Cellulosic nonwovens produced via efficient solution blowing technique

The demand for nonwoven materials has increased during the last few years and is expected to increase further due to its use in a broad range of new application areas. Today, the majority of nonwovens are from petroleum-based resources but there is a desideratum to develop sustainable and competitive materials from renewable feedstock. In this work, renewable nonwovens are produced by solution blowing of dissolved cellulose using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIMAc) as solvent. Properties of cellulose solutions and process parameters, such as temperature, flow rate, air pressure, and distance to collector, are evaluated in respect to spinnability and material structural properties. Nonwovens with fiber diameters mainly in the micrometer range were successfully produced and it was shown that high temperature or low flow rate resulted in thinner fibers. The produced materials were stiffer (higher effective stress and lower strain) compared to commercial polypropylene nonwoven. (c) 2019 The Authors. Journal of Applied Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 48339.