Absorbent foam containing fiber
OwnerFred Radwanski, Sridhar Ranganathan +2inventors
InventorsFred Radwanski, Sridhar Ranganathan, Mary Mallory, Jeffrey Krueger
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Abstract
A flexible, absorbent, thermoplastic foam comprises at least a thermoplastic base resin and fibers. The incorporation of fibers into the thermoplastic base foam structure can result in a foam which exhibits improved absorbent properties such as high fluid capillary action and improved fluid movement from cell to cell within the foam, while maintaining sufficient integrity and flexibility for specific applications. In some aspects, the use of fiber having high surface energy can increase the overall surface energy of the foam, which in turn can further enhance absorbent properties.
Claims36
A flexible, absorbent, thermoplastic foam comprising a thermoplastic base resin and fibers.
A flexible, absorbent, open-cell, thermoplastic foam comprising a thermoplastic base resin and fibers;
- wherein said flexible, absorbent, open-cell, thermoplastic foam comprises cells defined by cell membranes that are substantially non-absorbent;
- wherein said fibers have a length of about 0.5 mm to about 5.0 mm and extend through said cell membranes into said cells;
- and
- wherein said flexible, absorbent, open-cell, thermoplastic foam has a density between about 0.03 g/cc and about 0.5 g/cc.
An open-cell, thermoplastic foam comprising between about 50% and about 95% by weight of an alkenyl aromatic base resin, between about 10% and about 50% by weight of thermoplastic elastomer between about 0.05% and about 10% by weight of surfactant, and between about 1% and about 90% by weight of cellulosic fiber, wherein said thermoplastic elastomer has a styrenic block copolymer thermoplastic elastomer diblock content of between about 50% and about 80% by weight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.