文章基本信息

标题：Reduced dispersibility of flushable wet wipes after wet storage
本地全文：下载
作者：Thomas Harter ; Ingo Bernt ; Stefanie Winkler 等
期刊名称：Scientific Reports
电子版ISSN：2045-2322
出版年度：2021
卷号：11
DOI：10.1038/s41598-021-86971-z
语种：English
出版社：Springer Nature
摘要：Scientific publications and newsfeeds recently focused on flushable wet wipes and their role in sewage system blockages. It is stated that although products are marked as flushable, they do not disintegrate after being disposed of via the toilet. In this work it is shown that wetlaid hydroentangled wet wipes lose their initially good dispersive properties during their storage in wet condition. As a consequence, we are suggesting to add tests after defined times of wet storage when assessing the flushability of wet wipes. Loss of dispersibility is found for both, wet wipes from industrial production and wipes produced on pilot facilities. We found it quite surprising that the wet wipes’ dispersibility is deteriorating after storage in exactly the same liquid they are dispersed in, i.e. water. This is probably why the effect of wet storage has not been investigated earlier. It is demonstrated that the deteriorating dispersibility of these wipes is linked to the used type of short cellulosic fibres — only wipes containing unbleached softwood pulp as short fibre component were preserving good dispersibility during wet storage. Possible mechanisms that might be responsible are discussed, e.g. long term fiber swelling causing a tightening of the fiber network, or surface interdiffusion.