Preparation and Their Application of Nonwoven Fabrics Using Natural Hollow Fibers
Vol. 57, No. 6, pp. 332-339,
Dec. 2020
10.12772/TSE.2020.57.332
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Abstract
Kapok fibers are one of the natural cellulosic fibers obtained from the seeds of
kapok trees. It has a huge hollow structure, good buoyancy, and excellent oil absorbing
properties. But it is limitedly used because of its mechanical weakness and difficulty to prepare
nonwoven fabrics. In this study, kapok fibers which were mixed with polypropylene
(PP) fibers or hollow conjugated polyester fiber (HCF) or other fibers at several weight ratios
were carded and bonded, resulting nonwoven fabrics for various applications like oil absorbent,
fuel/water separation filter, sound absorbent, and down-like materials. The prepared
kapok nonwovens showed better sound absorption properties and good oil absorption
characteristics over 30 times of its weight than that of controlled PP nonwoven. They also
have a high water-in-fuel separation efficiency attributed to the hydrophobic-oleophilic
characteristics of kapok fiber. The warmth keeping property of kapok nonwovens is similar
to that of goose or duck down product, so it can be used as substitute for down materials.
Therefore, it is expected that prepared kapok nonwovens can be applied as eco-friendly
industrial materials with high performances by selecting of mixing fibers and ratio and
controlling of process condition suitable for use.
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