintain physical properties of electrospun materials in the as-formed state. In one particular abstract, medical barrier materials may be formed from the electrospun materials to provide improved medical barriers for treatments.

A nonwoven web comprising a layer of polymeric fibers, wherein, based on the total number of polymeric fibers, at least 10% the polymeric fibers in said layer are coarse fibers having a fiber diameter of 4 μm or more, and at least 10% of the polymeric fibers in said layer are fine fibers having a fiber diameter of 2 μm or less. Also described herein is a method for making the nonwoven web, comprising melt-blowing a polymer mixture comprising two immiscible or partially miscible polymers.

A masterbatch is disclosed, along with associated methods, and biodegradable filaments, fibers, yarns and fabrics. The masterbatch includes 0.2 to 5 mass % CaCO.sub.3, an aliphatic polyester with a repeat unit having from two to six carbons in the chain between ester groups, with the proviso that the 2 to 6 carbons in the chain do not include side chain carbons, and a carrier polymer selected from the group consisting of PET, nylon, other thermoplastic polymers, and combinations thereof.

The present invention provides compositions comprising cellulose fibers and cellulose ester fibers and wet laid articles made from the compositions, as well as wet laid processes to produce these compositions. More specifically, the present invention provided compositions comprising cellulose fibers and cellulose acetate fibers and wet laid articles made from these compositions as well as wet laid processes to produce these compositions. The present invention also relates to composition, process, wet laid product, or articles exhibiting any one of many desired benefits. The invention also relates to a composition comprising cellulose fiber and a staple fiber exhibiting improved texturing.

A sound-absorbing material nonwoven fabric includes: 30 to 80 mass % of short fibers A having a fineness of 0.4 to 0.9 dtex; and 20 to 70 mass % of short fibers B having a fineness of 1.1 to 20.0 dtex. A carding passage coefficient of the short fibers A calculated from equation (1) is in a range of 15 to 260. The equation (1) is carding passage coefficient=(fineness×strength×√elongation percentage×√number of crimps×√crimping degree)/(fiber length).

An article of apparel including insulation material is discussed. The insulation material includes an insulating layer formed of waterfowl fibers and synthetic fibers. The waterfowl fibers are present in an amount of at least 20% by weight of the insulating layer. The insulating layer is generally free of waterfowl plumage.

A process for forming multi-layer fibrous web with good absorbent capacity and absorbent rate is disclosed. The multi-layer fibrous web can be used as absorbent articles, including wiping products, such as industrial wipers, food service wipers, and the like. The multi-layer fibrous web includes a first layer and a second layer, as well as a crossover zone, that has a capillary pressure between the capillary pressure of the first layer and the capillary pressure of the second layer.