What Is Hydrogen Bonding?
Hydrogen Bonding
Hydrogen bonding is a type of thermo-mechanical fiber bonding that bonds the airlaid pulp web using a combination of pressure, humidity and temperature.
Instead of using synthetic adhesives or binders, hydrogen bonding utilizes the heat and pressure of the calendar rollers to fuse the pulp fibers together at the calendars’ engraved points - it utilizes the cellulose fibers’ unique ability to bond together when the inherent moisture is removed from fibers that are in close contact.
Other Bonding Methods
Latex Bonding
The top and bottom surfaces of the compacted airlaid pulp web is sprayed with a latex resin and dried in an oven to remove moisture and to form a bonded network of fibers.
Thermal Bonding
The airlaid pulp web that is blended with thermoplastic bicomponent fiber aka bico fiber (generally, polyethylene and polypropylene), passes through a heated oven which softens and melts the sheaths of these bico fibers, forming bonding points between the bico fibers and the pulp.
Multi Bonding
The airlaid pulp web is bonded using a combination of both latex bonding and thermal bonding. Latex resin is sprayed on both sides of the airlaid pulp web and the web’s center portion is bonded using thermoplastic bico fibers that fuse to the wood pulp and each other.
Our Airlaid Manufacturing Process
We utilize a three-step manufacturing process to produce a highly absorbent airlaid nonwoven with a customizable layered structure to meet specific performance requirements for different applications.
Fluff Pulp Defiberization
Fluff pulp rolls are defiberized to separate the compressed pulp into individual loose fibers. The fibers are then transported to the airlaid pulp web forming system.
Web Formation
The individualized fluff pulp fibers from the hammermills are fed into multiple web formers where they fall like snow onto the vacuum forming wire screen below. Having multiple web formers gives us the flexibility to create a layered structure to offer customized functionalities for a wide range of applications.
Web Consolidation
The airlaid pulp web goes through light calendering and compaction prior to embossing, where fibers are thermo-mechanically hydrogen bonded using a combination of pressure, humidity and temperature.