Melt-blown nonwoven fabric and method of producing the same

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of producing a melt-blown nonwoven fabric, the method making it possible to increase the stretchability of a melt-blown nonwoven fabric formed from fibers containing a poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)-based resin, as well as to suppress thermal contraction of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric. The present invention is a method of producing a melt-blown nonwoven fabric, the method including obtaining a second melt-blown nonwoven fabric by heating a first melt-blown nonwoven fabric. The first melt-blown nonwoven fabric is formed from a resin composition containing a poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)-based resin. The step of obtaining the second melt-blown nonwoven fabric includes heating the first melt-blown nonwoven fabric within a temperature range higher than or equal to a temperature that is lower by 10° C. than an endothermic start temperature of the resin composition in differential scanning calorimetry, the temperature range being lower than or equal to a temperature that is lower by 10° C. than a melting point of the resin composition.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.