System and process for preparing polylactic acid nonwoven fabrics

An apparatus for preparing an aliphatic polyester nonwoven fabric, the apparatus comprising:

• a first polymer source configured to provide a first stream of molten or semi-molten polymer resin, the first polymer source comprising an aliphatic polyester polymer resin;
• a second polymer source configured to provide a second stream of molten or semi-molten polymer resin, the second polymer source comprising a second polymer resin;
• a spin beam in fluid communication with the first polymer and second polymer sources, the spin beam configured to extrude and draw a plurality of continuous multicomponent filaments comprising the aliphatic polyester polymer resin and the second polymer resin;
• a collection surface disposed below an outlet of the spin beam onto which the multicomponent continuous filaments are deposited to form a nonwoven fabric;
• and
• a first ionization source positioned and arranged to expose the multicomponent continuous filaments to ions to neutralize static charges in the nonwoven fabric;
• and wherein the first ionization source, and any additional ionization sources are all positioned above the collection surface and downstream of a point at where the multicomponent continuous filaments are deposited on the collection surface, and wherein the first ionization source is positioned prior to a first roll.