A fiber having a surface region and an interior region includes a polymer comprising at least one of a vinyl acetate moiety or a vinyl alcohol moiety, the fiber having a transverse cross-section including the interior region comprising the polymer having a first degree of hydrolysis and the surface region comprising the polymer having a second degree of hydrolysis greater than the first degree of hydrolysis.

The present invention provides a process for modifying the surface of a polyvinyl alcohol film or fabric by applying heat and pressure to the film or fabric to increase the moisture on the surface which is held by the fabric and to coalesce the surface fibers and reduce the porosity of the surface.

Articles, such as sanitary tissue products, including fibrous structures, and more particularly articles including fibrous structures having a plurality of fibrous elements wherein the article exhibits differential cellulose content throughout the thickness of the article and methods for making same are provided.

Articles, such as sanitary tissue products, comprising fibrous structures, and more particularly articles comprising fibrous structures comprising a plurality of fibrous elements wherein the articles exhibit improved consumer relevant properties, for example improved bulk and absorbent properties, compared to known articles and methods for making same are provided.

Articles, such as sanitary tissue products, including fibrous structures, and more particularly articles including fibrous structures having a plurality of fibrous elements wherein the article exhibits differential cellulose content throughout the thickness of the article and methods for making same are provided.

To prepare a shaped product comprising a thermal adhesive fiber under moisture and having a fiber aggregate nonwoven structure. In the shaped product, the thermal adhesive fibers under moisture are melted to bond to fibers constituting the fiber aggregate nonwoven structure and the bonded fiber ratio is not more than 85%. The shaped product has an apparent density of 0.05 to 0.7 g/cm.sup.3, a maximum bending stress of not less than 0.05 MPa in at least one direction, and a bending stress of not less than ⅕ of the maximum bending stress at 1.5 times as large as the bending deflection at the maximum bending stress. The moistenable-thermal adhesive fiber may be a sheath-core form conjugated fiber comprising a sheath part comprising an ethylene-vinyl alcohol-series copolymer and a core part comprising a polyester-series resin. Such a shaped product can be used for a building board or the like since the shaped product has a high bending stress although the product is light and has a low density.

To prepare a shaped product comprising a thermal adhesive fiber under moisture and having a fiber aggregate nonwoven structure. In the shaped product, the thermal adhesive fibers under moisture are melted to bond to fibers constituting the fiber aggregate nonwoven structure and the bonded fiber ratio is not more than 85%. The shaped product has an apparent density of 0.05 to 0.7 g/cm.sup.3, a maximum bending stress of not less than 0.05 MPa in at least one direction, and a bending stress of not less than ⅕ of the maximum bending stress at 1.5 times as large as the bending deflection at the maximum bending stress. The moistenable-thermal adhesive fiber may be a sheath-core form conjugated fiber comprising a sheath part comprising an ethylene-vinyl alcohol-series copolymer and a core part comprising a polyester-series resin. Such a shaped product can be used for a building board or the like since the shaped product has a high bending stress although the product is light and has a low density.

The disclosure provides a nonwoven web, said nonwoven web including a plurality of fibers including a blend of fiber forming materials, the blend of fiber forming materials including a first polyvinyl alcohol polymer. The blend of fiber forming materials further comprises a second polyvinyl alcohol polymer or does not include carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose or starch. The nonwoven web can be water-dispersible, optionally water-soluble, and/or flushable. The disclosure further provides a pouch including a nonwoven web including a plurality of fibers according to the disclosure. In some embodiments, the water dispersible pouch can include a laminate comprising a water-soluble film and a nonwoven web of the disclosure.

The disclosure provides a nonwoven web, said nonwoven web including a plurality of fibers including a blend of fiber forming materials, the blend of fiber forming materials including a first polyvinyl alcohol polymer. The blend of fiber forming materials further comprises a second polyvinyl alcohol polymer or does not include carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose or starch. The nonwoven web can be water-dispersible, optionally water-soluble, and/or flushable. The disclosure further provides a pouch including a nonwoven web including a plurality of fibers according to the disclosure. In some embodiments, the water dispersible pouch can include a laminate comprising a water-soluble film and a nonwoven web of the disclosure.

A method of making a nonwoven fiber web comprises: providing a melt-blown nonwoven fiber web comprising bonded primary fibers having an average fiber diameter of 2 to 100 microns, wherein the primary fibers comprise a copolymer comprising divalent hydroxyethylene monomer units and divalent dihydroxybutylene monomer units; opening at least a portion of the melt-blown nonwoven fiber web to provide loose primary fibers; combining the loose primary fibers with secondary fibers; and forming a secondary nonwoven fiber web comprising the primary fibers and secondary fibers. A fiber web preparable according to the method and a multicomponent fiber including a first phase comprising a copolymer comprising divalent hydroxyethylene monomer units and divalent dihydroxybutylene monomer units and a second phase comprising a non-biodegradable polymer.