• Login
    • Join
  • Subscribe Free
    • Magazine
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Exclusives
    • Applications
    • Technology
    • Market
    • Other
    • Top 40
    • Buyers Guide
    • Hygiene Directory
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Exclusives
  • Applications
  • Technology
  • Market
  • Other
  • Top 40
  • Buyers Guide
  • Hygiene Directory
  • Current / Back Issues
    Features
    Editorial
    Columns
    Digital Edition
    Southeast Asia Edition
    eNewsletter Archive
    Editorial Guidelines
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    eBook
    Top Features
    Moist Toilet Wipes Lead 2024 Growth, Baby Wipes Decline, and General-Purpose Wipes Bounce Back

    Dissolvable Wipes. Will They Be the Industry’s Next Big Thing?

    Loo Wipes Feature Recyclable Packaging

    Roofing & Construction Update

    Needlepunch Market Report
    Company Cameo
    Financial News
    Machinery Equipment
    New Products
    Nonwovens News
    Patent Review
    People in the News
    Supplier News
    Top News
    Live From Shows
    Top News
    SGN Holds Grand Opening for Rabigh Expansion

    Avgol Incorporates Lamination Line in Mocksville Investment

    Ontex Introduces of 360° Anti-Leak Barriers in Diapers

    Wacker Announces Promotion

    INDA Supply Report Shows Continued Growth in North America
    Nonwovens Insights
    Online Exclusives
    Adult Incontinence
    Absorbent Core
    Antimicrobials
    Apparel
    Automotive and Transportation
    Face Masks
    Chemicals / Adhesives
    Construction
    Contract Services
    Diaper, Baby
    Electronics
    Feminine Hygiene
    Fibers
    Filtration
    Flame Retardance
    Geotextile / Agrotextile
    Home Products
    Hygiene Film/Components
    Industrial / Institutional
    Inspection / Quality Control
    Machinery and Equipment
    Medical
    Wipes

    Ontex Introduces of 360° Anti-Leak Barriers in Diapers

    Baby2Baby Expands Partnership with Huggies

    Autoneum Acquires Chinese Automotive Supplier

    Pull-Ups Debuts Potty Training App

    Harrisons Launches Industrial Range of Wipes
    Air Through Bonding
    Airlaid
    Carded/Carding
    Chemical Bonded
    Composite
    Meltblown
    Needlepunch
    Nanotechnology
    Spunbond
    Spunbond/Spunmelt
    Spunlace
    Thermal Bonded
    Wetlaid

    SGN Holds Grand Opening for Rabigh Expansion

    SGN Introduces Next Generation Spunbond

    KTEX Nonwovens to Showcase Innovations

    SGN Offers Next Generation Nonwoven Material

    Elixxr to Launch Pulp-Based Nonwovens
    China
    Eastern Europe/Russia
    India
    Middle East/North Africa
    North America
    Pacific Rim
    South/Central America
    Turkey
    Western Europe

    Autoneum Acquires Chinese Automotive Supplier

    China's Nonwovens Output Records the Largest Post-Pandemic Growth

    Trützschler India Relocates Manufacturing Plant

    Optima Expands in India

    Supreme Group Acquires Thai JV Company
    Associations
    Contracts / Awards
    Education
    Facilities / Capacity
    Green / Sustainability
    Legal / Regulatory
    Market Data
    Flushability
    Mergers and Acquisitions
    Product Improvement / Innovation
    R&D/Basic Research
    Shows / Events

    Autoneum Acquires Chinese Automotive Supplier

    Cottonsie Launches Disposable Cotton Diaper

    IDEA, FiltXpo Held in Miami Beach

    Sumitomo Acquires ActivStyle

    Trützschler India Relocates Manufacturing Plant
    Chart
    Companies
    All Companies
    Categories
    Company Profiles
    Add New Company
    International Buyers Guide Companies
    Investkonsult Sweden

    Herrmann Ultrasonics, Inc.

    Welspun Global Brands Ltd

    Dukane Center of Excellence for Personal Care, Nonwovens and Packaging

    ELSNER
    Brands
    Brand Owners
    • Magazine
      • Current / Back Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Columns
      • Digital Edition
      • Southeast Asia Edition
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Editorial Guidelines
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • Breaking News
    • Buyers Guide
      • All Companies
      • Categories
      • Company Profiles
      • Add Your Company
    • Applications
      • Absorbent Core
      • Adult Incontinence
      • Antimicrobials
      • Apparel
      • Automotive and Transportation
      • Chemicals / Adhesives
      • Construction
      • Contract Services
      • Diaper, Baby
      • Electronics
      • Feminine Hygiene
      • Fibers
      • Filtration
      • Flame Retardance
      • Geotextile / Agrotextile
      • Home Products
      • Hygiene Film/Components
      • Industrial / Institutional
      • Inspection / Quality Control
      • Machinery and Equipment
      • Medical
      • Wipes
      • Face Masks
    • Technology
      • Air Through Bonding
      • Airlaid
      • Carded/Carding
      • Chemical Bonded
      • Composite
      • Meltblown
      • Needlepunch
      • Nanotechnology
      • Spunbond
      • Spunlace
      • Thermal Bonded
      • Wetlaid
      • Spunbond/Spunmelt
    • Market
      • China
      • Eastern Europe/Russia
      • India
      • Middle East/North Africa
      • North America
      • Pacific Rim
      • South/Central America
      • Turkey
      • Western Europe
    • Other
      • Associations
      • Contracts / Awards
      • Education
      • Facilities / Capacity
      • Green / Sustainability
      • Legal / Regulatory
      • Market Data
      • Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Product Improvement / Innovation
      • R&D/Basic Research
      • Shows / Events
      • Flushability
    • Top 40 Companies
      • Chart
      • Companies
    • Online Exclusives
    • Slideshows
    • Hygiene Directory
      • Brands
      • Brand Owners
    • Experts Opinions
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Infographics
    • eBook
    • Whitepapers
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live From Show Events
      • Webinars
      • Live From Asian Connections
    • Jobs
    • Resources
      • Suppliers Gallery
      • Literature Showcase
      • Web Showcase
      • Home Page Showcase
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Breaking News

    NIRI Moves off Leeds Campus, Invests In New Equipment

    Investment reflects expansion of nonwovens across multiple technology platforms

    05.24.18
    The Nonwovens Innnovation & Research Institute (NIRI) has invested significantly in a range of new equipment. The U.K.-based institute was able to expand following its move off of the University of Leeds campus to a new facility. The expansion will allow NIRI, which has already completed 450 projects for more than 200 clients, to expand its scope to better help develop better-performing products.
     
    Using Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to demonstrate the innovation process, each project undertaken by NIRI – whether consultancy for commercial clients or co-funded joint ventures – is evaluated against the parameters for each technology level and then assigned a TRL rating based on the project’s progress.  NIRI’s expertise is evidenced in its focus on the ‘valley of death’ stage, the point of no return from which many novel technologies fail to progress and the point at which the Institute’s expertise in developing proof-of-concepts and prototypes into commercially viable products—can be seen.  The investment in new facilities includes a range of equipment, which are already helping NIRI’s clients through the increased ability to develop, manufacture and test new products.
     
    The equipment includes an Inovenso NE300 electrospinner, responding to the increasing use of nanofibers across a whole range of sectors.  A laboratory scale electrospinning unit, able to produce uniform nanofibrous structures at an area of up to ~24x37cm and is designed to be compatible with a broad range of polymers including PA, PET, PVA and PU and various solvent systems.  The equipment applied voltage can be altered from 0–40kV, with the capability to alter the distance-to-collector from 3.5-23.5cm.  The unit works on a closed volumetric feed system to minimize solvent evaporation and is capable of utilizing one to nine of its nozzles.  This allows small-scale investigation and parameter optimization, before scaling to larger sample sizes.
     
    The center’s new Perfojet flatbed hydroentanglement pilot line can work with widths ~35cm and features enough flexibility for one to three injectors to be utilized with a varying hydro-entanglement pressure of 20-180 bars, at belt speeds of 0-22 m/min.  With various jet strip diameters available to NIRI, from 90-140 µm, key hydro-entanglement processing parameters’ adjustment allows the degree of entanglement to be tailored to specified requirements.
     
    NIRI’s new Phenom-Pro SEM is ideal for imaging nonwoven structures at micro-scale.  With an acceleration voltage of 5-10kV, high resolution images can be produced without the need for an additional conductive coating.  The SEM provides a powerful tool for understanding the characteristics of a nonwoven fabric, including; fibre orientation, manufacturing methods and blend composition.  With the aid of an integrated software package, NIRI can produce fibre diameter distributions and surface pore area distributions autonomously.
     
    Investment in a new liquid extrusion capillary flow porometer, a Porolux 100FW, will help NIRI’s clients through the quick quantification of through-pore diameters present in a nonwoven structure.  The equipment uses gas-liquid extrusion to detect the smallest, mean flow and largest pore diameters while providing a relative air-flow distribution through the detected diameter range. The Porolux 100FW has the potential to measure through-pore diameters ranging from 0.43-500µm, making it ideal for characterising the pore sizes of a broad range of nonwoven media.
     
    NIRI have responded to continued growth in the hygiene sector, where the balance of wet strength and user comfort  as well as biodegradability and dispersibility are important attributes. Its new liquid strike through time and re-wet testing equipment is designed in accordance to NWSP 070.7.RO (15) and NWSP 070.8.RO (15).  This can accurately measure the penetration time for successive insults of a desired liquid through a sample’s surface in conjunction with the sample’s resistance to release liquid to its surface under loading.  These measurements are particularly pertinent when analysing hygiene products, and considering end user comfort.  A new fluff pulp specific volume and absorption tester SCAN-test, designed in accordance to SCAN-C 33:80, measures the specific volume of a pulp fluff specimen in conjunction with its absorbent capacity and the speed of a desired liquid under a standard load. 
     
    Building on the expertise of Professor Stephen Russell, leader of University of Leeds’ Nonwovens Research Group and Technical Director at NIRI, the Institute’s investment in new facilities and new equipment reflects the expansion of nonwoven technologies across a vast range of sectors, while responding to an ever-increasing demand for product development and enhancement, cost-reduction and quality improvement for existing products, identification and evaluation of new markets, and the reduction of environmental impact. The NIRI team consists of highly qualified technical textile scientists with industrial experience and has a proven record of helping companies grow their business across many sectors including; medical, hygiene, filtration and transport.
     
    Dr Matthew Tipper, business director at NIRI, says, “With over 10 years’ track record in successful R&D, helping clients develop and improve products and processes across numerous sectors, this further investment in testing and production equipment enhances our extensive facilities, building on our research excellence and further helping realise the business imperatives of our industry collaborators and commercial clients.”
     
     
    Related Searches
    • manufacturing
    • extrusion
    • media
    • nonwovens
    Related Knowledge Center
    • Facilities/Capacity
    • Machinery and Equipment
    • R&D/Basic Research
    Suggested For You
    Freudenberg Performance Materials Freudenberg Performance Materials
    Indorama to Acquire Major Stake in Avgol Indorama to Acquire Major Stake in Avgol
    ANEX 2018: Exhibitor Preview ANEX 2018: Exhibitor Preview
    ANEX 2018: Conference Session Announced ANEX 2018: Conference Session Announced
    Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH
    Nominations Open for Hygienix Innovation Award Nominations Open for Hygienix Innovation Award
    Drylock Expands European Production Drylock Expands European Production
    Underpants-Type Disposable Diaper Having Side Deal Sections with Welded Regions of Differing Densiti Underpants-Type Disposable Diaper Having Side Deal Sections with Welded Regions of Differing Densiti
    Essity Sets Out on Its Own Essity Sets Out on Its Own
    Spunlace Market Report Spunlace Market Report
    Winner Wins in Hygiene Winner Wins in Hygiene
    Xamax Industries, Inc. Xamax Industries, Inc.
    Carezza Carezza
    Nonwovens In Automotives Nonwovens In Automotives

    Related Buyers Guide Companies

    • Apparel | Filtration
      Freudenberg Performance Materials

      Freudenberg Performance Materials

      ...
      Sabine, Duttenhofer 05.28.19

    • Meltblown | Mergers and Acquisitions | Middle East/North Africa | Spunbond/Spunmelt
      Indorama to Acquire Major Stake in Avgol

      Indorama to Acquire Major Stake in Avgol

      Chemical giant to purchase 65% of the nonwovens producer
      05.13.18

    • ANEX 2018: Exhibitor Preview

      ANEX 2018: Exhibitor Preview

      The global nonwovens industry will meet in Tokyo, Japan next month. Here is a look at what some exhibitors plan to showcase.
      Karen McIntyre, Editor 05.04.18


    • Shows/Events

      ANEX 2018: Conference Session Announced

      Speakers will discuss nonwovens’ role across several categories.
      05.04.18

    • Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH

      Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH

      ...
      Isabel Ramor 05.03.18

    Loading, Please Wait..
    Breaking News
    • SGN Holds Grand Opening for Rabigh Expansion
    • Avgol Incorporates Lamination Line in Mocksville Investment
    • Ontex Introduces of 360° Anti-Leak Barriers in Diapers
    • Wacker Announces Promotion
    • INDA Supply Report Shows Continued Growth in North America
    View Breaking News >
    CURRENT ISSUE

    May 2025

    • 2025 Company Capabilities
    • View More >