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US-12618027-B2 - Dry wipe, a biodegradable packaging containing the dry wipe, an arrangement and a process for providing a wet wipe

US12618027B2US 12618027 B2US12618027 B2US 12618027B2US-12618027-B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dry wipe, a biodegradable packaging containing the dry wipe, an arrangement comprising the dry wipe and a dispenser container, and a process for providing a wet wipe. The dry wipe comprises a wipe substrate impregnated with at least one additive to be activated by addition of water, wherein the at least one additive is selected from the group consisting of a biocide, a surfactant and a care product, wherein the wipe substrate is configured for allowing a distribution of liquid, even when the dry wipe is stacked in a dispenser container.

Inventors

  • Henning Röttger

Assignees

  • GLATFELTER GERNSBACH GMBH

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20210226
Priority Date
20200227

Claims (19)

  1. 1 . A dry wipe comprising a wipe substrate impregnated with at least one additive to be activated by addition of water, wherein the at least one additive is selected from the group consisting of a biocide, a surfactant and a care product, wherein the wipe substrate is configured for allowing a distribution of liquid, even when the dry wipe is stacked in a dispenser container, wherein the wipe substrate is a biodegradable non-woven fabric comprising biodegradable fibers and pulp fibers, wherein at least a part of the biodegradable fibers is entangled with each other, wherein at least a part of the pulp fibers is covalently bonded to each other by at least one of the group consisting of a biodegradable binder, a biodegradable wet-strength agent and a biodegradable binder fiber, wherein the non-woven fabric is non-dispersible in water.
  2. 2 . The dry wipe according to claim 1 , wherein the biodegradable fibers comprise cellulosic fibers.
  3. 3 . The dry wipe according to claim 1 , wherein the biodegradable fibers comprise regenerated cellulose fibers selected from the group consisting of viscose and lyocell.
  4. 4 . The dry wipe according to claim 1 , wherein the pulp fibers are comprised in an amount of from 20 to 90 wt.-% based on the total weight of the non-woven fabric, and/or wherein the biodegradable fibers are comprised in an amount of from 10 to 80 wt.-% based on the total weight of the non-woven fabric.
  5. 5 . The dry wipe according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the pulp fibers is bonded to each other by a biodegradable binder.
  6. 6 . The dry wipe according to claim 5 , wherein the biodegradable binder is selected from the group consisting of chitosan, modified starch, cellulose derivatives, and protein based binders.
  7. 7 . The dry wipe according to claim 6 , wherein the biodegradable binder comprises a blend of carboxymethylcellulose and citric acid.
  8. 8 . The dry wipe according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the pulp fibers is bonded to each other by a biodegradable wet-strength agent.
  9. 9 . The dry wipe according to claim 8 , wherein the biodegradable wet-strength agent is selected from the group consisting of chitosan, modified starch and cellulose derivatives.
  10. 10 . The dry wipe according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the pulp fibers is bonded to each other by a biodegradable binder fiber.
  11. 11 . The dry wipe according to claim 10 , wherein the biodegradable binder fiber comprises a bicomponent fiber.
  12. 12 . The dry wipe according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one additive comprises a biocide.
  13. 13 . The dry wipe according to claim 12 , wherein the biocide comprises at least one of benzoic acid and a salt thereof.
  14. 14 . A biodegradable packaging containing the dry wipe according to claim 1 .
  15. 15 . The biodegradable packaging according to claim 14 , wherein the biodegradable packaging is made of a biodegradable material.
  16. 16 . The biodegradable packaging according to claim 15 , wherein the biodegradable packaging is made of glassine paper.
  17. 17 . An arrangement comprising: the dry wipe according to claim 1 , and a dispenser container adapted to accommodate the dry wipe and adapted to allow a distribution of a liquid so as to convert the dry wipe into a wet wipe, wherein the dispenser container has at least one opening adapted to allow addition of the liquid and adapted to allow dispensing of the wet wipe.
  18. 18 . A process for providing a wet wipe, the process comprising: placing the dry wipe according to claim 1 into a dispenser container, and adding a liquid containing water into the dispenser container such that the liquid comes into contact with the dry wipe.
  19. 19 . The process for providing a wet wipe according to claim 18 , wherein the dispenser container is adapted to accommodate the dry wipe and adapted to allow a distribution of a liquid so as to convert the dry wipe into a wet wipe, wherein the dispenser container has at least one opening adapted to allow addition of the liquid and adapted to allow dispensing of the wet wipe.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a U.S. national stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/054787, filed Feb. 26, 2021, which claims priority to European Application No. 20159834.9, filed Feb. 27, 2020, the entirety of each of which are incorporated by reference herein. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a dry wipe, a biodegradable packaging containing the dry wipe, an arrangement comprising the dry wipe and a dispenser container, and a process for providing a wet wipe. The dry wipe may in particular made of biodegradable materials. BACKGROUND Disposable wipes, such as wet toilet wipes or personal care wipes like baby wipes, facial wipes etc. are very popular for cleaning the skin of human bodies or facilities in the household because of their comfort for consumers and efficacy in cleaning. However, increasing concerns about plastic contamination of the environment create an increasing demand for fully compostable/biodegradable substrates for disposable wipes and similar products. In 2018, about 1.2 million tons of wipes have been used containing a plastic content of about 50%. Different plastic free substrates for wet wipes are known, but as the wipes are typically shipped in a ready to use wet state, these biodegradable substrates need to be treated with a biocide and packaged in a material providing the required barrier function to avoid evaporation of liquid and additives and to protect the wipes from bacteria, virus and fungi providing a shelf time of up to 3 years. The wet supply/storage format of the wipes is the root cause for the need to use a plastic packaging with advanced barrier function. Known compostable/biodegradable substrates, such as spunlaced substrates using 100% biodegradable fibers (viscose, tencel, cotton, etc.) or wetlaced substrates using a hydroentangled blend of biodegradable fibers (viscose, tencel, cotton) and pulp, are typically offered as ready to use wet wipes with plastic packaging. Some wipes are offered in a dry format in a plastic container and the lotion in a separate disperser to be added prior to use. This solution does not avoid the use of plastic packaging for the ready to use solution which needs to be protected from bacterial growth like wet wipes. In addition, this solution also does not provide the same user experience like ready to use wet wipe requiring application of liquid for each single use of the wipe. A method and an apparatus for evaluating the efficacy of a cleaning product is described in US 2013/0340541 A1. US 2015/0272836 A1 discloses wet and dry wipe products comprising a substrate and a stable emulsion, wherein the wipe is sized and configured to enable a user to clean a baby's entire body thereby obviating the need for a bath. EP 2 985 375 A1 discloses a dispersible non-woven fabric comprises natural pulp fibers in an amount of from 70 to 90 wt.-% based on the total weight of the non-woven fabric, wherein at least 20% of the natural pulp fibers have a fiber coarseness of from 1.0 to 2.0 dtex, and cellulosic fibers in an amount of from 10 to 30 wt.-% based on the total weight of the non-woven fabric, wherein at least a part of the pulp fibers and of the cellulosic fibers are entangled with each other. A kit for providing on-demand either a dry wipe, a wet wipe or a warm wet wipe is described in EP 2 151 171 A1. The kit comprises a first container having dry wipes disposed therein, a second container having a heat-generating composition disposed therein and a third container having a cleaning composition disposed therein. EP 2 692 923 A1 discloses a nonwoven fabric material comprising at least one layer of long fibres or of continuous filaments of a biodegradable material and at least one layer of fibers of a water-absorbent material, wherein the biodegradable material comprises polylactic acid in an amount greater than 10% by weight. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims at overcoming the above described problems and drawbacks. Thus, it may be an object of the present invention to supply a wipe in a manner such that the wipe can be stored on shelf dry and activated prior to use in a convenient way by just adding water and placing them in a re-useable dispenser ready for use in a convenient format like a package of traditional wet-wipes. The wipe substrate should provide enough capillary force to actively distribute the water homogenously in the package transferring the dry wipe to a ready to use wet wipe in order to allow the provision of the wipe in a dry format including all additives and biocides required for stabilization of the wipe after adding water. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventor has made diligent studies and has found that a dry wipe containing all ingredients like biocides or detergents required for the wet-wiping process may be provided in order to avoid the use of packaging material with barrier function only provided by plastic films, but maintain the