Nonwoven Materials

Nonwovens are currently the textile industry's most buoyant market segment. Indeed, their use is increasingly widespread, thanks in particular to consumer goods in sectors such as hygiene (31.9% of the nonwovens market), construction (18.2%), wipes (15.8%) and filtration (6.9%). Global nonwovens production is now estimated at 7.6 million tonnes in 2011, with growth of around 8% and a market estimated at 5.6 billion euros. The first nonwovens came from carded spinning mills, which adapted their equipment to offer fibrous structures without redundant patterns. Nonwovens are manufactured in three stages: web formation, fiber web consolidation and finishing treatments. Today, five major families of technologies have been developed around nonwoven web formation: the dry process, the aerodynamic process, the melt process, the wet process and the solvent process. For certain applications, these technologies have made it possible to achieve far more interesting properties in terms of porosity, thickness, size of fibers processed, mechanical strength, absorption, etc. than other materials.

This article begins with a definition of nonwovens, followed by a discussion of the raw material used, fiber. It continues with a description of the five sail-forming pathways, and concludes with a look at sail consolidation technologies.