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EP-4734899-A1 - RELEASE LINER AND WRAPPER FOR A SANITARY ARTICLE

EP4734899A1EP 4734899 A1EP4734899 A1EP 4734899A1EP-4734899-A1

Abstract

A sanitary article (1), such as a sanitary napkin or a pantiliner, comprising a topsheet (2) and a backsheet (7), and extending in a longitudinal direction (L) and in a transverse direction (T). The sanitary article (1) having a first and a second longitudinal side edge, a front edge and a rear edge, the backsheet (7) being provided with a coated adhesive region, the coated adhesive region being releasably attached to a release liner (6). The release liner (6) comprising a sheet of material, wherein the sheet of material (2) comprises natural fibres in mixture with reinforcing fibres, the reinforcing fibres having a greater length-weighted average fibre length than the natural fibres.

Inventors

  • DAHL, ANNIKA
  • WÄSTLUND-KARLSSON, Jan

Assignees

  • Essity Hygiene and Health Aktiebolag

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230630

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A sanitary article (1 ), such as a sanitary napkin or a pantiliner, the sanitary article (1) comprising a topsheet (2) and a backsheet (7), the sanitary article (1) extending in a longitudinal direction (L) and in a transverse direction (T), the sanitary article (1) having a first and a second longitudinal side edge, a front edge and a rear edge, the backsheet (7) being provided with a coated adhesive region, the coated adhesive region being releasably attached to a release liner (6), the release liner (6) comprising a sheet of material, wherein the sheet of material (2) comprises natural fibres in mixture with reinforcing fibres, the reinforcing fibres having a greater length-weighted average fibre length than the natural fibres.
  2. 2. A sanitary article (1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet of material comprises 50 to 99 wt%, preferably 70 to 99 wt%, more preferably 85 to 99 wt%, of the natural fibres and 1 to 50 wt%, preferably 1 to 30 wt%, more preferably 1 to 20 wt%, of the reinforcing fibres.
  3. 3. A sanitary article (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the natural fibres are natural cellulosic fibres, preferably wood fibres, or fibers from non-wood plant material.
  4. 4. A sanitary article (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the natural fibres have a length-weighted average fibre length of 0.5 to 5.0 mm, preferably 0.8 to 3.5 mm.
  5. 5. A sanitary article (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reinforcing fibres are of non-fossil origin.
  6. 6. A sanitary article (1 ) according any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reinforcing fibres are selected from polylactide fibres, glycolic acid polymer fibres, polyvinyl alcohol fibres, bicomponent fibres comprising thermoplastic polymers, non-wood natural fibres, manmade cellulosic fibres, and combinations thereof.
  7. 7. A sanitary article (1) according to claim 6, wherein the reinforcing fibres are manmade cellulosic fibres, preferably manmade fibres formed of cellulose of natural origin, more preferably manmade fibres formed of cellulose that has not been chemically modified, such as viscose, rayon or lyocell, most preferably viscose.
  8. 8. A sanitary article (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reinforcing fibres have a length-weighted average fibre length of 3 to 100 mm, preferably 5 to 30 mm, more preferably 6 to 15 mm.
  9. 9. A sanitary article (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the natural fibres and reinforcing fibres are randomly oriented.
  10. 10. A sanitary article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of material further comprises a binder selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohols, polyvinyl acetate dispersions, ethyl vinyl alcohol dispersions, polyurethane dispersions, acrylic latexes, styrene butadiene dispersions, binders based on finely divided cellulose, binders based on cellulose derivatives, biopolymers and combinations thereof, preferably acrylic latexes.
  11. 11 . A sanitary article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of material has a basis weight of 20 to 40 g/m 2 , preferably 25 to 35 g/m 2 .
  12. 12. A sanitary article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of material (2) has a stretch of 0,5 to 7 % and/or an air permeability of 0 to 1000 l/m 2 /s.
  13. 13. A sanitary article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of material has a release coating, and the coated adhesive region of the sanitary article (1) is releasably attached to the release coating.
  14. 14. A sanitary article (1) according to claim 13, wherein the release coating comprises silicone.
  15. 15. A sanitary article (1) according to claims 13 or 14, wherein the release force of the release coating is 4.5 to 5.0 N/m as determined with the method described herein.
  16. 16. A sanitary article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the release liner (6) covers part of the backsheet (7) of the sanitary article (1).
  17. 17. A sanitary article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the release liner (6) covers the entire surface of the backsheet (7) or the sanitary article (1).
  18. 18. A sanitary article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sanitary article (1) is folded along at least one transversal folding axes, and the folded sanitary article (1 ) is arranged in a wrapper (4), the wrapper (4) comprising a sheet of wrapping material (21) being folded such as to enclose the sanitary article (1), and wherein the sheet of wrapping material (21) comprises natural fibres in mixture with reinforcing fibres, the reinforcing fibres having a greater length-weighted average fibre length than the natural fibres.
  19. 19. The sanitary article (1) according to claim 18, wherein the wrapper (4) is sealed to enclose the sanitary article (1) by means of mechanical sealing, such as embossing or ultrasonic welding, by heat sealing, by an adhesive, or by a combination thereof.
  20. 20. A sanitary article (1) according to claims 18 or 19, wherein the sheet of material (21) comprises 50 to 99 wt%, preferably 70 to 99 wt%, more preferably 85 to 99 wt%, of the natural fibres and 1 to 50 wt%, preferably 1 to 30 wt%, more preferably 1 to 20 wt%, of the reinforcing fibres.

Description

RELEASE LINER AND WRAPPER FOR A SANITARY ARTICLE Technical field The present application relates to a release liner and a wrapper for a sanitary article, such as a sanitary napkins or panty liner. Background Disposable sanitary articles, such as sanitary napkins and panty liners, are intended to be worn in underwear. To avoid the disposable sanitary article to move around in the underwear during use the disposable sanitary article is commonly provided with adhesive region(s) on the backsheet, to attach the sanitary article to the underwear. The adhesive region(s) provided on the disposable sanitary article is protected by a release liner covering the adhesive regions during manufacturing, storage, and handling of the sanitary article. Release liners are commonly made of plastic material. There is however a need for more sustainable solutions. Summary of the invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution to the above- mentioned needs. This object, as well as other objects being apparent to a skilled person studying the present description, are achieved by a a sanitary article, such as a sanitary napkin or a pantiliner, the sanitary article comprising a topsheet and a backsheet, the sanitary article extending in a longitudinal direction and in a transverse direction, the sanitary article having a first and a second longitudinal side edge, a front edge and a rear edge, the backsheet being provided with a coated adhesive region, the coated adhesive region being releasably attached to a release liner and the release liner comprising a sheet of material, wherein the sheet of material comprises natural fibres in mixture with reinforcing fibres, the reinforcing fibres having a greater length-weighted average fibre length than the natural fibres. It has thus been found that a release liner made from a sheet of material comprising natural fibres in mixture with reinforcing fibres, wherein the reinforcing fibres have a greater length-weighted average fibre length than the natural fibres, provides a sustainable solution to the above-mentioned needs. The disposable sanitary article may be a sanitary napkin or panty liner. The sanitary article may comprise an absorbent core between the topsheet and the backsheet. Disposable sanitary articles are well known in the art and therefore not described more in detail herein. Any disposable sanitary article could be used with the release liner of the present invention. The coated adhesive region may cover all or part(s) of an outer surface, i.e., a garment-facing surface, of the disposable sanitary article, for example in the form of stripes across said surface. The material may comprise 50 to 99 wt%, preferably 70 to 99 wt%, more preferably 85 to 99 wt%, of the natural fibres and 1 to 50 wt%, preferably 1 to 30 wt%, more preferably 1 to 20 wt%, of the reinforcing fibres. The natural fibres may be natural cellulosic fibres, preferably wood fibres, wheat straw fibres or bamboo fibres, more preferably wood fibres. Alternatively or additionally, the natural fibres may originate from wood pulp, non-wood plant material, and combinations thereof. The origin of the natural fibres may for example be selected from chemical pulp, such as sulphate and sulphite pulp, organosolv pulp; recycled fibres; and/or mechanical pulp including e.g. refiner mechanical pulp (RMP), pressurized refiner mechanical pulp (PRMP), pretreatment refiner chemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp (P-RC APMP), thermomechanical pulp (TMP), thermomechanical chemical pulp (TMCP), high-temperature TMP (HT-TMP) RTS-TMP, alkaline peroxide pulp (APP), alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp (APMP), alkaline peroxide thermomechanical pulp (APTMP), thermopulp, groundwood pulp (GW), stone groundwood pulp (SGW), pressure groundwood pulp (PGW), super pressure groundwood pulp (PGW-S), thermo groundwood pulp (TGW), thermo stone groundwood pulp (TSGW), chemimechanical pulp (CMP), chemirefinermechanical pulp (CRMP), chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP), high-temperature CTMP (HT-CTMP), sulphite- modified thermomechanical pulp (SMTMP), reject CTMP (CTMPR), groundwood CTMP (G- CTMP), semichemical pulp (SC), neutral sulphite semi chemical pulp (NSSC), high-yield sulphite pulp (HYS), biomechanical pulp (BRMP), pulps produced according to the OPCO process, explosion pulping process, Bi-Vis process, dilution water sulfonation process (DWS), sulfonated long fibres process (SLF), chemically treated long fibres process (CTLF), long fibre CMP process (LFCMP), Kraft wood pulp, and modifications and combinations thereof. The pulp may be a bleached or non-bleached pulp. The wood fibres or wood pulp may originate from hardwood or softwood, including birch, beech, aspen such as European aspen, alder, eucalyptus, maple, acacia, mixed tropical hardwood, pine such as loblolly pine, fir, hemlock, larch, spruce such as Black spruce or Norway spruce, and mixtures thereof. Suitably fibres or pulp originating from eucalyptus or pine i