Microfiber shedding from nonwoven materials including wipes and meltblown nonwovens in air and water environments

Abstract

Nonwoven products are widely used in disposable products, such as wipes, diapers, and masks. Microfibers shed from these products in the aquatic and air environment have not been fully described. In the present study, 15 commercial single-use nonwoven products (wipes) and 16 meltblown nonwoven materials produced in a pilot plant were investigated regarding their microfiber generation in aquatic and air environments and compared to selected textile materials and paper tissue materials. Microfibers shed in water were studied using a Launder Ometer equipment (1–65 mg of microfibers per gram material), and microfibers shed in air were evaluated using a dusting testing machine that shakes a piece of the nonwoven back and forth (~ 4 mg of microfibers per gram material). The raw materials and bonding technologies affected the microfiber generation both in water and air conditions. When the commercial nonwovens contained less natural cellulosic fibers, less microfibers were generated. Bonding with hydroentangling and/or double bonding by two different bonding methods could improve the resistance to microfiber generation. Meltblown nonwoven fabrics generated fewer microfibers compared to the other commercial nonwovens studied here, and the manufacturing factors, such as DCD (die-to-collector distance) and air flow rate, affected the tendency of microfiber generation. The results suggest that it is possible to control the tendency of microfiber shedding through the choice of operating parameters during nonwoven manufacturing processes. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-022-20053-z.

Wiping conditions and fabric properties influenced the microfiber shedding from non-woven products

“…19 However, the released number of microbers from domestic washing (e.g., 1354 p per gram) was one order of magnitude higher than those shed from wiping. 19,31,39 Fig. 3 The number of microfibers shed per gram and per square centimeter from different wet and dry wipes under a 9.8 N wiping force after 10 wiping cycles.…”

“…38 Wipes and melt-blown nonwoven materials were also sampled in relation to microfiber generation. 39 Lee et al 22 warned against the possibility of microfiber release from wet wipes and factors influencing microfiber shed from wiping were only discussed in this study. Little to none information exists regarding the effects of fabric characteristics, which reflect different manufacturing techniques and raw materials, on release behavior.…”

“…[35][36][37] Nevertheless, to date, only three studies have focused on microbers derived from wiping materials (Table S1 †). 22,38,39 Non-woven wipes and toilet paper were investigated to characterize the ber compositions and tensile properties of the released microbers. 38 Wipes and melt-blown nonwoven materials were also sampled in relation to microber generation.…”

Recent advances of textile sorbents for oil spills cleanup: A review

“…Starting from the flexibility of this technique represented by optimizing surface properties and polymer combination rheological, it has been used in many applications such as sorbents, filtration, drug delivery, and apparel. 133…”

Single-Side Superhydrophobicity in Si3N4-Doped and SiO2-Treated Polypropylene Nonwoven Webs with Antibacterial Activity

“…With the current COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, there is a growing demand for functional materials, such as core filtration materials for respirators or masks [ 1 , 2 ]. At present, meltblown (MB) nonwovens made from polypropylene (PP) are the most widely used core layer for air filtration applications such as facial masks and air conditioning filter element [ 3 ]. The MB nonwovens are usually doped with materials and electrostatically charged after processing to optimize their filtration performance.…”