K-C, UT stretch nonwovens technology: Demique elastomeric nonwovens could lead to new web products.

The practice of donating technology to non-profit institutions has provided benefits for both the donor and the recipient. The donor is able to contribute a technology for the benefit of society and help train the next generation of technical employees. Meanwhile, the recipient non-profit institution receives living technology that increases its intellectual property holdings and competencies, allows its students to study and conduct research, as well as provide a potential stream of revenue.

Kimberly-Clark Worldwide gifted intellectual property to the University of Tennessee Research Center, in December 2000 when it assigned its Demique elastomeric nonwoven technology to the university. Demique material is an elastomeric nonwoven formed through the melt blowing process. This process produces fibers by spinning molten polyether ester polymer, into a supersonic stream of hot gas creating fine fibers with diameters less than 10 microns. The random orientation of these polyether ester fibers results in stretch in any direction--up to about 600%-with greater than 90% elastic recovery: It is the polymer and fiber diameter that gives the material its soft hand.

While it is a relatively straight-forward process to produce a thin layer of Demique elastic nonwoven material, the manufacturing process is highly flexible and allows materials to be produced up to two centimeters thick The technology also covers the polyether ester to be directly blown onto a three-dimensional article, to produce a Demique coating or three dimensional shapes. Patents covering this fibrous structure and other stretched and bonded Demique elastomeric composite materials were part of this intellectual property donation.

NWI: Why does KCWW Donate Technology?

Cheryl A. Perkins, Kimberly-Clark, senior vice President and chief technical officer: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide considers donating technology for a variety of reasons. The primary reason is that the technology no longer fits the corporation's strategic direction, but it is still viable. The technology may require further development to realize its maximum value. Although K-C will not pursue the development of the technology, we know many institutions have academic or commercial interests in leveraging the technology to meet their own business goals. These institutions also have unique infrastructures to help the technology reach commercialization through their technology transfer functions.

NWI: Why did you select Demique elastomeric nonwovens for donation?

Corrine Sukiennik, director of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide's global technology transfer: K-C has a strong patent portfolio in the area of elastomeric nonwovens. Most of this technology is developed for low-cost components of single-use consumer products, such as diaper flaps in our Buggies diapers, side panels in our Pull-Up toilet training pant or Little Swimmers swim pant. The Demique elastomeric material, shows excellent elongation and good recovery attributes, however the costs do not meet requirements for use in single-use disposable diapers. We introduced Demique elastomeric nonwovens to other industries; we marketed rolls of the product. Unfortunately, the commercial opportunity required developing additional functionality, plus the reduction of selling costs ... activities that were not consistent with K-C's business focus and priorities at the time.

NWI: Why did you select the University of Tennessee as the recipient of this gift?

Jim Tanner, senior license associate, KCWW's global technology transfer team: Part of our process is to identify the right institution as a recipient of a technology. "Right" means having the expertise and interest to further advance the technology ... and more importantly extract commercial value from it. We initiated the donation process by inviting several non-profit institutions to review the technology and package and prepare a proposal as to how they would research, develop, commercialize and use the technology. Upon review and consideration of the proposals, including a review of the institutions' physical equipment and existence of a technical champion, The University of Tennessee was considered the best choice for the recipient of Demique elastomeric nonwoven material.

Also, the University of Tennessee has a unique history related to meltbowing technology. In 1997, the university received melt blowing equipment from Exxon Chemical Company. This machinery enabled UT researchers to develop new fabrics using both spunbond and meltblown materials. The fact that this equipment is now housed in the University's Textile and Nonwoven Development Center, otherwise known as TANDEC, was key.

NWI: What intellectual property was donated?

Mr. Tanner: In addition to the donated patents, the registered trademark Demique elastomeric nonwoven was also gifted, along with an inventory of the material. Also included, was the time of key Kimberly-Clark technical experts who worked for a three-month period on transferring the technology to TANDEC's six-inch and 20-inch experimental lines.

NWI: How has the technology been utilized at the University of Tennessee?

Dr. John Corner, department head of chemical engineering at the University of Tennessee: The Demique elastomeric nonwoven technology is already part of our education curriculum here at the university. Specifically, it is studied in the sophomore Fluid and Heat Transfer course and at the graduate level for Chemical Engineering and Materials Science majors. Fluid flow characteristics, air attenuation and other process parameters affecting the end performance of the polyether ester material are studied.

There have also been research activities here at the university with Demique elastomeric nonwovens. Upon receiving this donation, Dr. Simioan Petrovan, research associate professor in the College of Engineering, investigated the effects of meltblowing processing parameters on properties of single-layer nonwoven webs. His purpose was to develop applications for Demique elastomeric nonwoven for medical bandages. Based on his research, Dr. Petrovan presented a paper titled, "Stretch Bandages from Melt Blown Nonwoven Textiles," at the International Textile and Apparel Association meeting in August 2002.

NWI: What opportunities has this technology offered to UT students?

Mr. Atul Dahiya, UT Masters candidate in Materials Science: This donation has allowed me the opportunity to study the unique meltblowing process of polyether ester. Being able to characterize the elastomeric properties of polyether ester has allowed for new insights into the fundamental rheology behavior of this polymer and its spinning properties versus polypropylene, the polymer traditionally used with the melt blown process.

The paper titled, "Correlation between Process Parameters and Demique Nonwoven Web Properties," was recently presented at the Measurement Control and Engineering Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Atul Dahiya hopes to complete his research in July 2003.

NWI: What impact has this technology donation had from a university administration perspective?

Dr. Billie Collier, interim associate vice president of research at the University of Tennessee: This generous gift highlights the importance of research and development at the university and offers us many opportunities in basic research, as well as material and process development. The donation of Demique elastomeric nonwovens technology has already strengthened our internal programs and has attracted the interest of a number of companies to our Textile and Nonwoven Development Center (TANDEC) located here on the UT campus. It allows us another vehicle to demonstrate the strong interaction that our researchers have in textiles and chemical engineering with external companies in the nonwovens industry.

RELATED ARTICLE: Photomicrographs of Demique Produced Under Different Process Settings.

Die to Collector Distance = 16 inches

Collector Speed = 10

Basis Weight = 166 gsm

Die to Collector Distance = 8 inches

Collector Speed = 5

Basis Weight = 353 gsm

This article was the second part in a series examining technology licensing practices among corporations and universities. Please see NONWOVENS INDUSTRY, May 2003 to learn about technology donated to Clemson University.