Nonwoven article with ribbon fibers

Abstract

Ribbon fibers, nonwoven articles derived therefrom, and their process of manufacture are provided. The ribbon fibers are derived from multicomponent fibers having a striped configuration and have a length of less than 25 millimeters, a minimum transverse dimension of less than 5 microns, and a transverse aspect ratio of at least 2:1. The ribbon fibers are formed from a water non-dispersible synthetic polymer. The nonwoven articles containing the ribbon fibers may be used for a wide array of products.

1 . A process for producing a nonwoven article, said process comprising:
 (a) providing a plurality of multicomponent fibers having a striped configuration and an as-spun denier of less than 15 dpf, wherein each of said multicomponent fibers comprises a plurality of ribbon fiber segments substantially isolated from one another by a plurality removable segments, wherein said ribbon fiber segments are formed of a water non-dispersible material, wherein said removable segments are formed of a water dispersible material, wherein said ribbon fiber segments have a minimum transverse dimension of less than 5 microns and a transverse aspect ratio of at least 2:1;   (b) cutting a plurality of said multicomponent fibers into lengths of less than 25 millimeters, thereby providing a plurality of short-cut multicomponent fibers;   (c) contacting said short-cut multicomponent fibers with a wash water to disperse substantially all of said removable segments in said wash water and to disassociate each of said ribbon fiber segments from one other, thereby forming a wash slurry comprising the disassociated ribbon fiber segments and an aqueous dispersion of said wash water and said water dispersible material;   (d) removing a portion of said aqueous dispersion from said wash slurry to thereby provided a wet lap composition, wherein said ribbon fiber segments make up in the range of from 10 to 50 weight percent of said wet lap composition, wherein said aqueous dispersion makes up in the range of from 50 to 90 weight percent of said wet lap composition; and   (e) using said wet lap composition in a wet-laid process to produce said nonwoven article.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said multi-component fibers have an average denier per filament (dpf) of at least 1, 3, or 5 and/or not more than 10, 20, or 30. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said multi-component fibers have at least 4, 8, or 12 stripes and/or less than 50, 35, or 20 stripes. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said wash water has a pH of less than 10, 8, 7.5, or 7. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said wash water is substantially free of added caustic. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said wash water is maintained at a temperature of at least 140, 150, or 160° F. and/or not more than 210, 200, or 190° F. during said contacting of step (c). 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said contacting of step (c) is carried out for a wash time of at least 0.1, 0.5, or 1 minutes and/or not more than 30, 20, or 10 minutes. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said contacting of step (c) disperses substantially all of said removable segments so that the resulting dissociated ribbon fibers segments have less than 5, 2, or 1 weight percent of residual water dispersible material disposed thereon. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said aqueous dispersion makes up at least 50, 55, or 60 weight percent and/or not more than 90, 85, or 80 weight percent of said wet lap composition. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said ribbon fiber segments make up at least 10, 15, or 20 weight percent and/or not more than 50, 45, or 40 weight percent of said wet lap composition. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said aqueous dispersion and said ribbon fiber segments in combination make of at least 95, 98, or 99 weight percent of said wet lap composition. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said water dispersible material is a sulfopolyester. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said using of step (e) includes combining said wet lap composition with a dilution liquid to produce a dilute wet-lay slurry. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein said dilute wet-lay slurry comprises said ribbon fiber segments in an amount of at least 0.0001, 0.001, or 0.005 weight percent and/or not more than 1, 0.5, or 0.1 weight percent. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein said dilute wet-lay slurry comprises said dilution liquid in an amount of at least 90, 95, or 98 weight percent. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein said wet laid process includes combining additional fibers with said wet lap composition and said dilution liquid to produce said dilute wet-lay slurry, wherein said additional fibers have a different composition and/or configuration than said ribbon fiber segments. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 16 , wherein said additional fibers are selected from the group consisting of cellulosic fiber pulp, inorganic fibers, polyester fibers, nylon fibers, polyolefin fibers, rayon fibers, lyocell fibers, cellulose ester fibers, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 16 , wherein said dilute wet-lay slurry comprises said additional fibers in an amount of at least 0.0001, 0.001, or 0.005 weight percent and/or not more than 1, 0.5, or 0.1 weight percent.