Currently at Asahi Kasei, functional nonwoven fabrics have been putting into experiments to increase its applications or to invent new nonwoven fabrics. CMC-Bemliese is produced on the basis of their cupro continuous-filament nonwoven fabric Bemliese. Bemliese includes hydroxyl groups, one part of which is carboxymethylated and used to make CMC-Bemliese. CMC-Bemliese absorbs liquid well, and turns into a gel. If used in a medical field, it turns transparent when covering a wound or a cut, so that the bleeding part remains visible under the fabric. It helps stop bleeding and is useful for a wound-moistening treatment. A product under development is a biodegradable spunbond nonwoven fabric. Asahi Kasei aims to provide a spunbond nonwoven fabric with biodegradability, as sustainability has been becoming a major concern across the globe. The biodegradable nonwoven fabric would be applied to tea bags or other food-related products. In car manufacturing fields, their electromagnetic wave absorbing sheets with non-magnetic property is to be marketed, the sheets having been applied to smartphones and tablets.

JCFA News Letter (No.16) September, 2018/Japan Chemical Fibers Association