Kimberly-clark Corporation

Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Robert E Weber

Steven Wayne Fitting

Bruce G Stokes

Edwin G Greenman

Patricia A Jegier

Linda G Harris

Donald A Sheldon

Amy B Reed

Ralph Lee Anderson

Richard S Yeo

Kenneth Curtis Larson

Ruth Lisa Levy

Duane Kenneth Zacharias

David W Guthrie

Ralph V Braun

Richard M Peterson

Lance James Garrett, Jr

Mary Garvie Weber

Thomas C Saffel

Christopher L Davidson

George F Schmidt

Mary L Delucia

Joseph Borovsky

Amy Brown Reed

David C Law

Michael Joseph Scott

Christine H Brown

William E Knaak

A method of increasing the wet strength of a creped sheet, which method involves providing a sheet which includes cellulosic fibers, which sheet has a first side and a second side; applying a low temperature-curing latex adhesive binder composition to the first side of the sheet in a fine, spaced-apart pattern occupying from about 20 to about 50 percent of the surface area of the sheet; adhering the first side of the sheet to a creping surface; and creping the sheet from the creping surface. The binder composition is adapted to adhere the sheet to the creping surface and includes a functional group-containing latex, a functional group-reactive crosslinking agent, and a volatile base. In addition, the creping surface is heated at a temperature no greater than about 100&deg; C. The low temperature-curing latex adhesive binder composition is adapted to have cured to a level, by the time the sheet is removed from the creping surface, which imparts to the creped sheet a cross-direction wet tensile strength which is at least about 50 percent that of an identical creped sheet which has been heated at about 150&deg; C. for three minutes, in which the cross-direction wet tensile is tested in accordance with TAPPI Test Methods T494om-88 and T456om-87. In addition, the cross-direction wet tensile strength of the creped sheet is at least about 40 grams per centimeter.

Creping process utilizing low temperature-curing adhesive

A medical packaging material based on a cellulosic nonwoven web which may be used in an oxidizing gas plasma sterilization environment. The material includes a cellulosic nonwoven web made up of fibers. From about 50 to 100 percent by weight of the fibers, based on the total weight of the fibers, are cellulosic fibers, and from 0 to about 50 percent by weight of the fibers, based on the total weight of the fibers, are noncellulosic fibers, such as glass wool and synthetic polymer fibers. In some embodiments, the cellulosic nonwoven web may be composed of 100 percent by weight of cellulosic fibers. The cellulosic nonwoven web includes a saturant which is present at a level of from about 50 to about 150 percent by weight, based on the dry weight of the fibers. The saturant includes a cellulosic fiber-protecting synthetic polymer having an effectively low permeability to hydrogen peroxide. For example, the cellulosic fiber-protecting synthetic polymer may have a water vapor transmission rate for a 2.5 micrometer film no greater than about 10 grams per 100 square inches per 24 hours at 38.degree. C. and 90 percent relative humidity. As another example, the cellulosic fiber-protecting synthetic polymer may have a water vapor transmission rate for a 2.5 micrometer film no greater than about 6 grams per 100 square inches per 24 hours at 38.degree. C. and 90 percent relative humidity.

Cellulose-Based medical packaging material sterilizable by oxidizing gas

A fabric substrate comprising thermoplastic polyolefin fibers is printed with a printing composition comprising a room temperature curable latex polymer, a pigment and a cure promoter, which retains a colorfastness above 3 when exposed to liquids with a pH between about 2 and about 13. The mixture may be applied to the fabric as an aqueous mixture with a pre-cure pH adjusted to above 8 using a fugitive alkali and then cured at room temperature.

Room temperature latex printing

An improved-strength, polymer-reinforced paper which includes fibers, of which at least about 30 percent on a dry weight basis are eucalyptus fibers; and from about 15 to about 60 percent by weight, based on the dry weight of the fibers, of a latex binder.

Polymer-reinforced, eucalyptus fiber-containing paper

Disclosed herein is a repellent-treated, barrier coated nonwoven web. Nonwoven webs with small fiber and pore sizes can often be surface coated with a barrier coating such as latex to form a nonwoven which will act as a barrier to liquids. Surface coating of nonwovens having larger pores and fibers is more difficult as the coating often sinks into the thickness of the nonwoven web. The material of the present invention is a larger fiber/pore nonwoven web which will permit surface coating to form a material which has a good hand and cloth-like feel while also acting as a barrier to liquids. Such a material has a wide variety of applications including, but not limited to, personal care products, surgical drapes and gowns and other applications requiring barrier properties.

Repellent-treated, barrier-coated nonwoven web

Disclosed herein is a biodegradable latex web material which is suitable as a replacement for plastic in a wide variety of uses due to its good overall strength and its ratio of wet strength to dry strength. The material includes a web of cellulose fibers which, prior to treatment with a saturant, has a breaking length in the dry state ranging from about 0.80 to about 6.20 km. Optionally, the web can contain synthetic fibers to improve the tear strength of the material. In order to obtain tensile strengths which are comparable to plastics, the fibrous web is saturated with a latex composition which may be natural, synthetic or a combination of natural and synthetic polymers. In addition to latex, other additives may be incorporated into the saturant for special end use properties. The latexes used will have glass transition temperatures (Tg) of between about -50.degree. C. and about 20.degree. C. If mixing natural and synthetic polymers together, the ratio of synthetic to natural polymers should be about 2:1 to about 4:1 by weight. The saturant compositions are applied to the base web at an add on from about 16 to about 80 dry parts saturant per 100 parts fiber by weight to form a latex web composite. The composite once formed should have an average strength of at least about 50 kg/cm.sup.2 and a ratio of wet strength to dry strength ranging from about 0.2 to about 0.6.

Biodegradable latex web material

The present invention relates to an agricultural mulch made from a fibrous cellulosic web having a certain breaking length and which had been surface-coated with a latex coating to improve wet strength and handling properties. The material of the present invention, once formed, is particularly suitable for use in agricultural applications to control weeds, soil moisture and temperature. The mulch can be engineered to have useful life which will correspnd to the growing cycle of a specific crop. Unlike plastic, once the crop has been harvested, the material of the present invention is much more suitable for composting due to the degradable nature of the product.

Agricultural mulch and row cover

Disclosed is an odor-absorbing, non-dusting porous web material and a method of making the same. The web material includes a porous base web (for example, a fibrous base web, such as a non-woven or paper web) having distributed throughout odor-absorbing particulate (such as zeolite). Alkaline salt or alkaline earth oxide particulate, to better effect removal of acidic malodor, desirably also is distributed throughout the base web, in the final product. The odor-absorbing particulate is bound to the base web (e.g., fibers of a fibrous base web) by a binding system, containing a binding agent. The binding system, in the odor-absorbing web materials, is transparent to the odors so as not to substantially effect the ability of the particulate to absorb odor-causing material. The odor-absorbing web material is formed by dipping a porous base web in a saturant slurry containing the odor-absorbing particulate (the slurry including an alkaline salt or alkaline earth oxide) and the binding agent, together with a surfactant; squeezing out excess saturant slurry from the web; and drying. Also disclosed are two specific uses of the odor-absorbing web material: (1) in personal care products such as catamenial devices; and (2) in packages containing medical materials such as hospital gowns, which materials have been sterilized in the sealed package by gamma sterilization.

Odor-absorbing web material and medical material packages containing the

Disclosed herein is a process for repulping or reclaiming fibers from latex-impregnated materials such as latex impregnated papers. The process involves treating the latex-impregnated material with an alkali solution for a sufficient period of time to separate the latex polymer from the fibers. This is followed by a washing step to rinse away the latex polymer thereby leaving the reclaimed fibers for subsequent use such as the formation of new paper stock.

Process for repulping of fiber-latex binder composites

A flexible tear resistance composite sheet material is disclosed comprising a web of thermoplastic microfibers with from 35 to 80 percent by weight of staple fibers homogeneously dispersed throughout the web. The composite is subjected to a sufficient quantity of heat and pressure such that the thermoplastic microfibers at least partially melt and compact into a contiguous sheet with the intact staple fibers being dispersed therein. Located throughout the sheet are a plurality of voids which act as tear stops. The resulting material has a void volume of about 33 to about 55 percent and a machine direction slit trapezoidal tear resistance greater than or equal to 1.7 kg per 100 g/m.sup.2 equivalent basis weight. Also disclosed herein is a process for making the composite sheet material.

Flexible, tear resistant composite sheet material and a method for

There is disclosed a cloth-like tape substrate. The substrate is made from an essentially unbonded cellulose web having a breaking length between about 0.71 km and 2.66 km which is saturated with a soft rubber-like polymer, coated with a low stiffness polymer, and then embossed. The unbonded web is formed from at least 25% by weight of pulp having R.sub.10 values greater than 94%. The soft rubber-like polymer has a glass-transition temperature between -50.degree. C. and 0.degree. C. and the low stiffness polymer coating has a tensile modulus less than 1,000 MPa.

Tape backing substrate

Latex coated breathable barrier

A water dispersible heat activatable adhesive includes a polyethyloxazoline, a compatible water dispersible adhesive and an anti-blocking agent to prevent premature adhesion. This adhesive is particularly beneficial as a coating for flushable tampon tubes.

Growing community of inventors

Marietta, GA, United States of America

Robert E Weber