Disposable hygiene products

The principal use of superabsorbent polymers is as a liquid absorbent in disposable hygiene products, which include baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, and adult incontinence products. Smaller volume uses include liquid absorbent pads for packaged meats and water-blocking tapes and coatings for electrical and telecommunication cables. 

Types of nonwovens used for disposable hygiene products... 

Are having cotton on one or both sides of a base structure and ideal for disposable hygiene products. 

Since their introduction into the consumer market in the 1980s, SAPs have found widespread uses in personal disposable hygiene products, such as baby diapers, adult protective underwear, and sanitary napkins. In addition, these materials are used in a number of novel biomedical products such as surgical caps and drapes, as well as niche products like contact lenses and wound dressings, utilizing their ability to hold a large amount of water in the swollen polymeric structure. 

Such repositioning inevitably means reduced production volume, and for the first time this century production in the last decade has been below that a decade earUer (Eig. 9). Most capacity reductions have been in North America and especiaUy eastern Europe. This has been offset in part by capacity increases in the Ear East. Rayon is no longer a significant component of carpets, and has lost the disposable diaper coverstock business to cheaper and more easUy processed polypropylene. It has, however, gained share in health and hygiene products and is now a principal component of tampons worldwide. 

Disposable polypropylene nonwoven fabrics are widely used as the coverstock for disposable baby diapers. The expansion of the disposable diaper market throughout the world has been the primary source of growth in the consumption of polypropylene in the fiber market. In addition, nonwoven polypropylene fabrics are used in a variety of other disposable sanitary products, such as baby wipes, adult incontinence, and feminine hygiene products. Use of polypropylene nonwovens in disposable medical apparel, such as surgical gowns, has increased as a means of reducing the spread of infection. 

Functional derivatives of polyethylene, particularly poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(acryLic acid) and derivatives, have received attention because of their water-solubility and disposal iato the aqueous environment. Poly(vinyl alcohol) is used ia a wide variety of appHcations, including textiles, paper, plastic films, etc, and poly(acryLic acid) is widely used ia detergents as a builder, a super-absorbent for diapers and feminine hygiene products, for water treatment, ia thickeners, as pigment dispersant, etc (see Vinyl polymers, vinyl alcohol polymers). 

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate—3-hydroxyvalerate) [80181 -31 -3] resin, produced from a bacterium during a sugar fermentation process, has been reported to be biodegradable, and its target markets include "flushables" such as feminine hygiene products and disposable diapers (99). 

Major applications for PL A fibres and non-wovens include clothing and furnishings such as drapes, upholstery and covers. Some interesting potential applications include household and industrial wipes, diapers, feminine hygiene products, disposable garments, and UV resistant fabrics for exterior use (awnings, ground covers). 

The most widely spread use of superabsorbent polymers is in personal hygiene products such as disposable infant diapers, feminine sanitary napkins, and adult incontinence articles. In particular, over 90% of the total superabsorbent polymers are sold as infant... 

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