Preparation and properties of fluffy high-shrinkage polyester/polyamide 6 hollow segmented pie microfiber nonwovens

Bicomponent spunbond hydroentanglement technology can break the interface between the two components by physical extrusion and shearing, thereby realizing the green and efficient production of high-strength microfiber nonwoven materials. Herein, we report a soft and fluffy bicomponent spunbond hydroentanglement nonwoven material using high-shrinkage polyester/polyamide 6 (HSPET/PA6) as the bicomponent. HSPET/PA6 hollow segmented pie composite fibers with different volume ratios were prepared by spunbond technology, the HSPET and PA6 segments were alternately arranged, and the interface was flat. The composite fibers were split by heat treatment. The dry heat shrinkage rates of the composite fibers were 8.45% (50/50) and 10.57% (70/30), and the boiling water shrinkage rates were 10.02% (50/50) and 12.27% (70/30). HSPET/PA6 hollow segmented pie microfiber nonwovens were prepared by hydroentanglement technology. After heat treatment, the fibers of nonwovens were further split and the HSPET fibers curled, giving the nonwovens a fluffy characteristic. By comparing the properties of HSPET/PA6 after heat treatment, the shrinkage effect of the water bath was obviously better than that of dry heat, and the split degree of fibers reached 81.97% (50/50) and 84.65% (70/30). Compared with polyester/PA6 nonwovens, the softness of HSPET/PA6 nonwovens increased by 45.1% (50/50) and 49.3% (70/30) after boiling water shrinkage. At the same time, the mechanical properties of HSPET/PA6 nonwovens were also improved. The successful fabrication of HSPET/PA6 microfiber nonwovens provides a new method for enhancing the softness of bicomponent spunbond hydroentanglement nonwovens.

Comparative Study between R-Pet & Virgin Pet in Terms of Technical Aspect and Market Potential

The crux of the new trend lies in sustainability and so follows the recyclable products. Polyester is of immense importance as a fibre when it comes to textile and garment, but the type used (Virgin PET) is not an eco-friendly one. Polyester filament extracted from the recycled PET bottles can cater to the unmet need of an eco-friendly substitute to the virgin polyester. A comparative study has been made to analyse whether recycled PET can perform the functionality of virgin PET. The physical properties of both stand out to be the same, signalling the use of recycled PET filament. Recycled PET filament finds it limitation in non-uniform dyeing but the same can be solved through chemical extraction. Keywords: Virgin PET, Recycled PET, Instron test, Boiling water shrinkage test, sustainable, market potential.

Effects of Alcell Lignin Methylolation and Lignin Adding Stage on Lignin-Based Phenolic Adhesives

To investigate the effects of lignin methylolation and lignin adding stage on the resulted lignin-based phenolic adhesives, Alcell lignin activated with NaOH (AL) or methylolation (ML) was integrated into the phenolic adhesives system by replacing phenol at various adhesive synthesis stages or directly co-polymerizing with phenolic adhesives. Lignin integration into phenolic adhesives greatly increased the viscosity of the resultant adhesives, regardless of lignin methylolation or adding stage. ML introduction at the second stage of adhesive synthesis led to much bigger viscosity than ML or AL introduction into phenolic adhesives at any other stages. Lignin methylolation and lignin adding stage did not affect the thermal stability of lignin based phenolic adhesives, even though lignin-based adhesives were less thermally stable than NPF. Typical three-stage degradation characteristics were also observed on all the lignin-based phenolic adhesives. Three-ply plywoods can be successfully laminated with lignin based adhesives, and it was interesting that after 3 h of cooking in boiling water, the plywoods specimens bonded with lignin-based phenolic adhesives displayed higher bonding strength than the corresponding dry strength obtained after direct conditioning at 20 °C and 65% RH. Compared with NPF, lignin introduction significantly reduced the bonding strength of lignin based phenolic adhesives when applied for plywood lamination. However, no significant variation of bonding strength was detected among the lignin based phenolic adhesives, regardless of lignin methylolation or adding stages.