Hydrophilic fibers containing substantive polysiloxanes and tissue products made therefrom

1. Polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers comprising:

a) pulp fibers; and,

b) a hydrophobic polysiloxane; and

c) a hydrophilic polysiloxane;

wherein the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers have a polydialkylsiloxane content of about 0.4 percent by weight of dry fibers or greater, a silicone retention factor of about 0.6 or greater and an initial water drop absorption value of about 180 second or less.

2. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polydialkylsiloxane content is about 0.6 percent by weight of dry pulp fibers or greater.

3. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polydialkylsiloxane content is about 0.8 percent by weight of dry pulp fibers or greater.

4. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the initial water drop absorption value is about 30 seconds or less.

5. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the initial water drop absorption value is about 10 seconds or less.

6. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers further comprises non-treated pulp fibers.

7. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers are once dried.

8. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic polysiloxane is a functional polysiloxane having the general structure of:

wherein:

x and y are integers >0;

the mole ratio of x to (x+y) is from about 0.001 to about 0.25;

each R 1 –R 9 moiety comprises independently an organofunctional group or mixtures thereof; and,

R 10 comprises a functional moiety capable of substantively affixing the polysiloxane to the pulp fibers.

9. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 8 , wherein each R 1 –R 9 moiety comprises independently a C 1 or higher alkyl group, aryl group, ester, substituted amide, or mixture thereof.

10. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 8 , wherein the R 10 moiety comprises en amino functional moiety.

11. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 10 , wherein the amino functional moiety is selected from a primary amine, secondary amine, tertiary amine, quaternary amine, unsubstituted amide, and mixtures thereof.

12. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 10 , wherein the R 10 moiety is —R 20 —NH—R 21 —NH 2 where R 20 and R 21 are C 2 or higher linear or branched alkyl groups.

13. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophilic polysiloxane is has a general structure of:

wherein:

z is an integer >0;

x and y are integers ≧0;

the mole ratio of x to (x+y+z) is from about 0 to about 0.95;

the mole ratio of y to (x+y+z) is from about 0 to about 0.25;

each R 0 –R 9 comprises independently an organofunctional group or mixtures thereof;

R 10 comprises a functional moiety or mixtures thereof capable of substantively affixing the polysiloxane to the pulp fibers; and,

R 11 comprises a hydrophilic functionality wherein if y=0 then one of the R 0 –R 11 moieties contains a functional group capable of substantively affixing the polysiloxane to the pulp fibers.

14. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 13 , wherein each R 0 –R 9 moiety comprises independently a C 1 or higher alkyl group, aryl group, ether, polyether or polyester group, or mixtures thereof.

15. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 13 , wherein each R 7 and R 8 is CH 3 .

16. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 13 , wherein R 10 comprises an amino functional moiety selected from a primary amine, secondary amine, tertiary amine, quaternary amine, unsubstituted amide, and mixtures thereof.

17. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 13 , wherein R 11 comprises a polyether functional group having the formula: —R 12 —(R 13 —O) a —(R 14 O) b —R 15

wherein:

each R 12 , R 13 , and R 14 comprises independently branched C 1-4 alkyl groups, linear C 1-4 alkyl

groups, or mixtures thereof;

R 15 comprises H, C 1-30 alkyl group, or mixtures thereof; and,

a and b are integers of from about 1 to about 100.

18. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein each polysiloxane has a viscosity at 25° C. of about 25 centipoise or greater.

19. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein each polysiloxane has a viscosity at 25° C. of about 200 centipoise or greater.

20. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the pulp fibers are selected from the group consisting essentially of: softwood kraft pulp fibers; hardwood kraft pulp fibers; synthetic cellulosic fibers: or, mixture thereof.

21. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the pulp fibers comprise hardwood kraft pulp fibers.

22. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers have a water drop test value of about 180 seconds or less after aging at 85° C. for 24 hours.

23. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers have a water drop test value of about 30 seconds or less after aging at 85° C. or 24 hours.

24. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers have a nit count of about 10 or less.

25. The polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers have a nit count of about 2 or less.

26. A single or multi-ply tissue product containing the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 .

27. A wiping product containing the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers of claim 1 .

28. The single or multi-ply tissue product of claim 26 , wherein the tissue product containing the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers comprises blended sheets.

29. The single or multi-ply tissue product of claim 26 , wherein the tissue product containing the polysiloxane pretreated pulp fibers comprises layered tissue sheets.

30. The single or multi-ply tissue product of claim 26 , wherein the tissue product is a facial tissue, a bath tissue, or a towel product.

31. The single or multi-ply tissue product of claim 26 , wherein the tissue product has a polydialkylsiloxane content of about 0.15% by weight of dry pulp fibers or greater.