Next Phase of the Nonwovens Industry

As briefed above, the nonwovens industry in its 30 years of organized existence has focused primarily on disposable and semi-durable sectors. The next phase of growth and development of this industry will be focused on three main aspects:

1. Value-added products with enhanced functionality
2. Apparels
3. Sustainable products

These are the three products which the nonwoven industry, particularly in the industrialized world has to focus in order to have comparative advantage over the burgeoning industry of the developing economies. Due to the availability of finite oil based resources and the cost associated with them, the entire supply chain of the industry has to think innovatively to develop value-added products from sustainable materials. This is the immediate challenge for the nonwoven and technical textile industry.

Examples of Some Value-Added Nonwoven Products

It will be an onerous task to provide examples of new and improved nonwoven products from different laboratories around the world. Hence, the focus of this presentation is on some recent projects at Texas Tech University, which have utilized nonwoven and nanofiber technologies for the development of value-added products.

Military Decontamination Wipe

Most recently, the conventional needlepunching nonwoven technology has been utilized to develop a product that is of immediate need for the military. This non-particulate wipe technology has been found to be superior to the loose carbon particles for the adsorption of toxic vapors. These needlepunched composite wipes can be conveniently used as dry decontamination wipes to clean the wounded skin of a soldier as well as military equipment. Since these wipes should have both absorption and adsorption capabilities, bonding methods such as lamination may not be appropriate. It is particularly useful to report that mechanical bonding technologies are valuable in developing such military products. Depending upon the weight, the multilayered needlepunched fabrics can be used in the development of filters and chemical protective suit liners. These materials can be functionalized using biocidal materials to make them both biological and chemical protective materials. Figure 1 delineates the structure of the needlepunched fabric which finds a number of value-added applications.

Figure 1. Nonwoven Decontamination Wipe