Effect of Melt Jet Spinning Process on PLA/PBS Blend Nonwoven Fabric Production

Abstract

The melt jet spinning process has been used for production of consistently fine nonwoven fibers. The process was applied to produce the biodegradable nonwoven fabric such as poly (lactic acid) (PLA). However, the rigid nonwoven PLA fibers limited the application of nonwoven. To improve the nonwoven fiber flexibility, the fabrication of PLA/PBS blend nonwoven fabric using melt jet spinning process under various process conditions was studied. In the melt jet spinning process, the nozzle temperature is varied between 250 to 280 °C. The performance metric evaluation is comprised of fiber diameter, fiber crystallinity, mechanical property and contact angle. The fiber diameter, crystallinity and tensile strength of PLA/PBS blend nonwoven fabric decreased with increasing nozzle temperature. The optimum process condition of the PLA/PBS nonwoven fabric production was found at nozzle temperature of 280 °C to produce the nonwoven fiber with average diameter of 5.1 μm. The forming temperature has no effect on the hydrophilic properties of PLA/PBS nonwoven fabric. The melt jet spinning process was successfully applied for the biodegradable polymer to produce the environmentally friendly products.