During the pandemic, meltblown nonwoven fabric rose to fame overnight due to the demand for masks, but its value goes far beyond that! How can this ‘breathing’ material filter viruses? And how did it penetrate into the automotive, medical, and environmental protection fields? This article will reveal the technological core of meltblown fabric and tell you how to choose a quality supplier.
1. What is Meltblown Nonwoven Fabric?
- Definition: A nonwoven fabric formed by extruding ultrafine fibers from high-temperature melted polymers (such as polypropylene) and bonding them through cooling.
- Analogy: “Just like a cotton candy machine pulling syrup into threads, the melt-blown process ‘blows’ plastic into a fiber mesh that is a hundred times thinner than a human hair.”
- Features: Fine fiber diameter (1-5 microns), high porosity, good air permeability, and excellent filtration efficiency.
2. Why Has It Become the “King of Filtration”?
Core Advantages:
- Physical interception: The ultra-fine fibers form a maze-like structure, effectively blocking particulate matter (such as PM2.5 and bacteria).
- Electrostatic adsorption: The electret process imparts static electricity, enabling the adsorption of particles as small as 0.1 micrometers (such as viruses).
Compared to Traditional Materials:
| Characteristic | Meltblown | Ordinary Gauze |
|---|---|---|
| Filtration efficiency | ≥95%（N95） | <50% |
| Breathability | Good | General |
3. Unexpected Application Scenarios
- Medical field: masks, protective clothing, disinfection packaging materials.
- Industrial field:
- Automobile: soundproof cotton, oil filter.
- Environmental protection: air/water filtration materials, oil absorbent cotton.
- Daily life: sanitary napkins, diaper covers (breathable and impermeable).
4. How to Judge the Quality of Meltblown Fabric?
Key Indicators:
- Filtration efficiency (BFE, PFE), resistance (air permeability), and grammage (g/m²).
- “N95 masks must meet the requirement of PFE≥95%, but industrial use demands lower resistance.”
Common Pitfalls:
- Inferior meltblown fabric: coarse fibers, no static electricity, filtration rate drops sharply.
- Fake identification: easy to tear and break, weak static electricity (test of adsorbing shredded paper).
5. Industry Trends and Selection Recommendations
Trend:
- Greenification: degradable PLA melt-blown fabric.
- Intelligentization: Smart filter materials embedded with sensors.
