Processing of chemically modified cellulosic fibres

A process for processing a cellulosic fibre or a cellulosic filament, the process comprising:

• chemically modifying the cellulose of the cellulosic fibre or the cellulosic filament by substitution to increase absorbency;
• washing the chemically modified cellulosic fibre or chemically modified cellulosic filament in a wash solution comprising up to 99% by weight of an organic solvent;
• and
• adjusting the washed fibre or washed filament to a moisture content of at least 7% by weight.

A process for producing a non-woven web of chemically modified cellulosic fibres, the process comprising:

• neutralizing chemically modified cellulosic fibres;
• finishing the chemically modified cellulosic fibres with a solution comprising less than 99% by weight of an organic solvent to produce finished chemically modified cellulosic fibres;
• adjusting the moisture content of the finished chemically modified cellulosic fibres to a moisture content from 11% to 20% by weight;
• processing the finished chemically modified cellulosic fibres into the non-woven web of chemically modified cellulosic fibres, and wherein the moisture content of the non-woven web of chemically modified cellulosic fibres is from 11% to 20% by weight;
• and
• packaging the non-woven web of chemically modified cellulosic fibres in a pouch that maintains the moisture content of the non-woven web of chemically modified cellulosic fibres in a sterile environment, and wherein the packaged non-woven web of chemically modified cellulosic fibres has a tensile strength of at least 3N per cm.