[New Crown Pneumonia] Meltblown Nonwoven Global City Out of Stock Professor: Conditional Production in Hong Kong

01 Investigation

Written by: Chen Runnan

2020-03-13 07:45

New crown pneumonia, commonly known as "Wuhan pneumonia," has a global outbreak. Hong Kong-made masks for epidemic prevention have been limited by the shortage of Meltblown Nonwoven, the key fabric for masks. For a while, meltblown nonwovens became the "rare" of global contention.

Professor Jinlian Hu of CityU has taught non-woven materials in the classroom for more than ten years and is very familiar with related technology manufacturing and industry. She said that the related technology was originally invented by the US Navy and is still dominated by Europe and the United States, but many production lines are in China. She believes that China has recently Resumption of work will increase production and global supply of meltblown nonwovens will improve.

She said that if her laboratory in Hong Kong was supported, she could make samples of meltblown nonwovens. Although she could not mass-produce them, she believed that Hong Kong had the conditions to produce meltblown nonwovens. Even after the epidemic is over, the production of meltblown nonwovens in Hong Kong is still commercially viable.

Professor Hu Jinlian, who has just transferred to the Department of Biomedical Engineering of City University, has been famous for studying artificial spider silk and fiber materials in the Department of Textiles and Clothing of Science and Engineering. Professor Hu said that recently Guo Yuanyong, a member of the government expert advisory group and a lecturer at the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, asked her about the antibacterial properties of fabrics, but no mention was made of the problem of masks. Nonsense. She has a laboratory in Lijing. With cooperation and support, she can make samples of meltblown non-woven fabrics. "You can make some samples, but you can't do production."

Professor Hu Jinlian explained to reporters that the key features of meltblown nonwovens in masks. (Photo by Li Zetong)

"Give me money (purchase a machine) and I can match everything"

The hometown of Professor Hu is the worst-hit Hubei. She has been studying and teaching in Hong Kong for 26 years and has witnessed the rise and fall of Hong Kong's textile industry. She said that at present the laboratory does not have a machine for making non-woven fabrics, but because there have been many polymer processing machines, the laboratory can make polymer chips and then process them into fibers. She believes that meltblown non-woven fabrics can be developed on the basis of the above. "This requires a chance, a project ... mainly no company wants us to do it. If you give me all the money (purchase the machine), I can match everything." Then share related process and production data.

She believes that Hong Kong has the conditions to produce meltblown non-woven fabrics to alleviate the shortage of masks. Even after the epidemic, it can still develop and innovate. If there is support from a businessman or government and her current research technology, "In fact, I think meltblown nonwovens (in Hong Kong) can be developed because it can make many products and innovations." She said that the potential of meltblown nonwovens is great. "The air conditioner (filtering) or even the window is cheap after the mask is finished." As for the price, the most important thing is the market size. She emphasized that "Hong Kong focuses on innovation, which has great potential."

Workers produce filter nonwovens in meltblown nonwovens workshops. (Xinhua News Agency)

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Making meltblown non-woven fabrics like cotton candy

She said that the main materials of masks are meltblown nonwovens and viscose nonwovens. In fact, both fabrics are made of polypropylene (PP), but the technology of processing into fabrics is different.

Meltblown nonwovens are made by melting polypropylene chips (Polymer Chips), then spraying the liquefied polypropylene into ultra-fine filaments with air, and finally rolling it into a cloth. Hu described the whole process as rolling a marshmallow. The non-woven fabric manufactured by the meltblown method has very small fibers, soft texture and light weight, but the fibers are unevenly distributed and easy to break. It can be used for filtration, oil absorption, clothing, etc., and has a wide range of uses. In addition, meltblown non-woven fabrics are produced quickly and use very few materials.

The viscose non-woven fabric is polypropylene melted and pressed into a cloth shape, and the fibers are thicker, tens to hundreds times thicker than the fibers of the melt-blown nonwoven, and the distribution is more even and stronger. .

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Illustration of the production process of meltblown nonwovens. (Online picture)

Meltblown technology Europe and the United Kingdom lead the application of innovative industries

Professor Hu pointed out that meltblown technology was invented by the US Navy and was used to isolate radiation when processing instruments. It was later popularized by Exxon Mobil Corporation for civilian use. The production technology of meltblown nonwovens is still under development, and is currently led by multinational chemical companies in Europe, America, Japan, and other places, such as the United States Dupont and Toray. The meltblown technology of related companies can already produce meltblown non-woven fabrics with nano-level juveniles, and it is applied to innovative industries such as medical treatment, such as kidney dialysis machines. The latest research is even more used for cell tissue cultivation.

Nonsense, the most difficult part to master in meltblown technology is the spinning part, because it is necessary to determine the thickness, direction, and fiber distribution. Although advanced nano-level technology is mainly mastered by developed countries, many companies' production lines for common products are located in China. The cost of related machinery is about 2 million to 10 million Hong Kong dollars, but the area of ​​the machine is relatively large, and the scale is generally large. Only in factories.

"(Meltblown non-woven fabrics) ordinary products are well made in China, and high-end products can only be separated." She believes that the epidemic has developed rapidly, so the previous production volume can not catch up. Recently, China plans to resume work and expand the production of meltblown nonwovens. I believe it can meet the needs of various countries.

On February 6, the workers of Hainan Chengmai Xinlong Holding Co., Ltd. cut the produced filter nonwovens in a meltblown nonwovens workshop. (Xinhua News Agency)

The epidemic is raging and there are gaps in the world. At present, China is making full efforts to produce masks and other materials. (Reuters)

Mask Teaching and Quotes Wuhan Wuhan Pneumonia Global Epidemic City University