Densification agent and oil treated cellulose fibers

Abstract

Densification agent and oil treated cellulose fibers exhibit densification properties that are superior to oil treated fibers that have not been treated with a densification agent and cellulose fibers that have not been treated with oil or a densification agent. The densification agent and oil treated cellulose fibers are useful in absorbent articles that may contain superabsorbent materials.

1 . A cellulose pulp sheet comprising: 
 cellulose fibers;    an oil applied to the cellulose fibers; and    a densification agent applied to the cellulose fibers.    
     
     
         2 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the cellulose fibers are wood pulp fibers.  
     
     
         3 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the oil has a melting point below about 25° C.  
     
     
         4 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the oil comprises a triglyceride.  
     
     
         5 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the oil is a fatty acid.  
     
     
         6 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the oil is olive oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, linseed oil, tung oil, castor oil, coconut oil, canola oil, corn oil, or jojoba oil.  
     
     
         7 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the oil is saturated or unsaturated alkane, alkene, alkyne, cycloalkane, cycloalkene, cycloalkyne, or combinations thereof.  
     
     
         8 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the oil is petroleum derived.  
     
     
         9 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 8 , wherein the oil is selected from the group consisting of mineral oil, hexadecane, squalane, and squalene.  
     
     
         10 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the oil is present on the fibers in an amount ranging from about 0.5 to 20 wt. % based on the weight of dry fibers.  
     
     
         11 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the densification agent comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         12 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 1 , wherein the densification agent comprises a saccharide.  
     
     
         13 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 12 , wherein the densification agent further comprises at least one agent having hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         14 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 11  or  13 , wherein the agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality is selected from the group consisting of alcohols, hydroxy acids, and polycarboxylic acids.  
     
     
         15 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 14 , wherein the alcohols are selected from the group consisting of polyols and glycols.  
     
     
         16 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 13 , wherein the weight ratio of saccharide actives to actives in the at least one agent having a hydrogen bonding functionality in the densification agent ranges from about 70:30 to about 85:15.  
     
     
         17 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 11  or  13 , wherein the densification agent is present in an amount ranging from about 0.5 to about 20 wt. % actives based on dry weight of the fibers.  
     
     
         18 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 14 , wherein hydroxy acid is lactic acid.  
     
     
         19 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 12 , wherein the saccharide is a high fructose corn syrup.  
     
     
         20 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 19  having a densification agent actives content ranging from about 3 to about 8 wt. %.  
     
     
         21 . The cellulose pulp sheet of  claim 11 , wherein the agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality is propylene glycol.  
     
     
         22 . A method for producing a cellulose pulp sheet comprising: 
 providing cellulose pulp;    forming a cellulose pulp sheet from the cellulose pulp;    applying an oil to the cellulose pulp sheet; and    applying a densification agent to the cellulose pulp sheet.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the oil and the densification agent are applied to the cellulose pulp sheet simultaneously.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the oil is applied to a first side of the cellulose pulp sheet and the densification agent is applied to a second side of the cellulose pulp sheet, the first side being opposite the second side.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the densification agent comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the densification agent comprises a saccharide.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the densification agent further comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the densification agent is applied in an amount resulting in the application of about 0.5 to about 20 wt. % actives based on dry weight of the fibers.  
     
     
         29 . A method for producing a densified web of cellulose fibers comprising: 
 providing cellulose fibers treated with an oil and a densification agent;    fiberizing the cellulose fibers treated with the oil and the densification agent;    forming the fiberized cellulose fibers treated with the oil and the densification agent into a web; and    compressing the web.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the densification agent comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the densification agent comprises a saccharide.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the densification agent further comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the cellulose fibers treated with an oil and a densification agent contain about 0.5 to about 20 wt. % actives based on dry weight of the cellulose fibers.  
     
     
         34 . A method for modifying the densification properties of cellulose fibers treated with an oil, the cellulose fibers before treatment with the oil and after application and removal of a compression load being densified to a first density, the cellulose fibers after treatment with the oil and after application and removal of the compression load being densified to a second density, the first density being greater than the second density, the method comprising: 
 applying a densification agent to the oil treated fibers, the densification agent applied to the oil treated fibers in an amount that results in the fibers treated with the oil and the densification agent densifying to a third density after application and removal of the compression load, the third density being greater than the first density.    
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the third density is at least 2% greater than the first density when the compression load is 150 psi or less.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the densification agent comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the densification agent comprises a saccharide.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the densification agent further comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the densification agent is applied to the cellulose fibers in an amount resulting in the application of about 0.5 to about 20 wt. % actives based on dry weight of the cellulose fibers.  
     
     
         40 . An article for absorbing an aqueous fluid, comprising: 
 cellulose fibers;    superabsorbent materials; and    an oil and a densification agent applied to the cellulose fibers.    
     
     
         41 . The article of  claim 40 , wherein the densification agent comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         42 . The article of  claim 40 , wherein the densification agent comprises a saccharide.  
     
     
         43 . The article of  claim 42 , wherein the densification agent further comprises an agent having at least one hydrogen bonding functionality.  
     
     
         44 . The article of  claim 40 , wherein the densification agent is present in an amount such that about 0.5 to about 20 wt. % actives based on dry weight of the cellulose fibers is present on the cellulose fibers.