Nonwoven Materials; Porous, Flexible Products Made Up of One or More Fiber Layers

 

Nonwoven Materials

Nonwoven materials are structures bonded together by interweaving filaments or fiber chemically, mechanically, or thermally. Materials, such as material fabrics, are broadly defined as sheet or web structures bonded together by entangling fiber or filaments thermally, mechanically, or chemically. Nonwoven materials can be used as filtration material, household fabric, and can also be used in personal care and hygiene products. It is manufactured by using nylon, polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and other materials.

Nonwoven materials are produced from synthetic fibers and are used in a variety of applications, including household items, personal care products, medical products, and more. They are also used in industrial applications, such as filtration and insulating materials. In the past, the production and use of nonwovens were limited to the textile/apparel industries. However, advances in technology have led to significant improvements in fabric properties. Today, a range of nonwoven materials are available, allowing manufacturers to tailor their product for specific purposes.

According to the European Trade Association for the Nonwovens Industry, the overall production of nonwovens in Europe grew by around 1.3% in 2018 to reach around 2,760,000 tons. Moreover, the production of nonwovens in Greater Europe grew by 7.2% in 2020 to reach 3,075,615 tons (and 85.9 billion square meters) with a total estimated turnover of € 9,555 million. The total output of the 27 European Union countries is now over 2.15 million tons. Nonwoven fabric ranks third in the manufacture of textile surface materials after woven and knitted fabrics.

Moreover, nonwoven fabrics offer several advantages over woven and knitted fabrics, such as can be produced with considerable variations in stiffness, mass, elasticity, thickness, and voluminosity, it is relatively cheaper to manufacture, and can be designed with specifically targeted properties. Moreover, nonwoven fabrics are used for added strength, to cover or finish pieces of furniture, for insulation, for filtration, and much more. These materials are also used to manufacture automobile accessories. Thus, there is an increase in demand for such materials around the world.