Maintain stability of PLA fibers over time in an aqueous environment

Background
What we're looking for
What we can offer you
Who we are
Q&A

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Background

The applications for PLA in hygiene products would be expanded with greater shelf stability in humid or aqueous environments. The current loss of strength over time is much shorter than the required supply chain and shelf-life expectations. This is especially true when considering elevated 'box car' or warehouse temperatures into account where degradation is accelerated.

What we're looking for

Melt additives or post treatments that improve the shelf stability of PLA and other bio-polyesters while maintaining composability and are safe for use in hygiene product applications.

Shelf stability here is defined by maintaining ultimate tensile strength in a nonwoven over time in a humid or aqueous environment and temperatures up to 130F.

Mechanisms that maintain physical properties such as sealing/bond strength, tensile and elongation to break are of interest.

Solutions of interest include:

Fiber manufacturing techniques that prevent fiber property loss over time.
Hygienic wipe formulation component.
Melt processable additive stable at temperatures up to 230C.
Topical fabric treatment.

Our must-have requirements are:

Compliant with requirements for close to body contact and does not contain components from the Kimberly-Clark Chemical of Concern list (attached).
Evidence or rationale supporting compostability (ASTM D6400 preferred)
Economics aligned to single use consumer hygiene applications.
Rationale to scale for commercial application within 3-5yrs.
How do we want them to evaluate the solution? Time/temp/humidity

Our nice-to-have's are:

Access or line of sight to commercial scale-up in support of 100-5,000MT of PLA annually.
No impact on color or odor of the PLA fabric.

What's out of scope:

Non-aqueous solutions
Packaging only solutions

Acceptable technology readiness levels (TRL):

Levels 3-9

What we can offer you

Eligible partnership models:

Co-developmentLicensingSponsored researchSupply/purchase

Benefits:

Tools and Technologies

Extrusion and spinning

Compounds and Reagents

base bio-polyesters

Facilities and Services

ASTM testing

Networking

Parters for spinning and treatment is needed

Who we are

Our passion for creating essentials for a better life for people everywhere has driven us to invent five of our eight major consumer product categories: facial tissue, paper towels, toilet paper on a roll, feminine pads and disposable training pants.

At Kimberly-Clark, the insights gained from our customers, shoppers and users drive us to continuously explore new ways to create innovative product and design solutions across our brands and increase our speed to market with new-to-the-world essential solutions.

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