Absorbent Article Comprising A Synthetic Polymer Derived from A Renewable Resource and Methods of Producing Said Article

Abstract

A method for making a disposable absorbent article is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing a first nonwoven comprising synthetic fibers comprising a 14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14 or greater, providing a second nonwoven comprising synthetic fibers comprising a comprising a 14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14 or greater, converting the second nonwoven into a topsheet so that the topsheet comprises a Liquid Strike Through value of less than 4 seconds, and combining the first nonwoven and the topsheet with other absorbent article components to form a disposable absorbent article.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for making a polyolefin for use in a disposable absorbent article, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a first monomer derived from a renewable resource;   (b) providing a second monomer derived from petrochemicals;   (c) polymerizing the first monomer and the second monomer to form a polyolefin comprising the first monomer and the second monomer; and   (d) extruding the polyolefin to form a film, fibers, or filaments for use in one of more components of a disposable absorbent article.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first monomer comprises at least 5% by weight, defined by: (weight of renewable resource monomer/weight of resulting polymer)×100. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first monomer comprises at least 10% by weight, defined by: (weight of renewable resource monomer/weight of resulting polymer)×100. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a nonwoven is formed from the fibers or filaments. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a spunbond web. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a meltblown web. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a spunbond-meltblown web or a spunbond-meltblown-spunbond web. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first monomer derived from the renewable resource is at least partially derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, starch, cellulose, sugars, glycerol, natural fats or oils, biomass, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the nonwoven has a basis weight of from about 5 g/m 2  to about 30 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the filaments have an average denier of about 5 or less. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the film, fibers, or filaments comprise a  14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14  or greater. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a  14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14  or greater. 
     
     
         13 . A method for making a polyolefin for use in a disposable absorbent article, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a first monomer derived from a renewable resource, wherein the first monomer derived from the renewable resource is at least partially derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, starch, cellulose, sugars, glycerol, biomass, or combinations thereof;   (b) providing a second monomer derived from petrochemicals;   (c) polymerizing the first monomer and the second monomer to form a polyolefin comprising the first monomer and the second monomer; and   (d) extruding the polyolefin to form a film, fibers, or filaments for use in one of more components of a disposable absorbent article.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first monomer comprises at least 5% by weight, defined by: (weight of renewable resource monomer/weight of resulting polymer)×100. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first monomer comprises at least 10% by weight, defined by: (weight of renewable resource monomer/weight of resulting polymer)×100. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein a nonwoven is formed from the fibers or filaments. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a spunbond web. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a meltblown web. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a spunbond-meltblown web or a spunbond-meltblown-spunbond web. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nonwoven has a basis weight of from about 5 g/m 2  to about 30 g/m 2 , and wherein the filaments have an average denier of about 5 or less. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the film, fibers, or filaments comprise a  14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14  or greater. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a  14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14  or greater. 
     
     
         23 . A method for making a polyolefin for use in a disposable absorbent article, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a mixture of a first monomer derived from a renewable resource and a second monomer derived from petrochemicals;   (b) polymerizing the mixture to form a polyolefin comprising the first monomer and the second monomer; and   (c) extruding the polyolefin to form a film, fibers, or filaments for use in one of more components of a disposable absorbent article.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein a nonwoven is formed from the fibers or filaments. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the film, fibers, or filaments comprise a  14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14  or greater. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the nonwoven comprises a  14 C/C ratio of about 1.0×10 −14  or greater.