Scouring material comprising natural fibres

Abstract

A scouring material comprises a three-dimensional non-woven web ( 3 ) of entangled fibres ( 5 ) bonded to one another at mutual contact points ( 7 ). The fibres comprise natural vegetable fibres in an amount of at least 50% by weight, and crimped synthetic fibres in an amount of at least 5% by weight. The fibres, throughout the web, have a substantially continuous coating of binder resin; and the web of bonded fibres has a maximum density of 60 kg/m 3 . A method of making the scouring material comprises the steps of: forming a three-dimensional non-woven web of entangled fibres; roll-coating the web with a binder resin; and curing the binder resin to form the scouring material.

1 . A scouring material comprising a three-dimensional non-woven web of entangled fibres bonded to one another at mutual contact points, wherein:
 (i) the fibres comprise natural vegetable fibres in an amount of at least 50% by weight, and crimped synthetic fibres in an amount of at least 5% by weight;   (ii) the fibres, throughout the web, have a substantially continuous coating of binder resin; and   (iii) the web of bonded fibres has a maximum density of 60 kg/m 3 .   
   
   
       2 . The scouring material of  claim 1 , wherein the natural vegetable fibres comprise fibres from the hearts of  Agave tequilana ; fibres from the leaves of  Agave sisalana ; or fibres from the tissues surrounding the seeds of  Cocos nucifera ; or mixtures thereof. 
   
   
       3 . The scouring material of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of natural vegetable fibres in the non-woven web is greater than 50% by weight. 
   
   
       4 . The scouring material of  claim 3 , wherein the amount of natural vegetable fibres in the non-woven web is at least 60% by weight. 
   
   
       5 . The scouring material of  claim 2 , wherein the natural vegetable fibres also comprise finer fibres. 
   
   
       6 . The scouring material of  claim 1 , wherein the crimped synthetic fibres comprise polyamide fibres; polyester fibres; polypropylene fibres; or mixtures thereof. 
   
   
       7 . The scouring material of  claim 1 , wherein the crimped fibres have a denier of at least 2 dtex, preferably at least 15 dtex. 
   
   
       8 . The scouring material of  claim 1 , wherein the binder resin is a water-based resin, for example a latex resin or an acrylic resin. 
   
   
       9 . The scouring material of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the fibres are bonded to one another at mutual contact points by a pre-bond resin. 
   
   
       10 . The scouring material of  claim 9 , wherein the pre-bond resin is a polyester resin. 
   
   
       11 . The scouring material of  claim 1 , further comprising abrasive particles adhered to the web by a make-coat resin. 
   
   
       12 . The scouring material of  claim 11 , wherein the abrasive particles comprise aluminium oxide particles or poly(vinyl chloride) particles. 
   
   
       13 . The scouring material of  claim 11 , wherein the make-coat resin is a water-based resin, for example a latex resin or an acrylic resin. 
   
   
       14 . A method of making a scouring material of  claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) forming a three-dimensional non-woven web of entangled fibres;   (b) roll-coating the web with a binder resin; and   (c) curing the binder resin to form the scouring material.   
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the fibres include heat-sensitive fibres and the method comprises the further step, between steps (a) and (b), of applying heat to the web to form a pre-bonded web in which some at least of the fibres are bonded to one another at mutual contact points by a pre-bond resin provided by the heat-sensitive fibres. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the heat-sensitive fibres are polyester fibres. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the heat-sensitive fibres also provide at least some of the crimped synthetic fibres in the scouring material. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 14 , comprising the further step, after step (c), of spraying the web with a slurry of abrasive particles in a make-coat resin.