Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Geof Carlow

Mike Thomas Goulet

Peter John Allen

Kou-Chang Liu

Thomas Hunt

Paul Myles Burden

Tom G Shannon

Greg Aykens

Joe Capizzi

Diane Linskens

Roger Wendler

John Wnek

Tissue products are described that have been topically treated with a chemical additive, such as a softener. The softener may be, for instance, a polysiloxane. The polysiloxane is topically applied to a tissue sheet, such as a single ply sheet, so as to form a Z-directional gradient in the sheet. Particular, most of the polysiloxane remains on the surface of the tissue product as opposed to migrating to the center of the sheet. In this manner, tissue sheets are formed with improved softness at lower levels of polysiloxane and without the need for applying any surfactants to the sheet. A system for applying chemical additives to tissue sheets is also described. The system includes a chemical additive applicator, such as a meltblown die that emits the chemical additive through a plurality of orifices. In one embodiment, the system includes a device for periodically cleaning the orifices during application of the chemical additive. The cleaning device may be, for instance, a brush that traverses across the die head when desired.

Single ply tissue products surface treated with a softening agent

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Neenah, WI, United States of America

Geof Carlow