Nonwoven material made of polypropylene with a 3-3.5 m fi bre diameter manufactured at the Synthetic Fibre Scientifi c-Research Institute (VNIISV) experimental plant can be used as the inner layer of long-acting protective-fi ltering clothing. Technology must be developed for manufacturing aerodynamically spun fi bre materials (ASFM) with fi ner fi bres (0.5-2.5 m) by further modernizing of the equipment to ensure the higher sorption capacity of ASFM close to the initial capacity of activated carbon.Sorption-active materials in the form of fi bres, fabrics, and nonwovens are frequently used to create protective and survival agents, together with granulated and powdered sorbents. Activated carbon chemisorption fi bres and fi bres with adsorption and chemisorption properties, fabricated by incorporating active sorbents by bonding them on the surface of the fi bres and fabrics with binders are the basic types of sorption-active fi bres manufactured in the RF and many foreign countries.The abundance of methods of manufacturing such fi bres and materials, together with a positive aspect -the possibility of a wide choice of sorption characteristics -complicates industrial implementation of these processes. This is primarily due to the fact that the use of different polymers and modifi ers causes signifi cant differences in the course of creating technologies and developing equipment.Aerodynamic spinning from a polypropylene melt is the most promising method of fabricating "spunbond" nonwovens, since it makes it possible to fabricate sorption-active materials by the shortest route from initial feedstock to fi nal product on one manufacturing line and with a broad set of different properties. The sorption-active materials obtained with this technology can have a comparable specifi c surface area to the specifi c surface area of Petryanov fi lters.Spunbond materials are now very much in demand on foreign and domestic markets [1]. The demand for them began to increase markedly in the 1990s. By 2004, 23,000 tons was manufactured in Russia [1]. The spectrum of application of spunbond materials is very broad: fi lters, geotextiles, separators for storage batteries, medicinal and sanitary-hygienic articles, heat-and sound-insulation, etc. [2].In Russia, the demand for spunbond materials is satisfi ed to a great degree by imports. In 2005, the following picture was observed on the Russian market: 2,472,000 tons of polypropylene (PP) spunbond was manufactured, 422 tons was exported, 19,107 tons was imported, and 21,157 tons was consumed [2]. These data demonstrate the disproportion between domestic production and consumption of these nonwovens and the dependence on foreign supplies.The fundamental roadblock in the development of domestic production of nonwovens is the lack of domestic development of high-performance equipment [1]. This problem is usually solved by three methods: franchising, licensing, ____________ FGUP NIISV: 170032, Tver', Moskovskoe Shosse, 157. 2
