Optimal Processing of Natural-Fibre Nonwovens

In this study, flax and hemp fibres were assessed as raw materials for air-laying nonwoven fabrication. We are therefore hypothesizing that through proper production processes, the competiveness of flax and hemp fibre based nonwovens can be significantly improved. We anticipate improving the material properties by adjusting effective machine settings, for which we have used a small-sized air-laying nonwoven machine and assessed the fibre fleece quality by adjusting the production velocity and spike-related parameters. Processing was studied for air-laid nonwovens from natural hemp and flax fibres using SPIKE® air-laying technology (Formfiber Denmark ApS Company). The process of web-formation and the properties of the fibre-webs before needle-punching and reinforced fibre-mats were evaluated. The settings of the air-laying machine were found to influence the web-formation process and nonwoven properties. In order to monitor web-formation processes and evaluate the fibre-web or fibre-mat quality, several machine settings were defined that enhanced the productivity of the machine or favoured fabrication of nonwovens with high density or great tensile properties.