Nonwoven materials having at least one layer comprising cellulose fibers are provided. The nonwoven materials comprise bonded natural cellulosic fibers having high capillary action. The nonwoven materials are suitable for use in a variety of applications, including absorbent products and pre-moistened cleaning materials with metered release of liquid.

Disclosed herein are composite materials comprising a fibrous material and from 1% to 50% of a binding material, by weight of the composite material. Also disclosed herein are methods for making and using the same.

An interior trim part made by a method that includes the steps of bringing a fiber web onto a conveyor, needlepunching the fiber web to form a base in contact with the conveyor, and introducing a binder component on the base. The binder component introduced on the base is a thermoplastic polymer in solid form. The method includes a step for heating the base to cause the thermoplastic polymer making up the binder component to penetrate the base over a thickness smaller than the thickness of the base.

Examples herein include prosthetic valves, valve leaflets and related methods. In an example, a prosthetic valve is included having a plurality of leaflets. The leaflets can each have a root portion and an edge portion substantially opposite the root portion and movable relative to the root portion. The leaflets can include a fibrous matrix including polymeric fibers having an average diameter of about 10 nanometers to about 10 micrometers. A coating can surround the polymeric fibers within the fibrous matrix. The coating can have a thickness of about 3 to about 30 nanometers. The coating can be formed of a material selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide, a nitride, a carbide, a sulfide, or fluoride. In an example, a method of making a valve is included. Other examples are also included herein.

A method for producing a foam-formed multilayered substrate that includes producing an aqueous-based foam including at least 3% by weight non-straight synthetic binder fibers, wherein the non-straight synthetic binder fibers have an average length greater than 2 mm; forming together a wet sheet layer from the aqueous-based foam and a cellulosic fiber layer, wherein the cellulosic fiber layer includes at least 60 percent by weight cellulosic fibers; and drying the combined layers to obtain the foam-formed multilayer substrate. A multilayered substrate includes a first layer including at least 60 percent by weight non-straight synthetic binder fibers having an average length greater than 2 mm; and a second layer including at least 60 percent by weight cellulosic fiber, wherein the first layer is in a facing relationship with the second layer, and wherein the multilayered substrate has a wet/dry tensile ratio of at least 60%.

Methods for forming a touch fastening material are described as including: providing a lengthwise-incoherent layer of staple fibers supported directly on a bed of bristle tips of a brush; needling the layer of staple fibers by cycling needles through the layer of staple fibers and into the brush; then, while the needled layer of staple fibers remains supported on the brush, fusing portions of the staple fibers by at least partially melting resin of the fibers disposed outside the brush; and then pulling the layer of fibers from the brush as a lengthwise-coherent touch fastening material having exposed fastening loops pulled from between the brush bristles.

A method of making a filtering face piece respirator, which method includes: providing a cup shaped mold 20; providing a forming chamber 24 where the mold 20 is located and where loose fibers 22 are introduced into air in the forming chamber 24; causing the loose fibers 22 to be accumulated 10 on the mold 20 in the forming chamber 24; and bonding 12 the accumulated fibers to each other at points of fiber intersection, The inventive method thus is beneficial in that it eliminates steps in the manufacturing process. The fibers also are uniformly distributed throughout the mask body, and because the webs do not have to be cut during respirator manufacture, less web waste is generated.

To produce a product from a fibrous non-woven which is formed from cross-linked fibers, at least one ambient condition of the fibrous non-woven is controlled during a recrystallization of a material comprised by the fibrous non-woven

Provided is a hook-and-loop fastener female member including an engaging layer adopting a non-woven fabric, the hook-and-loop fastener female member being excellent in engaging force with a hook-and-loop fastener male member. The hook-and-loop fastener female member of the present invention includes an engaging layer engageable with a male member, in which the engaging layer includes a non-woven fabric of fiber, in which the non-woven fabric in the engaging layer has a density of from 5 kg/m.sup.3 to 110 kg/m.sup.3, and in which the fiber has a diameter of from 15 μm to 60 μm.

Nonwoven fibrous webs including randomly oriented discrete fibers defining a multiplicity of non-hollow projections extending from a major surface of the nonwoven fibrous web (as considered without the projections), and a plurality of substantially planar land areas formed between each adjoining projection in a plane defined by and substantially parallel with the major surface. In some exemplary embodiments, the randomly oriented discrete fibers include multi-component fibers having at least a first region having a first melting temperature and a second region having a second melting temperature, wherein the first melting temperature is less than the second melting temperature. At least a portion of the oriented discrete fibers are bonded together at a plurality of intersection points with the first region of the multi-component fibers. In certain embodiments, the patterned air-laid nonwoven fibrous webs include particulates. Methods of making and using such patterned air-laid nonwoven fibrous webs are also disclosed.