Melt blown non-woven fabric is essentially the core filtering layer of masks!
Melt blown nonwoven fabric
Melt blown fabric is mainly made of polypropylene as the main raw material, and the fiber diameter can reach 1-5 microns. The ultrafine fibers with unique capillary structure have many gaps, fluffy structure, and good wrinkle resistance, which increase the number and surface area of fibers per unit area, thus making the meltblown fabric have good filtering, shielding, insulation, and oil absorption properties. Can be used in fields such as air and liquid filtration materials, isolation materials, absorbent materials, mask materials, insulation materials, oil absorbing materials, and wiping cloths.
The process of melt blown non-woven fabric: polymer feeding – melt extrusion – fiber formation – fiber cooling – web formation – reinforcement into fabric.
Application scope
(1) Medical and hygiene fabrics: surgical gowns, protective clothing, disinfectant bags, masks, diapers, women’s sanitary napkins, etc;
(2) Home decorative fabrics: wall coverings, tablecloths, bed sheets, bedspreads, etc;
(3) Clothing fabrics: lining, adhesive lining, floc, shaping cotton, various synthetic leather base fabrics, etc;
(4) Industrial fabrics: filter materials, insulation materials, cement packaging bags, geotextiles, wrapping fabrics, etc;
(5) Agricultural fabrics: crop protection cloth, seedling raising cloth, irrigation cloth, insulation curtains, etc;
(6) Others: space cotton, insulation and soundproofing materials, oil absorbing felt, cigarette filters, tea bags, etc.
Meltblown fabric can be called the “heart” of medical surgical masks and N95 masks
Medical surgical masks and N95 masks generally adopt a multi-layer structure, abbreviated as SMS structure: the inner and outer sides are single-layer spunbond layers (S); The middle layer is the melt blown layer (M), which is generally divided into a single layer or multiple layers.
Flat masks are generally made of PP spunbond+melt blown+PP spunbond, or short fibers can be used in one layer to improve skin texture. A three-dimensional cup-shaped mask is usually made of PET polyester needle punched cotton+meltblown+needle punched cotton or PP spunbond. Among them, the outer layer is made of non-woven fabric with waterproof treatment, mainly used to isolate droplets sprayed by patients; The middle meltblown layer is a specially treated meltblown non-woven fabric with excellent filtering, shielding, insulation, and oil absorption properties, which is an important raw material for producing masks; The inner layer is made of ordinary non-woven fabric.
Although the spunbond layer (S) and meltblown layer (M) of the mask are both non-woven fabrics and made of polypropylene, their manufacturing processes are not the same.
Among them, the diameter of the spunbond layer fibers on both sides is relatively thick, around 20 microns; The fiber diameter of the melt blown layer in the middle is only 2 microns, made of a polypropylene material called high melt fat fiber.
Development status of melt blown non woven fabrics in China
China is the world’s largest producer of non-woven fabrics, with a production volume of approximately 5.94 million tons in 2018, but the production of melt blown non-woven fabrics is very low.
According to the statistics of the China Industrial Textile Industry Association, the production process of China’s non-woven fabric industry is mainly spunbond. In 2018, the production of spunbond nonwoven fabric was 2.9712 million tons, accounting for 50% of the total nonwoven fabric production, mainly used in the fields of sanitary materials, etc; The proportion of melt blown technology is only 0.9%.
Based on this calculation, the domestic production of melt blown nonwoven fabrics in 2018 was 53500 tons per year. These meltblown fabrics are not only used for masks, but also for environmental protection materials, clothing materials, battery separator materials, wiping materials, etc.
Under the epidemic, the demand for masks has significantly increased. According to the fourth national economic census data, the total employment population of domestic legal entities and individual businesses is as high as 533 million people. Calculated based on one mask per person per day, at least 533 million masks are needed per day.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the maximum daily production capacity of masks in China is currently 20 million.
There is a huge shortage of masks, and many companies have started to produce masks across borders. According to Tianyancha data, based on changes in business registration information, from January 1 to February 7, 2020, more than 3000 enterprises across the country added businesses such as “masks, protective clothing, disinfectants, thermometers, and medical devices” to their business scope.
Compared with mask manufacturers, there are not many melt blown non woven fabric production enterprises. In this situation, the government has mobilized some source enterprises to fully start production and increase production capacity. However, currently, facing the demand for meltblown non-woven fabrics on textile platforms and among textile enthusiasts, it is not optimistic. China’s production speed is facing unprecedented challenges in this epidemic! But I believe that in the face of a gradually improving situation, everything will get better.
Post time: Sep-11-2024