Synthetic materials are, above all, used for the manufacture of nonwovens today. Together with the dominant polymers, other synthetic raw materials are used such as polyacrylics or viscose.
Today, nonwovens are manufactured using one of two basic methods: from an existing material a card fibre (web) is formed, which is then bonded, or from raw materials which are directly formed into a nonwoven material and then bonded.
Synthetic materials such as polypropylene, polyester and polyacrylonitrile are mostly used for the manufacture of nonwovens. Together with these, natural raw materials which have been chemically treated are also used, for example viscose. To a lesser extent, raw materials from natural fibres are also used.
The synthetic raw materials consist of macromolecules which are built up through polymerisation, polycondensation and polyadditon. The natural raw materials occur as natural molecules in either organic or inorganic material mixtures.
Using the navigation keys an overview of the most important raw materials and their properties as nonwovens can be obtained.