Methods for producing nonwoven materials from continuous tow bands
View Patent ↗A system may include a plurality of tow band processing lines and a master air jet in communication with the tow band processing lines to receive a plurality of processed tow bands from the tow band processing lines to form a bulked web. The system may be used to form a bulked web that itself is a nonwoven material or that may be further processed into a nonwoven material.
1. A method comprising:
introducing at least two processed tow bands into a master air jet;
producing a bulked web in the master air jet, wherein the bulked web has a width of about 50 cm or greater; and
forming a nonwoven material from the bulked web.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein introducing the at least two processed tow bands is in a side-by-side configuration, and wherein the bulked web has a cross-sectional composition similar to that of the side-by-side configuration.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bulked web has a bulk density of about 0.05 g/cm 3 or less.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bulked web has a caliper of about 10 mm or greater.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bulked web has a width of about 1 m or greater.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven material has a bulk density of about 0.25 g/cm 3 or less.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven material has a caliper of about 0.5 mm or greater.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven material comprises at least one additive that comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an active particle, an active compound, an ion exchange resin, a zeolite, a nanoparticle, a ceramic particle, an abrasive particulate, an absorbent particulate, a softening agent, a plasticizer, a pigment, a dye, a flavorant, an aroma, a controlled release vesicle, a binder, an adhesive, a tackifier, a surface modification agent, a lubricating agent, an emulsifier, a vitamin, a peroxide, a biocide, an antifungal, an antimicrobial, a deodorizer, an antistatic agent, a flame retardant, an antifoaming agent, a degradation agent, a conductivity modifying agent, a stabilizing agent, and any combination thereof.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one processed tow band comprises filaments that comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin, a polyethylene, a polypropylene, a polyester, a polyethylene terphalate, a lyocell, a viscose, a rayon, a polyamine, a polyamide, a polypropylene oxide, a polyethylene sulfide, a polyphenylene sulfide, a liquid crystalline polymeric substance capable of being formed into fibers, a silk, a wool, a cotton, a polyacrylate, a polymethacrylate, a cellulose acetate, a cellulose diacetate, a cellulose triacetate, a cellulose propionate, a cellulose butyrate, a cellulose acetate-propionate, a cellulose acetate-butyrate, a cellulose propionate-butyrate, a starch acetate, an acrylonitrile, a vinyl chloride, a vinyl ester, a vinyl ether, any derivative thereof, any copolymer thereof, and any combination thereof.
10. A method comprising:
processing a plurality of tow bands along at least one tow band processing line to form a plurality of processed tow bands; and
introducing at least two of the processed tow bands into a master air jet; and
producing a bulked web in the master air jet, wherein the bulked web has a caliper of about 10 cm to about 50 cm.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein combining involves the plurality of processed tow bands in a stacked configuration, a side-by-side configuration, or a combination thereof.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bulked web has a bulk density of about 0.05 g/cm 3 or less.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bulked web has a width of about 50 cm or greater.
14. The method of claim 10 further comprising:
forming a nonwoven material from the bulked web.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the nonwoven material has a bulk density of about 0.25 g/cm 3 or less.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein at least one tow band has a denier per filament of about 1 to about 50 and a total denier of about 10,000 to about 3,000,000.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein at least one tow band comprises filaments that comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin, a polyethylene, a polyprsopylene, a polyester, a polyethylene terphalate, a lyocell, a viscose, a rayon, a polyamine, a polyamide, a polypropylene oxide, a polyethylene sulfide, a polyphenylene sulfide, a liquid crystalline polymeric substance capable of being formed into fibers, a silk, a wool, a cotton, a polyacrylate, a polymethacrylate, a cellulose acetate, a cellulose diacetate, a cellulose triacetate, a cellulose propionate, a cellulose butyrate, a cellulose acetate-propionate, a cellulose acetate-butyrate, a cellulose propionate-butyrate, a starch acetate, an acrylonitrile, a vinyl chloride, a vinyl ester, a vinyl ether, any derivative thereof, any copolymer thereof, and any combination thereof.
18. A method comprising:
forming three processed tow bands along three tow band processing lines;
combining the three processed tow bands in a stacked configuration to form a bulked web with a master air jet, wherein a second tow processed tow band is disposed between a first processed tow band and a third processed tow band, wherein the second tow band has a different composition than the first processed tow band and the third processed tow band, and wherein the bulked web has a cross-sectional composition similar to the stacked configuration;
transporting the bulked web to a nonwoven manufacturing line; and
producing a nonwoven material from the bulked web.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the nonwoven manufacturing line comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an additive application area, a calendaring area, a hydroentanglement area, a needlelooming area, a needlepunching area, a resin-bond area, a drying area, a heating area, a cooling area, a collection area, any hybrid thereof, and any combination thereof.
20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the bulked web has a bulk density of about 0.05 g/cm 3 or less.
21. The method of claim 18 , wherein the bulked web has a caliper of about 10 mm or greater.
22. The method of claim 18 , wherein the bulked web has a width of about 50 cm.
23. The method of claim 18 , wherein the nonwoven material has a bulk density of about 0.25 g/cm 3 or less.
24. The method of claim 18 , wherein the nonwoven material has a caliper of about 0.5 mm or greater.
25. The method of claim 18 , wherein at least one tow band has a denier per filament of about 1 to about 50 and a total denier of about 10,000 to about 3,000,000.