The invention relates to a method for making a spunbonded high loft nonwoven web comprising crimped multicomponent fibers, the process comprising continuously spinning the fibers, directing the fibers to a spin-belt by deflectors and/or air streams, laying down the fibers on the spinbelt and pre-consolidating the fibers after laydown using one or more pre-consolidation rollers to form a pre-consolidated web, wherein a first component of the fibers comprises a PP homopolymer and a second component of the fibers comprises a PP/PE copolymer, wherein the pre-consolidation rollers are operated at a temperature of smaller 110° C. and/or a linear contact force of smaller 5 N/mm.

A method of manufacturing a non-woven fabric includes the steps of: (a.) providing a substrate, wherein the substrate is air permeable in at least a portion of its surface; (b.) providing a fiber transfer device adapted to transfer fibers onto the substrate; (c.) transferring a first plurality of fibers onto the substrate; and (d.) applying a pressure differential to the air permeable portion of the substrate, wherein the strength of the pressure differential is varied across the surface of the substrate.

A tubular depth filter element has three or more concentric zones. Each zone is made of an essentially continuous melt blown filament. The filament of an outer zone preferably has a larger diameter than the filaments of other zones. The outer zone overlaps with at least 85%, and preferably all, of another zone. Optionally, one or more additional filaments may traverse through all of zones. The depth filter element is made by spraying filaments onto a rotating mandrel to form a filament mass in contact with a conical press roller. The filaments are sprayed from three or more nozzles which are spaced apart along the length of the mandrel. One of the filaments is formed in a spray pattern that is angled towards an adjacent spray pattern so as to overlap with at least 50 or 85%, and preferably all, of the adjacent spray pattern.

An apparatus for continuously making a spunbond web of filaments comprises a spinneret, a cooling chamber into which process air for can be introduced for the purpose of cooling the filaments, a monomer suction device between a spinneret and cooling chamber, a stretcher and a deposition device for depositing the filaments of the spunbond web. The cooling chamber is divided into two cooling compartments, and process air can be suctioned out from a first upper cooling compartment at a volumetric flow rate (V.sub.M) to a monomer suction device. Process air exits from the first upper cooling compartment at a volumetric flow rate (V.sub.1) into a second lower cooling compartment and from the first upper cooling compartment at a volumetric flow rate (V.sub.1) into a second lower cooling compartment. A ratio (V.sub.M/V.sub.1) is 0.1 to 0.35.

A simple controllable set-up for drawing single filament nanofibers from polymer solutions or melts using a rotating rod or a set of rods (round brush) is described. The set-up can be assembled in a few minutes and applied to fabricate customized nanofiber scaffolds and meshes for various applications. The resulting fiber diameter is controlled precisely in the range 40 nm to 5 m by adjusting the rotational speed and polymer concentration. Owing to the simple design and capability to manipulate single nanofibers, the spinning set-up can be used to wind a single filament into unidirectional, orthogonal or randomly oriented 2D and 3D meshes with controlled density, thickness and combinations of different fibers and materials in the scaffolds. The method is scalable and can be implemented easily for laboratory and industrial manufacturing.

A simple controllable set-up for drawing single filament nanofibers from polymer solutions or melts using a rotating rod or a set of rods (round brush) is described. The set-up can be assembled in a few minutes and applied to fabricate customized nanofiber scaffolds and meshes for various applications. The resulting fiber diameter is controlled precisely in the range 40 nm to 5 m by adjusting the rotational speed and polymer concentration. Owing to the simple design and capability to manipulate single nanofibers, the spinning set-up can be used to wind a single filament into unidirectional, orthogonal or randomly oriented 2D and 3D meshes with controlled density, thickness and combinations of different fibers and materials in the scaffolds. The method is scalable and can be implemented easily for laboratory and industrial manufacturing.

A plant for making melt-blown type non-woven fabric including a distributor including at least one main access for placing in fluid passage connection with a main conduit of a case for conveying polymeric fluid and a plurality of secondary accesses for placing in fluid passage connection each with a respective secondary conduit of the case for conveying gas; a dispenser in fluid passage connection with the distributor, for dispersing polymeric filaments from the polymeric fluid and including at least one spinneret for forming the polymeric filaments and an air blade for receiving gas to guide the polymeric filaments exiting the dispenser. The spinneret comprises includes a plurality of pinnacles flanked and each including a main outlet for conveying polymeric fluid. towards a respective delivery direction. The air blade is to convey gas jets to converge towards each delivery direction.

Fibers can include a polypropylene composition, which can include a metallocene random copolymer of propylene and a comonomer that is an alpha-olefin different from propylene. The metallocene random copolymer can have a comonomer content of from 1.2 wt % to 1.8 wt %, a molecular weight distribution of at least 1.0 and of at most 4.0 obtained without thermal or chemical degradation, and a melting temperature T.sub.melt of at most 140 C. A nonwoven can include the fibers, and a laminate can include the nonwoven. The fibers can be produced by polymerizing the propylene and comonomer in presence of a metallocene-based polymerization catalyst to obtain the metallocene random copolymer. The polypropylene composition can be melt-extruded to obtain a molten polypropylene stream, which can be extruded from capillaries of a spinneret to obtain filaments. A diameter of the filaments can be rapidly reduced to obtain a final diameter.

A spunbond nonwoven fabric. The fabric has a first surface and a second surface and a visually discernible of three-dimensional features on one of the first and second surface, each of the three-dimensional features defining a microzone. Each microzone has a first region and a second region, the first and second regions having a difference in values for an intensive property. Fibers of the spunbond nonwoven fabric are thermally bonded at the second regions. The second regions are fluid permeable. The fibers of the spunbond nonwoven fabric are thermally bonded with point bonds within an area selected from the first regions, the second regions, or a combination thereof

Apparatus for manufacturing a non-woven fabric includes a diffusing shaft, which includes a first shaft portion in a defined location and provided with a slit-shaped air guide, wherein filaments are supplied together with air from an inlet side of the air guide to an outlet side of the air guide; a second shaft portion in a defined location, having an inlet side that is communicated with an outlet side of the first shaft portion and an outlet side that is disposed to face a filament collecting unit, wherein an opening width along a machine direction of the inlet side of the second shaft portion is larger than an opening width along a machine direction of the first shaft portion; and a stepped portion provided at a connecting portion between the outlet side of the first shaft portion and the inlet side of the second shaft portion and connecting the same.