JPH0369672A - Water-repellent treating agent for binder fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications The present invention relates to a water repellent treatment agent for binder fibers.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, fibers called binder fibers or heat-fusible fibers having a low melting point thermoplastic polymer in the surface layer have been used as yarns for nonwoven fabrics. The binder fiber does not require a special adhesive during the production of the nonwoven fabric, and it is possible to obtain a nonwoven fabric with good water resistance. Therefore, binder fibers are mainly used as surface materials for water absorbent materials such as diapers and sanitary napkins.

Since these surface materials come into direct contact with the skin, it is important to have a rough feel when worn, and therefore the surface is required to have non-stick properties, that is, water repellency.

On the other hand, binder fibers are made by cutting filaments into predetermined lengths, carding them, making them into webs, and heat-treating them to make non-woven fabrics. agent,
For example, it is treated with an alkyl sulfate salt, an alkyl sulfonate salt, etc. However, nonwoven fabrics treated with these antistatic agents inevitably feel sticky when worn on the skin. In order to solve this problem, conventionally the antistatic agent was removed and water repellent treatment was applied after nonwoven fabric production. This leads to an increase in the number of steps and is a troublesome work.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a water-repellent treatment agent for binder fibers, which improves the card-passability of binder fibers and imparts water repellency to the binder fibers.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides an alkyl phosphate having a carbon number of 14 or more; a carboxy-modified polyethylene wax having a molecular weight of 1,000-10,000 and an acid value of 5-50; an emulsifier; a binder fiber containing a higher alcohol and dimethyl silicone or a modified product thereof. Regarding a water repellent treatment agent.

The alkyl phosphate used in the present invention has an average carbon number of 14 or more, preferably 14 to 22, more preferably 1
It is an alkyl phosphate having 6 to 18 alkyl groups, and the phosphate may be unneutralized, partially neutralized, or completely neutralized, and as a salt, an alkali metal salt or an alkaline earth metal salt is used. , zinc salts, zirconium salts, ammonium salts, alkanolamine salts, amine salts, etc., but alkali metal salts are preferred, and completely neutralized products are particularly preferred.

This alkyl phosphate is used especially for the purpose of antistatic effect, but if the average number of carbon atoms in the alkyl group is less than 14, it is not preferable because water repellency decreases.

The amount of alkyl 7 phosphate is preferably 20 to 45% by weight (in terms of solid content) of the solid content of the entire treatment composition.
, more preferably 25 to 35% by weight. The amount is 2
If it is less than 0% by weight, the antistatic property will be insufficient, and if it is more than 0%, the water repellency will be insufficient. ' The carboxy-modified polyethylene wax used in the present invention has a carboxyl group in a part of the polyethylene chain, has a molecular weight of 1000 to 1000, and has an acid value of 5.
~50 is preferred.

Particularly preferred carboxy-modified polyethylene has a molecular weight of 30
00 to 5,000, and an acid value of 10 to 30. The carboxyl group may be neutralized or unneutralized. If necessary, it may be esterified with polyethylene glycol or the like to form a self-emulsifying type. Neutralization may be carried out using alkali metals, ammonia, alkanolamines, amines, and the like.

The carboxy-modified polynye F-gin wax used in the present invention is pre-O/W before being blended into the treatment agent of the present invention.
It is preferable to use one emulsified in a mold. Emulsification may be self-emulsification or may be carried out using a suitable surfactant. This surfactant is preferably one that is effective in as small a quantity as possible, and in that sense, a nonionic surfactant is particularly preferred. The amount of surfactant used is 50% by weight based on wax.
Hereinafter, it is more preferably used in an amount of 5 to 30% by weight. Of course, if the surfactant is the same as the emulsifier described later, it may be used in a larger amount, but generally this surfactant is used to make the emulsion of carboxy-modified polyethylene wax as uniform and stable as possible. Therefore, this may be a different type of emulsifier than the emulsifier described below. In that case, it is preferable to use the surfactant in as little amount as possible so as not to affect the subsequent emulsification.

Carboxy-modified polyethylene wax is obtained by uniformly mixing a suitable surfactant into molten wax, stirring the mixture under strong shearing force, and emulsifying it in water.

Generally, a 10 to 50% by weight emulsion of carboxy-modified polyethylene wax is sold under trade names such as Marposol PO, and may be used as is.

The amount of carboxy-modified polyethylene wax blended is preferably 20 to 70% by weight (solids), more preferably 30 to 50% by weight (solids) of the solid weight of the processing agent composition. When the wax content is lower than 20% by weight, the water repellency is insufficient, and when it is higher than 70% by weight, the card passability is insufficient.

The emulsifier used in the present invention is used to emulsify the carboxy-modified polyethylene wax, neutral oil, dimethyl silicone, etc. in water.

As mentioned above, it is preferable to emulsify carboxy-modified polyethylene wax in advance and mix it with other components before use. Therefore, the emulsifier referred to here is used separately from the surfactant for wax emulsification described above. Of course, both may be of the same composition or may be of different compositions.

Emulsifiers are not particularly limited, but when targeting nonwoven fabrics for use in diapers, sanitary napkins, etc.
It is preferable to choose from anionic surfactants and/or nonionic surfactants that cause less skin damage since they come into direct contact with the skin.

Anionic surfactants are typically sulfonates and phosphonates. In particular, phosphonates are used as antistatic agents as mentioned above, and are preferable because they can have both the prevention of static electricity and the emulsifying effect with a single component. Of course, since the emulsifier used in the present invention is for achieving emulsification of the system, other emulsifiers may be used if necessary.

The phosphate is preferably the same as the alkyl 7-mole 7-ate mentioned in the antistatic agent, but phosphates having smaller alkyl groups or aromatic groups may also be used.

Examples of the sulfonate include petroleum sulfonic acid and alkylbenzene sulfonate, but use of a large amount tends to increase the sticky feeling of the nonwoven fabric.

Sulfates such as alkyl sulfates, polyoxyethylene alkyl sulfates, funnel oil, etc. may be used as emulsifiers.

Nonionic surfactants include polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, polyoxyethylene aryl ether,
Polyoxyethylene alkylaryl ether, polyoxyethylene sorbitan alkyl ester, polyoxyethylene pentaerythritol alkyl ester, polyethylene glycol alkyl ester, glycerin monofatty acid ester, pentaerythritol fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, sugar ester, polyglyceride, lecithin, etc. Among them, ether type is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of high emulsifying power even in a small amount. The hydrophobic group of the nonionic surfactant has 8 carbon atoms.
or more, preferably 8 to 22, more preferably 12 to 18
A saturated or unsaturated alkyl group which may have a side chain is preferred.

When the number of carbon atoms is less than 8, card passing properties tend to decrease.

The number of moles of ethylene oxide added in the nonionic surfactant may be selected so as to provide an HLB suitable for achieving the desired emulsification.

Also, some of the oxyethylene chains may be replaced by other oxyalkylene chains, such as oxypropylene chains.

The amount of emulsifier used is preferably 5 to 50% of the solid weight of the total composition.
30% by weight, especially 10-20% by weight. When the amount of emulsifier used is less than 5% by weight, emulsifying properties are insufficient, and 30% by weight
If the amount is more than that, the nonwoven fabric will have a sticky feeling.

The composition of the present invention further contains a neutral oil.

The purpose of adding neutral oil is to effectively improve card passability (suppressing friction and generation of static electricity) and water repellency when spinning binder fibers.

Examples of the neutral oil include higher alcohols and coconut oil, but higher alcohols are particularly preferred. The higher alcohol used in the present invention has 12 or more carbon atoms, preferably 1
Examples include saturated or unsaturated alcohols that may have 4 to 22 side chains, such as cetyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, and stearyl alcohol.

The neutral oil is preferably blended in an amount of 5 to 10% by weight based on the total solid weight of the processing agent composition.

Dimethyl silicone or its modified product is used for the purpose of imparting water repellency and smoothness. Dimethyl silicone or its modified product that can be used includes 20 to 1 O0cst (2
Those having a viscosity of 5° C.) are preferred. Examples of modified groups include phenyl groups and alkylphenyl groups. Dimethyl silicone is usually used.

The amount of dimethyl silicone or its modified product used is preferably 2 to 5% by weight based on the solid content of the total treatment composition. If it is less than 2% by weight, the smoothness will be insufficient and the card passing property will be insufficient, and if it is more than 5% by weight, the antistatic properties will be insufficient.
Web disturbances occur, which is a quality problem.

The treatment agent of the present invention basically contains the above-mentioned components, but if necessary, other components such as preservatives may be added.

The treatment agent of the present invention is dissolved or dispersed in a suitable solvent such as water, methanol, acetone, hexane, etc., and a predetermined amount of this is applied to the fibers before carding.

The amount of treatment agent applied to the fibers is preferably 0 in terms of solid content.
．． 01 to 3% by weight, more preferably 0.1 to 0.7% by weight. Appropriate methods such as immersion, contact, and spraying may be used as the application method.

The standard for adhesion amount is water repellency of 4 as measured by the method shown in the example.
Above, antistatic property (20℃, 50%RH) O: 5K
This is the amount below V.

Examples of target fibers include polyester, polyolefin, acrylic, vinylon, nylon, rayon, and composite fibers thereof.

Since the treatment agent of the present invention has contradictory properties such as antistatic action and water repellency, there is no need to use separate treatment agents for preventing static electricity during carding and for water repellent treatment after producing a nonwoven fabric, as is the case in the past.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples.

Examples 1 to 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5 A water repellent treatment agent for binder fibers having the formulation shown in Table 1 was prepared, 10 parts by weight of it was dispersed in 1000 parts by weight of water, and binder fibers (sheath: polyethylene) were dispersed in 1000 parts by weight of water. : Core polypropylene, 2deX 51mm) 100 parts by weight was immersed and reduced to 40% to obtain binder fibers with an oil supply amount of 0.4% by weight. After drying this binder fiber, 20℃, 50% R
A web of 30 g/m'' was obtained by carding under the conditions of H, and this was heat treated at 140°C for 5 minutes to obtain a nonwoven fabric.

The antistatic property of the refueled cotton obtained in the above process and the water repellency of the nonwoven fabric were measured by the following methods.

The results obtained are shown in Table-1.

Water repellency: After 5 minutes of placing the IPA aqueous solution on the nonwoven fabric, the highest series in which the droplet shape is retained is evaluated.

1st grade: IPA/Water (2/98) 2nd grade: IPA/Water (5/95) 3rd grade: IPA/Water (10/90) 4th grade: IPA/Water (20/80) 5th grade: IPA/Water (30/70) Grade 6: IPA/Water (40/60) Grade 7: IPA/Water (50150) Grade 8: IPA/Water (60/40) Antistatic property: Oiled cotton treated at 20° 050% RH Pour it into a flat card in an atmosphere and measure the amount of static electricity immediately after it passes through the dot.

(Hereinafter, blanks) Effects of the Invention When the treatment agent of the present invention is used, it is possible to achieve both antistatic and water repellent effects at the same time, so the obtained nonwoven fabric can be used for diapers and napkins without having to undergo water repellent treatment again. be able to. This nonwoven fabric does not feel sticky when worn on the skin and has a good feel.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Alkyl phosphate having 14 or more carbon atoms; 20-4
5% by weight Carboxy-modified polyethylene wax with molecular weight 1000-10000 and acid value 5-50 containing 5-30% by weight of emulsifier; 20-70% by weight Higher alcohol; 5-10% by weight Dimethyl silicone or its modified product 2 A water repellent treatment agent for binder fibers containing ~5% by weight.