Sustainably-Sourced, High Strength Non Woven

Abstract

A nonwoven paper and method of manufacturing the same, where the nonwoven paper includes a thermally treated, wet-laid fiber mixture that includes a plurality of cellulosic fibers or pulp comprising about 60% to about 90% of the fiber mixture and a plurality of bicomponent binder fibers comprising about 10% to about 40% of the fiber mixture.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing a nonwoven paper, the method comprising:
 combining a plurality of cellulosic fibers or pulp and bicomponent binder fibers, wherein each of the bicomponent binder fibers includes a core component and a sheath component, thereby forming a combination of fibers;
 wherein the plurality of cellulosic fibers or pulp comprise about 60% to about 90% of the combination of fibers and the bicomponent binder fibers comprises about 10% to about 40% of the combination of fibers; 
   dispersing the combination of fibers, thereby forming a plurality dispersed fibers;   diluting the plurality of dispersed fibers forming a diluted solution, wherein the diluted solution comprises about 0.1% dispersed fibers;   placing the diluted solution on a screen;   dewatering the diluted solution, thereby forming a dewatered solution;   air drying the dewatered solution at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about one minute to about three minutes so as to at least partially melt the sheath component of the bicomponent binder fibers, thereby forming a dry nonwoven; and   thermally treating the dry nonwoven at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cellulosic fibers or pulp have a moisture content of about 5% to about 25%. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dispersing the combination of fibers further includes mechanically blending the combination of fibers. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bicomponent binder fibers further includes a maleic anhydride additive. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dispersing the combination of fibers further includes adding a chemical dispersant. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising adding an anti-foam agent, defoaming chemical, or combination thereof to the plurality dispersed fibers. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adding a viscosity/rheology modifiers to the plurality of dispersed fibers. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein dewatering the diluted solution includes draining water through the screen, vacuuming water through the screen, or a combination thereof, thereby forming the dewatered solution. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein dewatering the diluted solution removes about 20% to about 40% of the water from the diluted solution. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising drying and bonding the dewatered solution in an oven at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the drying occurs for about two minutes. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising rolling the dry nonwoven prior to thermally treating the dry nonwoven. 
     
     
         13 . A method of manufacturing a nonwoven, the method comprising:
 obtaining a plurality of raw hemp fibers, cellulosic fibers or pulp, and bicomponent binder fibers including a polyethylene terephthalate PET (PET) core component and a copolyethylene sheath component,
 wherein the plurality of raw hemp fibers have a moisture content of about 5% to about 25%; 
 wherein the bicomponent binder fibers includes a maleic anhydride additive; 
   combining the plurality of raw hemp fibers, the cellulosic fibers or pulp, and the bicomponent binder fibers, thereby forming a combination of fibers;
 wherein the plurality of raw hemp fibers comprise about 50% of the combination of fibers, the cellulosic fibers or pulp comprise about 20% to about 25% of the combination of fibers, and the bicomponent binder fibers comprises about 25% to about 30% of the combination of fibers; 
   dispersing the combination of fibers, thereby forming a plurality of dispersed fibers;   diluting the plurality of dispersed fibers with water forming a diluted solution, wherein the diluted solution comprises about 0.1% dispersed fibers;   placing the diluted solution on a screen;   dewatering the diluted solution by vacuuming, thereby removing about 20% to about 40% of the water from the diluted solution and forming a dewatered solution;   air drying the dewatered solution at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about two minutes so as to at least partially melt the copolyethylene sheath component of the bicomponent binder fibers, thereby forming a dry nonwoven; and   thermally treating the dry nonwoven at about 300 degrees Fahrenheit to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein dispersing the combination of fibers further includes mechanically blending the combination of fibers. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein dispersing the combination of fibers further includes adding a chemical dispersant. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising adding an anti-foam agent, defoaming chemical, or combination thereof to the plurality of dispersed fibers. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising adding a viscosity/rheology modifiers to the plurality of dispersed fibers. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising drying and bonding the dewatered solution in an oven at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising rolling the dry nonwoven prior to thermally treating the dry nonwoven. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein thermally treating the dry nonwoven includes laminating the dry nonwoven to melt the copolyethylene sheath component of the bicomponent binder fibers. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the cellulosic fibers or pulp include lyocell fibers. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the cellulosic fibers or pulp include Abaca hemp pulp.