Fibrous structure and process for making same

Abstract

Through-air dried (“TAD”) fibrous structures, especially TAD fibrous structures incorporated into sanitary tissue products, that comprise a short fiber furnish having a length of from about 0.4 mm to about 1.2 mm and a coarseness of from about 3.0 mg/100 m to about 7.5 mg/100 m, and processes for making such TAD fibrous structures are provided.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A through-air dried fibrous structure comprising: 
 a. a short fiber furnish comprising a short fiber having a length of from about 0.4 mm and about 1.2 mm and a coarseness of from about 3.0 mg/100 m to about 7.5 mg/100 m, and    b. a physical property ingredient selected from the group consisting of permanent wet strength resins, chemical softeners and mixtures thereof.    
     
     
         2 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein said short fiber furnish comprises cellulose.  
     
     
         3 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 2  wherein said short fiber furnish is derived from a fiber source selected from the group consisting of: Acacia , Eucalyptus, Maple, Oak, Aspen, Birch, Cottonwood , Alder, Ash, Cherry , Elm , Hickory , Poplar, Gum, Walnut , Locust , Sycamore , Beech , Catalpa , Sassafras , Gmelina , Albizia , Anthocephalus, Magnolia, Bagasse, Flax, Hemp, Kenaf, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         4 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the fibrous structure further comprises a long fiber furnish comprising a long fiber having a length greater than 1.2 mm.  
     
     
         5 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 4  wherein the fibrous structure comprises at least 10% by weight of the total fiber composition of said short fiber furnish.  
     
     
         6 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 4  wherein the fibrous structure has a basis weight greater than about 12 g/m 2  to about 120 g/m 2 .  
     
     
         7 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 4  wherein the fibrous structure has a total dry tensile greater than about 150 g/in and a wet burst strength greater than about 25 g/in.  
     
     
         8 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 4  wherein the fibrous structure comprises two or more fibrous furnish layers.  
     
     
         9 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 8  wherein at least one of the two or more fibrous furnish layers comprises the short fiber furnish.  
     
     
         10 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 9  wherein the at least one of the two or more fibrous furnish layers when incorporated into a sanitary tissue product contacts a human's skin upon use.  
     
     
         11 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein said physical property ingredient comprises a permanent wet strength resin comprising a polyamide-epichlorohydrin resin.  
     
     
         12 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein said physical property ingredient comprises a chemical softener selected from a group consisting of quaternary ammonium compounds, silicones, emollient lotion compounds and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         13 . The through-air dried fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the through-air dried fibrous structure further comprises an optional ingredient selected from the group consisting of: temporary wet strength resins, dry strength resins, wetting agents, lint resisting agents, absorbency-enhancing agents, immobilizing agents, antiviral agents, antibacterial agents, polyol polyesters, antimigration agents, polyhydroxy plasticizers and mixtures thereof  
     
     
         14 . A paper product comprising a fibrous structure according to  claim 1 .  
     
     
         15 . A one-ply sanitary tissue product selected from the group consisting of facial tissue products, toilet tissue products, paper towel products and mixtures thereof comprising a fibrous structure according to  claim 1 .  
     
     
         16 . A multi-ply sanitary tissue product selected from the group consisting of facial tissue products, toilet tissue products, paper towel products and mixtures thereof, wherein at least one ply of the multi-ply sanitary tissue product comprises a fibrous structure according to  claim 1 .  
     
     
         17 . A process for making a through-air dried fibrous structure comprising the steps of: 
 a. preparing a fibrous furnish comprising a short fiber furnish comprising a short fiber having a length of from about 0.4 mm to about 1.2 mm and a coarseness of from about 3.0 mg/100 m to about 7.5 mg/100 m, by mixing the short fiber with water to form the short fiber furnish;    b. depositing the fibrous furnish on a foraminous forming surface to form an embryonic fibrous web;    c. adding a permanent wet strength resin to the fibrous furnish and/or the embryonic fibrous web; and    d. through-air drying said embryonic fibrous web such that the through-air dried fibrous structure is formed.    
     
     
         18 . The process according to  claim 17  wherein the embryonic fibrous web is formed from two or more furnish layers.  
     
     
         19 . A process for making a through-air dried, chemical softener-containing fibrous structure comprising the steps of: 
 a. preparing a fibrous furnish comprising a short fiber furnish comprising a short fiber having a length of from about 0.4 mm to about 1.2 mm and a coarseness of from about 3.0 mg/100 m to about 7.5 mg/100 m, by mixing the short fiber with water to form the short fiber furnish;    b. depositing the fibrous furnish on a foraminous forming surface to form an embryonic fibrous web;    c. through-air drying said embryonic fibrous web such that through-air dried fibrous structure is formed; and    d. applying a chemical softener to the fibrous furnish and/or embryonic fibrous web and/or through-air dried fibrous structure such that the through-air dried, chemical softener-containing fibrous structure is formed.    
     
     
         20 . The process according to  claim 19  wherein the embryonic fibrous web is formed from two or more furnish layers.