Effects of greige cotton lint properties on hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics

Abstract

This study determined the effects of fiber length, the length uniformity index, micronaire (fineness), and strength of greige cotton lint on properties of nonwoven fabrics. Seven bales of pre-cleaned greige ( non-bleached) cotton were procured from a US cotton producer and ginner. Each bale primarily had only one particular fiber quality parameter (e.g., length, length uniformity, micronaire, or strength) as a significant variable of interest, while other metrics remained subdued to the most practically possible extent. The fiber stock from each separate bale was processed into a lightly needlepunched substrate/fabric and then uniformly converted into a hydroentangled nonwoven fabric structure of the same nominal weight. All of the fibers and fabrics involved in the study were analyzed for their quality attributes. Although this study did not reveal any clear-cut, significant effects (obvious relations or correlations) of the fiber quality variables/metrics investigated, for the first time ever new information has been given that may be useful in the selection of optimally economical cotton for the production of cotton-based nonwoven fabrics for certain applications. At the minimum, this study has demonstrated that, unlike in traditional yarn-based textile processing, the greige cotton lint(s) of (typically) varied fiber metrics could be satisfactorily processed into viable nonwoven fabrics of acceptable physical and mechanical properties, as determined by standard test methods and procedures.