Microfiber (or microfibre ) is a finer synthetic fiber than a denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers. It is smaller than the diameter of the silk strand (which is roughly one denier), which is itself about 1/5 the diameter of a human hair. The most common microfiber types are made from polyester, polyamide (eg, nylon, Kevlar, Nomex, trogamide), or polyester conjugate, polyamide, and polypropylene. Microfiber is used for making mats, knits, and weaves for garments, upholstery, industrial filters, and cleaning products. The shape, size, and combination of synthetic fibers are selected for special characteristics, including softness, toughness, absorption, water repellency, electrostatic, and filtering capabilities.
Video Microfiber
History
The production of ultra-fine fibers (finer than 0.7 denier) dates from the late 1950s, using melting spinning and flash spinning techniques. However, only random long staples can be produced and very few applications can be found. Experiments to produce ultra-fine fibers of the filaments are continuously made later, the most promising of which was run in Japan during the 1960s. Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist at Toray Industries. Okamoto's discovery, along with Dr.Hohohiko Hikota, resulted in many industrial applications. Among these are Ultrasuede, one of the first successful synthetic microfiber, which found its way into the market in the 1970s. The use of Microfiber in the textile industry is then expanded. Microfiber was first published in the early 1990s in Sweden and saw its success as a product in Europe over the decade.
Maps Microfiber
Clothing
Clothing
Microfiber fabrics are often used for athletic clothing, such as cycling shirts, because the microfiber material embroideres the moisture (sweat) of the body, keeping the wearer cool and dry. Microfiber is also very elastic, making it suitable for underwear. However, the US Marine Corps banned synthetic fabrics to be worn in uniform when deployed to combat the environment in 2006, due to cases where deep undergarments melted under extreme heat caused by IED explosive (improvised explosive devices), causing more damage to skin. They released a version "fit for duty" that was passed earlier in the same year.
Microfiber can be used to make hard and very soft material for touch for general clothing use, often used in skirts and jackets. Microfiber fabrics can also be used to make bathrobes, jackets, swimming trunks, and other clothing that can be worn for aquatic activities such as swimming. Microfiber can be made into Ultrasuede, an animal-free imitation leather imitation product that is cheaper and easier to clean and sew than natural leather suede.
Accessories
Microfiber is used to make many accessories that are traditionally made of leather: wallets, purses, backpacks, book covers, shoes, mobile bags, and coin purses. The microfiber cloth is lightweight, durable, and somewhat waterproof, making it a good substitute.
Another advantage of fabric (compared to leather) is a cloth that can be coated with various finishes or can be treated with antibacterial chemicals. Fabrics can also be printed in various designs, embroidered with colored threads, or embossed to create attractive textures.
Other uses
Textile for cleaning
In cleaning products, microfiber can be 100% polyester, or a mixture of polyester and polyamide (nylon). These can be either woven or non woven products, most recently used in limited use or disposable fabrics. In high quality fabrics for cleaning applications, fibers are divided during the manufacturing process to produce multi-strand fibers. A cross section of a separate microfiber cloth under high magnification will look like an asterisk.
Split fiber and individual filament sizes make the fabric more effective than other fabrics for cleaning purposes. Trap the structure and maintain the dirt and also absorb the liquid. Unlike cotton, microfiber does not have fiber, except for a mixture of micro suede, in which surfaces are mechanically processed to produce a delicate feeling of luxury.
For microfibers to be most effective as a cleaning product, especially for soil and water-soluble candles, it should be a separate microfiber. A non-split microfiber is little more than a very soft cloth. The main exceptions are for fabrics used for facial cleansing and to remove skin oil (sebum), sunscreen, and mosquito repellent from optical surfaces such as cameras, telephones and goggles using high-woven fabrics, 100% polyester fabrics using 2 Ã,Âμm filaments , will absorb this type of oil without greasing.
Microfiber used in clothing, furniture, and other applications unrelated to the sport are not fragmented because it is not designed to be absorbent, just soft. When purchasing, the microfiber may not be labeled to determine if it is shared. One way to determine what is a microfiber, is to run a cloth on the palm of the hand. A piece of microfiber will be attached to skin imperfections and can be heard or felt. Another way is to pour a little water onto a hard surface and try to push the water with a microfiber. If water is pushed and not absorbed, it does not separate the microfiber.
Microfiber can be filled electrostatically for special purposes such as filtration.
Fabrics and mop
Microfiber products used to clean consumers are generally made of split conjugate fibers of polyester and polyamide. Microfiber used for commercial cleaning products also includes many products made of 100% polyester. Microfiber products have a remarkable ability to absorb oil, and are not hard enough to scratch paint even if they store sand or hard particles from prior use. Due to hydrogen bonding, polyamide-containing microfibre fabrics absorb and store more water than other types of fibers.
Microfiber is widely used by car detailers to handle tasks such as removing paint wax, detailing fast, cleaning interior, cleaning glass, and drying. Because of their fine fibers that do not leave fibers or dust, microfiber towels are used by car detailers and fans in a way similar to a chamois leather.
Microfiber is used in many professional cleaning applications, for example on mops and scrubbers. Although microfiber mops are more expensive than non-microfiber mops, they may be more economical because they last longer and require less effort to use.
Microfiber textiles are designed to clean the net on a microscopic scale. According to tests using microfiber material to clear the lead surfaces to reduce the number of bacteria by 99%, while conventional cleaning agents reduce this amount by only 33%. Microfiber cleansers also absorb fat and fat and their electrostatic properties give them a high dust appeal.
Microfiber fabrics are used to clean photographic lenses because they absorb oil material without abrasive or leave residue, and are sold by major manufacturers such as Sinar, Nikon and Canon. Small microfiber cleaning cloths are usually sold for cleaning computer screens and eyeglasses.
Microfiber is not suitable for some cleaning applications because it accumulates dust, debris, and particles. Sensitive surfaces (like all high-tech plated surfaces, for example CRTs, LCD screens and plasma) can be easily damaged by microfiber fabrics if they have taken sand particles or other abrasive particles during use. One way to minimize the risk of damage to flat surfaces is to use a flat, non-rough microfiber cloth, as these tend to be less susceptible to retaining sand.
Fabrics made from microfiber should only be washed with regular detergent, non-greasy, self-softening, detergent-based soap. Fabric softeners should not be used. The oil and cationic surfactant in the softening and self-softening detergents will clog the fibers and make them less absorbable until the oil is washed out. Also, because the microfiber cloth attracts a lot of soil and holds water tightly, it provides the ideal nutritional environment for various microorganisms.
Isolation
Microfiber materials such as PrimaLoft are used for thermal insulation as a substitute for feather insulation under sleeping bags and outdoor equipment, due to better heat retention when moist or wet. Microfiber is also used for water insulation in automotive car covers. Depending on the technology used by the fiber manufacturer, the material can contain from 2 to 5 thin layers, combined together. The combination ensures not only high absorption factors, but also the breathability of the material, which prevents the greenhouse effect.
Basketball
With a microfiber-laced basketball that has been used by FIBA, the NBA introduced a microfiber ball for the 2006-07 season. The ball, produced by Spalding, does not require "break-in" periods of use as the leather ball does and has the ability to absorb water and oil, meaning that the sweat of the player touching the ball is better absorbed, making the ball less slippery. During the season, the league received many complaints from players who found that the ball bounced differently from the leather ball, and it left a wound in their hands. On January 1, 2007, the league canceled the use of all microfiber balls and returned to the leather basketball.
More
Microfiber used in tablecloths, furniture, and car interiors are designed to repel wetting and consequently difficult to taint. Microfiber tablecloths will be booze until they are removed and advertised occasionally showing red wine on a white tablecloth wiping clean with paper towels. This and the ability to mimic suede economically are common selling points for microfiber upholstery (eg, for couches).
Microfiber is used in towels especially for use in swimming pools because even a small towel dries the body quickly. They dry quickly and are less susceptible than cotton towels to be stale if not immediately dried. Microfiber towels need to be immersed in water and pressed before use, as they would otherwise resist water as do microfiber tablecloths.
Microfiber is also used for other applications such as making menstrual pads, cloth diaper inserts, body scrubbers, face mitt, whiteboard cleaners, and various items that need to absorb water and/or attract small particles.
Environmental and security issues
Textile microfiber tends to be flammable if made from hydrocarbons (polyesters) or carbohydrates (cellulose) and releases toxic gas when burning, more so if aromatics (PET, PS, ABS) or treated with halogenated flame retardants and azo dyes. Their polyester and nylon stocks are made from petrochemical materials, which are not renewable resources and can not decompose. However, if made of polypropylene, they can be recycled (Prolen).
For most cleaning applications, they are designed for repeated use rather than discarded after use. The exception to this is the proper cleaning of optical components where the wet cloth is drawn once across the object and should not be used anymore because the debris collected and now embedded in the fabric can scratch the optical surface.
Microfiber made from petrochemicals including polyester and nylon are not biodegradable. However, microfiber made from polypropylene can be recycled. Microfiber products also potentially enter the supply of sea water and food chains similar to other microplastic. Synthetic garments made from washed microfiber can release materials and travel to local wastewater treatment plants, contributing to plastic pollution in water.
There are environmental concerns about this product entering the ocean food chain similar to other microplastic. A study by the Patagonia clothing brand and the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that when a synthetic jacket made from microfiber washed, an average of 1.7 grams (0.060 oz) of microfiber was released from the washing machine. The microfiber then travels to local wastewater treatment plants, where up to 40% of them go into rivers, lakes, and seas where they contribute to overall plastic pollution. Microfiber accounts for 85% of artificial debris found on coastlines around the world.
However, no pesticides are used to produce synthetic fibers (compared to cotton). If the product is made of polypropylene yarn, the yarn is dyed; ie no water is used for coloring (like cotton, where thousands of liters of water is contaminated).
See also
- Polyamide
- Polyester
- Polar fleece
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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