The Arium technology from Polymer Group Inc. (PGI) produces a matrix of fibres that are predominately sized under one micron in diameter. The fibres can provide a higher surface area, biosafety and tunable porosity and can in turn improve absorbency, adsorption, opacity, softness, barrier protection, acoustic performance and high-efficiency filtration. The nonwovens produced are suitable for the healthcare and industrial markets. “Arium is a completely new technology platform for the industry that will enable us to meet the market need for increasingly cost-effective fabrics with improved performance,” said Veronica Hagen, PGI’s chief executive officer.
“While other processes can generate fibres at the submicron level, none can do it as efficiently, and with the same commercial level of throughputs, as Arium technology,” claimed Bob Dale, PGI’s senior vice president of research and development.
PGI has created a pilot line at its Waynesboro, Virginia, USA facility to produce fabrics using the Arium technology. The technology can stand alone or be retrofitted to PGI’s existing meltblown equipment.