Prepared by

S.RAJESH KUMAR
PSG TECH

E-mail : srk3rajesh@gmail.com
 Presentation Content

• Introduction
• Types of nonwoven fabrics
• Nonwoven web forming methods
• Nonwoven bonding techniques
• Finishing of nonwovens
• Commercial nonwoven products
• Nonwoven in technical textiles
INTRODUCTION
 Polymers

Fibers

Yarns

Woven Knitted Braided Non-woven

Fabrics

Application

Woven structure Knitted structure Braided structure

 NONWOVENS IN GENERAL

Definition of nonwovens

Nonwoven is a sheet, web, or batt of natural and/or man-made fibers or filaments,

excluding paper, that have not been converted into the yarns, and that are bonded together
in different ways

It may also having other names such as Shaped Fabrics (or) Yarn free Fabrics

Non-Woven structure
 Brief about Nonwoven
• Fibers are the basic element of Nonwovens. The
selection of raw fibers, determines the properties
of the final nonwoven products.
• Fiber selection purely depend on Application,
customer requirement and cost of Product.
• The fibers can be in the form of stable form (or)
filament form. Any natural or synthetic fiber could
be used in the production of non woven.

• Synthetic fibers provide specialized properties ,

uniformity, and consistency of supply which
cannot be achieved by natural fibers.

• Bi component fibers are a manufactured fiber

having two distinct polymers components may
also used in nonwoven manufacturing.

• Nano fibers, Glass micro fibers also used in

nonwoven Industry
 Identification of nonwoven
• To distinguish nonwovens from papers by a Identified material
should contains 30% - 50% of mass content is made up of
fibers (excluding chemicall fibers)

• Length to diameter ratio mare than 600.

• Density of the fabrics is less than 0.4 g/cm3

• Stitching the fibers or filaments in place

• Thermally fusing the fibers or filaments to each other or to

other meltable fibers or powders.

• Nonwoven structures may incorporate monofilaments or yarns

• A nonwoven may be a structural component of a composite

Nonwoven Production cycle

Production Rate

To produce 500,000 meters of woven sheeting

requires
2 months of yarn preparation
3 months of weaving on 50 looms
1 month for finishing and inspection

Non-woven fabric can deliver the same quantity

within 2 months from the order received
 Types of
Nonwoven Fabrics
 Fabric production stages

The production of nonwovens can be described in three stages,

although modern technology allows an overlapping of some stages, and in
some cases all three stages can take place at the same. That three
unavoidable main stages are:

1) Web formation
a) Fiber to Fabric (Ex: Carded, Air Laid, Wet Laid)
b) Polymer to fabric (Ex: Spun Bond, Melt Blown, SMS)
2) Web bonding
3) Finishing Treatments
Nonwoven Web Forming
Methods
Web Forming by Carding process

Web
• A web is the basic structure of
fiber to fabric nonwovens
• It is a loose mat of fibers
• Webs require bonding for stability

Carded fabric Applications:

• All fiber to fabric products
• Bandages
• Some pre-moistened wipes
• Apparel Interlinings
 Air Laid
Application areas:
Automotive
Hygiene
Insulation
Wipes
Medical

Wet Laid
Wet laid is similar to paper
making. In Papermaking uses pulp but in
Wet laid uses longer fiber, perhaps
blended with wood pulp

If more than 70% of material is

wood pulp, then that is a paper
Spun Bonding
Spun Bonding

Products
Surgical gowns
• Home furnishing/ Bedding
• Geotextile fabrics
• Diaper cover stocks
• House Wrap
• Roofing
 Melt blown techniques

Gear
pumps
Products
• Filters (Air & Liquid)
• Insulation
• Face masks
Polymers • Barriers in Medical diapers
• Hazmat Applications (Oil split Sorbents)

Air Air
 Spun bond - Melt blown - Spun bond
(SMS)
SMS Production stages

Spun bond filament

Quenching

Stretching

Melt blown layer

forming

Spun bond filament over

laying
Products
Calendaring Baby diapers- standing leg cuff
Adult diapers
SMS fabric output
Medical Products
Industrial protective apparel
Nonwoven Bonding Techniques
Different Bonding Techniques
 Mechanical Bonding Products

Products
Felt
Geotextiles
Blood filters
Synthetic leather
Blankets
Automotive interior trim
Carpets etc.,
• Needle punching

Hydro-Entanglement
 Thermal Bonding Products
Embossed
cylinder

Products
web
Upholstery
• Cussion pads
Hot smooth
calender • Heat insulation
Embossed roll calendaring • Sound insulation
• Medical Products

Reflector • Automotive heat insulation

• Protective wrapping material etc.,

Infrared
heat source
Nonwovens with
bonding agents

Infrared treatment
 Chemical Bonding Products
cug
• Products
Roofing : Acrylic Weatherability
Water repellency etc.,

Automotive : PVC copolymers-

Sealing performance
Flame retardancy etc.,
Adhesive bonding

Powder bonding • Print bonding

•
FINISHING OF
NON WOVENS
 Finishing of Nonwovens
 The production of nonwoven fabrics is carried out as a
continuous process, with fiber or resin as the input
material and a roll of fabric as output, or as a series of
batch processes.

 Correspondingly, fabric finishing is carried out either in

tandem with web formation and consolidation or off-line
as a separate operation.

 Nonwovens may be given one or more of a variety of

finishing processes as a means of enhancing fabric
performance or aesthetic properties.

 Performance properties include functional

characteristics such as moisture regain and absorbency
or repellency, flame retardancy and frictional behavior.
 Finishing Methods

Chemical Mechanical Thermal-mechanical

Chemical finishing involves the application of chemical

agents as coatings to fabric surfaces or the impregnation of
fabrics with chemical additives or fillers.

Mechanical finishing involves altering the texture of fabric

surfaces by physically reorienting or shaping fibers on or
near the fabric surface.

Thermal-mechanical finishing involves altering fabric

dimensions or physical properties using of heat and
pressure
 Finishing types

Dry Finishing methods Wet Finishing methods

 Shrinkage  Coloration
 Glazing  Printing
 Crabbing  Anti static finishing
 Calendering  Hygiene finishing
 Pressing  Dust bonding treatment
 Perforating  Absorbent and Repellent finishes
(Oil, Static, Water, etc.,)

Products
 Roofing Felts
 Boat Hulls
 Floor Coverings
 Wall hangings
 Dusters etc.,
Commercial Nonwoven
Products
• Nonwovens are designed to offer particular characteristics, suitable for
certain use. Their various properties are combined together in order to
create the required functionalities.

• The modern nonwoven technologies are permits to simulate required

structures and properties as per market need. Some of the
commercially available products are listed below:
2012 Asian Nonwovens Market 2.6 million tones

Source: INDA Estimates & Rory Holmes, INDA-CAB Conference 2012 (www.inda.org)
 Nonwoven in
Technical Textiles
Technical Textiles are textile materials manufactured
mainly for their technical performance and functional
properties.

Nonwovens are the only Technical textiles which

offers different qualities to economical solutions for a
wide range of applications.
 Some examples of Day-to-Day use of
Technical Textiles

Kitchen
Clothing Floor Mops
Tea Bags Furnishing
Shoulder Pads Coffee Filters
Collar / Cuff Interlinings Carpets
Waddings in Jackets Vertical Blinds
Factory Wall Coverings

Dust Collection Filter Bags

Liquid Filtration
Civil Engineering
Battery separators
Hospital
Railway Tracks Masks, Gowns,
Soil Erosion Caps, Bandage,
Car
Slope Stabilizations Baby Diaper,
Flyovers Landfills Carpets, Roof-liners, Sanitary Napkin 35
Seat belts, Tyres,
Airbags
 Classification

Agrotech – Horticulture, Meditech – Personal

Agricultural, Forest Hygiene, Medical

Buildtech – Construction, Mobiltech – Car, Ships,

Lightweight engineering Aircraft, Space

Clothtech – Garment, Packtech - Packing

Shoes

Geotech – Road & Rail Oekotech – Recyling,

Infrastructure Waste Disposal

Protech – Person &

Hometech – Furniture & Property Protection
Furnishing

Indutech – Filtration & Sporrtech – Sports &

Chemical Engineering Leisure
• Special textiles that are manufactured for agricultural applications. These
textile structures are used as controlling environment for plants/animals in
applications like Agriculture, Horticulture , Animal husbandry

• Benefits of Agrotextile Products

Used in Protected Cultivation For Indian Agriculturists for improved
Productivity & Quality of Produce and lower Cost of Production

AGRO TEXTILE

PRODUCT APPLICATION IN AGRICULTURE ANIMAL

HUSBAN-
CROP FLORICUL - HORTICUL- POST
DARY
PRODUCE TURE TURE HARVESTING

NONWOVEN FABRICS
 MULCHMAT * *
*
 CATTLE SHED *
UNDERLAY
 PROTECTIVE * * * * *
CLOTHING
 Agriculture & Horticulture

Nonwovens are used effectively for optimizing the productivity of crops,

gardens and greenhouses.

In horticultural applications, nonwovens protect the plants against

temperature extremes by day and by night, thus creating the foundation for
earlier harvests with excellent results.
 MEDICAL TEXTILES

Surgical Extra Corporeal Healthcare &

Hygiene

Implantable Non-Implantable

Soft Tissue Hard Tissue Cardiovascular

Modern disposable absorbent hygiene products have made an

important contribution to the quality of life and skin health of millions
of people. 39
 Products
Artificial skin
Wound-contact layer
Wadding, Scaffold
Plasters
Elastic bandages
Non-elastic bandages
Compression bandages
Gauze dressing
 Products

• Surgical drapes • Surgical cloths

• Surgical gowns • Surgical gowns
• Surgical caps • Masks
• Absorbent layer • Wipes
• Cover stock • Outer layer
 Advantages of
Disposable products
• The surgical disposables primarily consist of masks, caps, drapes,
gowns, covers and shoe covers made of polypropylene spunbond
fabric (non-woven) with or without polyethylene film.

• Ultra disposable surgical gowns protects the medical professionals

against the transmission of AIDS, hepatitis and other blood-borne
infections.

• Surgical masks protect medical and dental professionals from

acquiring or transmitting infections.

• Non-woven shoe covers protect surgeons from infections and the

discharge and adverse effects of static electricity.

Ex:SURGICAL GOWN DATA:-

Bacterial filtration efficiency : 95% to 98%
Air permeability : 25-30 cm3/cm2/sec
This shows not only these are safer, these are much more comfortable.
GEO TEXTILES
Nonwoven Geotextiles are thicker and made either from short and
continuous filaments, carded or laid in even patterns and then mechanically
(needle punched) or thermally bonded.
Benefits of using Nonwoven in
GeoTextiles

• Cheap and easy to manufacture.

• Superior chemical resistance in even the

aggressive environment application.

• Highly porous structure

• Staple fibers needle punched together to form

fabric capable of withstanding construction
installation stresses.
 FILTRATION

One of the fastest growing segments in the

nonwovens industry, filtration is characterized by dozens
of end use areas and applications.

Nonwovens can be engineered very precisely to

meet exacting specifications and stringent regulatory
requirements for the filtration of air, liquid, bacteria, dust,
gas and a myriad of other areas.

Examples of nonwoven application:

Air filtration
Liquid filtration
Automotive filtration
 Air Filtration
Micron Air particle filters, with their high arrestance Microfiber nonwovens,
protect driver and passengers of a vehicle from pollen, dust, soot and other harmful
particles penetrating inside their car via the intake air flow.

Air filters for intake, exhaust and recirculated

air filtration in indoor climate control systems:
Filter mats
Pocket filters
Activated-carbon
Combination filters
Cassette filters
HEPA/ULPA filters
Depth-loading filter cartridges
High-temperature filters
 Liquid Filtration
• Nonwovens for filtering coolants and lubricants, as well as
washing, phosphating and coagulation baths in the metal-
processing industry.

• Nonwovens for filtering milk, frying fats, drinking water, and

blood plasma.

• Membrane support nonwovens for filtering fruit juices,

enzymes, electro-dip coating and effluents.

Special Filtration
• Respirators
• Vacuum cleaners
• Kitchen hood filters
• Dust removal
 Nonwoven applications in
CONSTRUCTION
- Sound insulation
- Anti-radiation-type construction textiles will be very important in the future.
- Foil, a special film, combined with materials such as foam thermal insulation products
- Resistance to hydrolysis with water, which is important in areas where contact is
inevitable PU-ether-based chemical applied to the use of textiles.
- Breathable, wind-and rain-proof light houses.
 Household Textiles

China nonwoven carpet

Nonwoven fabrics can be used in the

following household textile applications:
– Floor coverings
Nonwoven wall hanging – Upholstery materials
– Webbings, etc.,
 Automotive Interiors
Facings and structural reinforcement materials are
used in a variety of different applications Includes:
Headliners
Trunk liners
Door trim
Package trays
Sun visors
Seats

In Shoes
A broad spectrum of applications including:
- Liners
- Counter liners
- Inter-liners and
- Reinforcing materials
Membranes and insoles ensure a healthy foot
climate and a high degree of foot comfort.
 PACKAGING

Example Product:
Advantages of using nonwovens
• Food wrap: Meat
• Easy to recycle and compost
• Cheese and fish wrappers
• Easy to convert into pads and shapes
• Food contact packaging
• High tear resistance
• Tea & coffee bags
• Absorbent pads
• Sacks, bags & sachets
• Envelopes
• Sacks and bags
• Protection
• Sheets, bags, sacks, wraps for delicate
products
(Ex: electronic products, car bumpers, Rice Bag
leather goods)
Pesticide Protective Materials

Three layered Chemical Protective Fabric

 Insulation High Lofts Moistened Hand Wipes

Spunbond Pillow Cover Spunbond Grocery Bag

 Typical Surgical Gown
(Spunbond - Meltblown - Spunbond)

Spunlace Wet Wipes

 References

• Giovanni Tanchis,“The Nonwovens-Reference books of Textile

technologies”, April 2008

• Wilhelm Albrecht, “Nonwoven Fabrics”, 2003

• Bernard P Corbman, “Textiles : Fibre to Fabric”, McGraw Hill Book
Co., Singapore, 1983

• Pushpa B and Sengupta A K , "Industrial Application of Textiles for

Filtration and Coated fabrics", Vol.14, 1992

• The Indian Textile Journal, September 2008

 References
• http://www.towel-roll.com
• http://www.ittaindia.org
• http://www.edana.org
• http://www.inda.org
• http://zend123.en.made-in-china.com
• http://www.made-in-china.com
• http://www.textileworld.com
• http://www.nonwoven-material.cn
• http://www.imerys-perfmins.com
• http://silvix.koreasme.com
• http://engineering.indiabizclub.com