Improved polypropylene fibers, methods for producing the same and uses thereof for the production of fiber cement products

A process for the production of at least one drawn polypropylene mono- or multifilament or at least one fiber derived therefrom for the reinforcement of cementitious products, said process comprising the steps of:

• (i) forming a melted polypropylene composition comprising at least one polypropylene,
• (ii) extruding the melted polymeric composition through a spinneret to form a filament of the polymeric composition,
• (iii) quenching the extruded polypropylene filament in a liquid bath having a temperature of between about 5° C. and about 50° C., wherein the distance between the surface of said liquid bath and the surface of said spinneret ranges between about 5 mm and about 200 mm, and
• (iv) drawing said filament at a temperature of between about 130° C. and 180° C. to form a drawn polypropylene filament, and optionally
• (v) cutting said filament into one or more fibers having a length between about 3 and about 50 mm.