Meterable fiberous material

Abstract

A particle or particles of cellulosic wood pulp fibers having a top and bottom face and a hexagonal perimeter, and methods of using it.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
         1 . A cellulosic wood pulp fiber particle having two opposed faces and a hexagonal perimeter, a major axis length of 4 to 8 mm, a width of 2 to 5 mm and a thickness of 0.1 mm to 4 mm. 
     
     
         2 . The particle of  claim 1 , wherein the wood pulp fiber is in the form of a wood pulp sheet, a paperboard sheet or a paper sheet. 
     
     
         3 . The particle of  claim 1 , wherein the hexagonal perimeter forms an equilateral hexagon. 
     
     
         4 . The particle of  claim 1 , wherein the sides of the hexagon formed by the hexagonal perimeter have different lengths. 
     
     
         5 . The particle of  claim 1 , wherein two opposed sides of the hexagon formed by the hexagonal perimeter have the same length, and said two opposed sides are longer than the other sides of the hexagon. 
     
     
         6 . The particle of  claim 1 , wherein the particle has a basis weight of 12 to 2000 g/mm 2 . 
     
     
         7 . The particle of  claim 1 , wherein each of the two opposed faces have an area of 12 to 30 mm 2 . 
     
     
         8 . The particle of  claim 1 , wherein the length of the hexagonal perimeter is 12 mm to 32 mm. 
     
     
         9 . A method of combining wood pulp fibers with a material, the method comprising:
 providing wood pulp fiber particles having two opposed faces and a hexagonal perimeter, a major axis length of 4 to 8 mm, a width of 2 to 5 mm and a thickness of 0.1 mm to 4 mm;   metering the particles through a feeder to a mixer;   forming fibers, fiber bundles, or a mixture thereof from the particles before or during the mixing; and   mixing the fibers, fiber bundles, or mixture thereof with a material to form a blend of the fibers, fiber bundles or mixture thereof and the material.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the material is a thermoplastic resin. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the material is cement. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the material is a thermoset resin. 
     
     
         13 . A method of combining wood pulp fibers with a material, the method comprising:
 providing wood pulp fiber particles having two opposed faces and a hexagonal perimeter, a major axis length of 4 to 8 mm, a width of 2 to 5 mm and a thickness of 0.1 mm to 4 mm; and   metering the particles through a feeder to a mixer.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the material is a dry constituent having a higher bulk density than the fiber, to produce a blend with a bulk density lower than the bulk density of the dry constituent. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the material is a dry constituent having a lower bulk density than the fiber, to produce a blend with a bulk density higher than the bulk density of the dry constituent. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the material is a dry constituent having a lower absorbent capacity than the fiber, to produce a blend with a higher absorbent capacity than the dry constituent. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the material is a dry constituent having a higher absorbent capacity than the fiber, to produce a blend with a lower absorbent capacity than the dry constituent. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the material is a dry constituent having a lower absorbency rate than the fiber, to produce a blend with a higher absorbent rate than the dry constituent.