Claims
- 1. A multicomponent fiber having a configuration selected from the group consisting of sheath-core, islands-in-the-sea, ribbon, segmented pie, side-by-side, and combination thereof; wherein each component of the multicomponent fiber comprises a material selected from group consisting of destructurized starch, thermoplastic polymer having a molecular weight of less than 500,000 g/mol, and combinations thereof.
- 2. The multicomponent fiber of claim 1 wherein one component comprises:
a. destructurized starch, b. a thermoplastic polymer having a molecular weight of less than about 500,000, and c. a plasticizer.
- 3. The multicomponent fiber of claim 1 wherein one component comprises destructurized starch and a second component comprises a thermoplastic polymer having a molecular weight of less than about 500,000 g/mol.
- 4. The multicomponent fiber of claim 1 wherein the fiber has a diameter of less than 200 micrometers.
- 5. The multicomponent fiber of claim 1 where the fiber is splittable.
- 6. The multicomponent fiber of claim 1 wherein the fiber is thermally bondable.
- 7. A nonwoven web comprising the multicomponent fibers of claim 6.
- 8. A nonwoven web wherein the multicomponent fibers of claim 6 are blended with other synthetic or natural fibers and bonded together.
- 9. A disposable article comprising the nonwoven web of claim 7.
- 10. A nonwoven web comprising multicomponent fibers having a configuration selected from the group consisting of sheath-core, islands-in-the-sea, ribbon, segmented pie, side-by-side, and combination thereof; wherein each component of the multicomponent fiber comprises a material selected from group consisting of destructurized starch, thermoplastic polymer having a molecular weight of less than 500,000 g/mol, and combinations thereof.
- 11. A nonwoven web wherein the multicomponent fibers of claim 9 are blended with other synthetic or natural fibers and bonded together.
- 12. A disposable article comprising the nonwoven webs of claim 9.
- 13. A bicomponent fiber having a sheath-core configuration wherein the sheath comprises destructurized starch and a plasticizer and the core comprises a thermoplastic polymer having a molecular weight of less than 500,000 g/mol.
- 14. A bicomponent fiber having a sheath-core configuration wherein the sheath comprises a thermoplastic polymer having a molecular weight of less than 500,000 g/mol and the core comprises destructurized starch and a plasticizer.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part and claims priority to co-pending and commonly owned U.S. applications Ser. No. 09/853,131, filed May 10, 2001.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09853131 |
May 2001 |
US |
Child |
10294417 |
Nov 2002 |
US |