Polyethylene Terephthalate Nonwoven Fabrics Research Articles

Pyrolysis Kinetic Behavior and Thermodynamic Analysis of PET Nonwoven Fabric.

This research aims to maximize polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabric waste and make it as a new source for benzoic acid extraction using a pyrolysis process. The treatment was performed using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and released products were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The pyrolysis kinetic and thermodynamic behavior of PET fabric was also studied and simulated using different linear and nonlinear models. The results show that the PET fabric is very rich in volatile matter (80 wt.%) and can completely degrade under 490 °C with a weight loss of 84%. Meanwhile, the generated vapor was rich in the carbonylic C=O functional group (FTIR), and the GC-MS analysis concluded that benzoic acid was the major compound with an abundance of 75% that was achieved at the lowest heating rate (5 °C/min). The linear kinetic results showed that PET samples had an activation energy in the ranges of 193-256 kJ/mol (linear models) and ~161 kJ/mol (nonlinear models). The thermodynamic parameters, including enthalpy, Gibbs free energy, and entropy, were estimated in the ranges of 149-250 kJ/mol, 153-232 kJ/mol, and 256-356 J/mol K, respectively. Accordingly, pyrolysis treatment can be used to extract benzoic acid from PET fabric waste with a 134% increase in the benzoic acid abundance that can be recovered from PET bottle plastic waste.

Relationship between Permeability and Structure of CO2-Assisted Polymer Compression Products.

Membrane filters were fabricated from polyethylene terephthalate nonwoven fabrics with an average fiber diameter of 8 μm using the CO2-assisted polymer compression method. The filters were subjected to a liquid permeability test and structural analysis was performed using X-ray computed tomography to evaluate the tortuosity, pore size distribution, and percentage of open pores. Based on the results, filter tortuosity was proposed to be a function of porosity. Pore size estimated from the permeability test and X-ray computed tomography were in rough agreement. The ratio of open pores to all pores was as high as 98.5%, even at a porosity of 0.21. This may be due to the process of exhausting trapped high-pressure CO2 after molding. For filter applications, a high open-pore ratio is desirable since it means that many pores are involved in the fluid flow. The CO2-assisted polymer compression method was found to be suitable for the production of porous materials for filters.

Influence of the polyester non-wovens production type on their thermal and flammability properties

In recent years, non-wovens have become the main segment of textile production because they can find applications in different areas. Thermal insulation properties, fire resistance, and flexibility make them cost-effective and efficient insulation panels for buildings. This paper aims to study the influence of the production method and surface treatment on the thermophysical characteristics and behavior under direct fire of two polyethylene terephthalate non-woven fabrics. The fibers have been bonded with polyacrylate adhesive or thermal and coated with silicone. Infrared spectroscopy, optical microscopy, and thermal analyses were applied to compare the non-wovens’ morphology, composition, and thermal properties. It founds that the non-woven polyester with acrylic additives and adhesive bonding has a higher thermal conductivity value and high flammability with complete combustion. In contrast, thermosetting siliconized polyester materials have limited flammability with limited droplet release. The silicone-based finish protects the polyester fibers leading to self-extinguishing and stopping the complete combustion of the sample.

DEGRADATION OF NONWOVEN FABRICS SUITABLE FOR WET WIPES BURIED IN SOIL

In this research, biodegradation behaviour of nonwoven fabrics suitable for wet wipes having different fibre types such as regenerated cellulose (viscose and Tencel), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and their blends were investigated. Each nonwoven fabric was buried in soil and test samples were controlled in regular periods. Visual appearance was reported and examined by photographs and microscopic views. According to the changes in visual appearance and weight loss, biodegradation was examined in a systematic way. It has been observed that regenerated cellulose nonwoven fabrics and the PET nonwoven fabrics show big difference under the same degradation conditions. PET fibre content delays biodegradation in the soil and degradation behaviour is similar the content of PET fibre in fabric structure. The higher PET, lower degradation, and the higher cellulosic fibre, the higher degradation was determined for nonwoven fabrics suitable for wet wipes.

A facile method for the preparation of a high-performance, hybrid separator for use in lithium-ion batteries

Polyethylene (PE) membrane has poor wettability and poor thermal stability, which results in insufficient wetting by liquid electrolytes, thermal shrinkage, and no guarantee of safety. In addition, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabric has inhomogeneous pores and no shutdown function. Therefore, it may cause some problems for independent use, either in the assembly or in usage. In this study, a hybrid separator used in lithium-ion batteries was investigated. The separator was fabricated by laminating a PE membrane and PET nonwoven fabric with or without a ceramic coating on the PET nonwoven. The morphology, wettability, thermal stability, and battery performance were evaluated, and the results showed that the homogeneous distribution of pores can be obtained from the hybrid separators. The wettability properties were also improved in terms of contact angle, liquid electrolyte absorption height, and the decrease in the spreading area. Moreover, with laminated PET nonwoven fabric, the hybrid separators kept the dimensional shape at 180°C for 1 hour of heating, but the PE membrane shrank and became a small wad. The difference between the shutdown and meltdown temperatures ensured that the battery was safe to use. In addition, the evaluation of the battery’s performance indicated that the hybrid separators can be used instead of a PE membrane. This study showed a facile method for the preparation of a hybrid composite separator with improved wettability, thermal stability, and safety for lithium-ion batteries, and it has the potential to be used extensively in the future.

The effect of O2 plasma treatment and PA 6 coating on digital ink-jet printing of PET non-woven fabric

In the absence of pre-processing, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven have strong hydrophobicity. Therefore, patterns printed with pigment ink-jet printing have poor color yield and low resolution. In this study, the surface properties of PET non-woven fabric were modified by plasma treatment, and a coating solution made by waste polyamide 6 (PA 6) filament, methanol, and CaCl2 to prepare 3.5% and 6.8% PA 6 concentration. After that, plasma-treated sample, coated sample, and plasma treatment plus PA 6 coated sample results on pigment ink-jet printing were investigated to prepare good printing PET non-woven packaging fabric. Scanning electron microscopic image indicated that plasma makes etching on the fabric surface, hence increase the hydrophilic property of the fabric, which helps slight increase in the color yield and resolution. The contact angle shows PA 6 coating also achieved hydrophilic on the surface of PET non-woven fabric and facilitated the ink absorption in pigment ink-jet printing, which helped the printed fabric have higher color yield and clear resolution. However, for significant results it was very important to increase the absorption of coating solution. Plasma makes it easier for the fabric to absorb more coating solution containing dissolved waste PA 6 filament in both concentrations from 11.97% to 19.92% and 5.68% to 10.50%. This ultimately provides the capacities for the fabric to capture more ink and penetration of more colorant particles into the fabric. Therefore, plasma treatment first plus PA 6 coating can help prepare better-patterned PET non-woven fabric packing through pigment ink-jet printing, even though the plasma treatment and coating caused a little negative influence in whiteness and handle.

Manufacturing Technique and Property Evaluations of Protective Textiles

Global warming increases each day and causes people to pay more attention to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission in order to mitigate the increase in temperature. Reducing, reusing, and recycling can effectively reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, to attain goals of energy conservation and carbon reduction. This study aims to explore the difference in the punch resistance and impact strength between the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabrics and PET/TPU honeycomb grid/PET (P/T/P) composites. Recycle PET, high strength PET, and low melting PET are made into PET nonwoven fabrics, two layers of which are laminated with a TPU honeycomb grid, the interlayer, to form P/T/P composites. The constant rate puncture resistance, dynamic puncture resistance, and impact strength of PET nonwoven fabrics and P/T/P composites are evaluated. The experiment results show that both the constant rate and dynamic puncture resistances of P/T/P composites are lower than those of PET nonwoven fabrics.

Medical effects of poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabrics treated with bamboo activated charcoal

In this study, bamboo activated charcoal was mixed with acrylic resin in various proportions and deposited on poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabrics. A series of characterizations were carried out to estimate the performances of PET non-woven fabrics such as far infrared ray emission, heat retention, negative ions, deodorization of ammonia gas and tenacity. The results obtained indicate that the temperature difference on the surface of treated non-woven fabrics after exposure to a halogen lamp was between 4.28 to 8.26°C. The test for negative ions demonstrated that the concentration of negative ions released from treated non-woven fabrics was 420 to 630 ions/cm 3 . The deodorization rate of the treated non-woven fabrics was found to be between 85 to 92% and the rate was the same for 5 and 10 g/L of bamboo activated charcoal addition. An increase in resin concentration increased the abrasion strength and tensile strength; and reduced the tear strength of the treated non-woven fabrics. The bamboo activated charcoal concentration exhibited no effect on the physical properties of the treated non-woven fabrics. Key words: Poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET), non-woven fabrics, bamboo activated charcoal, far infrared ray, negative ions, deodorization.

In situ synthesis of TiO2/polyethylene terephthalate hybrid nanocomposites at low temperature

TiO2 nanoflowers were in situ grown on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabric by hydrolysis of TiCl4 in aqueous solution in the presence of nanocrystal cellulose grafted PET fabric (NCC-g-PET) at a low temperature of 70°C. Nanocrystal cellulose (NCC) pre-grafted on PET fabric acted as hydrophilic substrate and morphology inducing agent to promote the nucleation and crystal growth of TiO2. Detailed information on the synthetic process was presented. The resulting samples were characterized using FE-SEM, EDS, ATR-IR, Raman microscopy, XRD and TG analysis. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the degradation of orange methyl under solar light. Characteristic results indicate that rutile TiO2 nanoflowers have grown abundantly on PET non-woven fabric, and the established hydrogen bonding strengthens the interfacial interaction between the inorganic particles and the polymeric substrates. The methyl orange decoloration test under natural solar light demonstrates that this TiO2/PET hybrid nanocomposites exhibit excellent self-cleaning performance which is expected to have a good potential for commercialization.

Immobilized antibacterial peptides on polyethylene terephthalate non-woven fabrics and antibacterial activity evaluation

Two novel antibacterial materials were prepared by immobilizing antibacterial peptides protamine sulfate and polymyxin sulfate on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabrics in this study. The fabrics were surface modified by a chemical procedure to create carboxyl groups followed by grafting coupling agent and immobilization of peptide. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that there were no changes on the surface of the fabrics after treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that protamine and polymyxin were successfully grafted on the surface of the PET fabrics. Antibacterial testing using the liquid droplet method showed that fabrics treated with both peptides had excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

Preparation of immobilized ɛ-polylysine PET nonwoven fabrics and antibacterial activity evaluation

A novel antibacterial material (L-PET) was prepared by immobilizing ɛ-polylysine on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabrics. Surface modifications of the fabric were performed by using a chemical modification procedure where carboxyl groups were prepared on the PET surface, a coupling agent was grafted, and the ɛ-polylysine was immobilized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze the surface morphology of the fabrics, while the toluidine blue method and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to evaluate the grafting densities. The antibacterial activities of the L-PET were investigated by using the shaking-flask method. The electron micrographs showed that the surface of the blank PET and the modified fabrics did not change. The results of XPS analysis confirmed that ɛ-polylysine was successfully grafted onto the surface of PET. The results of the antibacterial experiments showed that L-PET fabrics had excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and that L-PET fabrics were stable in storage for at least two years.

A Novel Method for the Purification of DNA by Capturing Nucleic Acid and Magnesium Complexes on Non-Woven Fabric Filters under Alkaline Conditions for the Gene Diagnosis of Tuberculosis by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

A novel method for purifying DNA from clinical samples based on the complex formation of DNA and magnesium ion (Mg(2+)) was developed for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The formation of a DNA-Mg(2+) complex under alkaline conditions was observed by analyzing electrophoretic mobility reduction of DNA on agarose gel. The DNA-Mg(2+) complex increases the efficacy of DNA recovery from the sample solution on polyethylene terephthalate non-woven fabric (PNWF) filters. Among the various divalent metal cations, only Mg(2+) was associated with this effect. The applicability of DNA recovered on the PNWF filter was examined for the gene amplification method; loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). DNA on the PNWF filter could be used for the amplification of specific DNA fragments without elution from the filter. Using this method, DNA was directly purified from M. tuberculosis spiked sputum and examined by LAMP assay, showing a high sensitivity in comparison to the commercially available DNA extraction kit. These results indicated that the method developed in this study is useful for rapid gene diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Surface characterization of PET nonwoven fabric treated by He/O2 atmospheric pressure plasma

AbstractThe surface of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabric was modified by He/O2 atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, varying plasma exposure time. The plasma treated PET surfaces have been analyzed to investigate the chemical nature and morphology of surface by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The change of wettability was measured depending on plasma exposure time. XPS results indicated the presence of oxygen‐based functional groups on the PET nonwoven fabric surface after plasma treatment and oxygen content increased as exposure time increased. The mean roughness increased after 30 s exposure and further increase in exposure to 60 s led to decrease of the roughness and then again increase. The root mean square roughness followed the similar trend to mean roughness. The average difference in height, Rz, increased after plasma exposure for 30 s, while it slightly decreased after 60 s exposure. Despite of redeposition, the Rz of 90 s exposed sample increased more than two times compared with those of 30 and 60 s exposed. Wettability increased progressively up to 10 times after 90 s exposure compared with the untreated. It is attributed to the increases of hydrophilicity and surface roughness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008