In modern industry and daily life, non-woven fabrics are almost everywhere—from familiar medical masks and wet wipes to geotextiles and agricultural covers used in engineering construction, as well as packaging, furniture, and home textile materials. According to different production processes, non-woven fabrics can generally be classified into spunbond, air through, needled, meltblown, and spunlace types. Among them, needled non-woven fabrics, known for their high strength, adjustable thickness, and pronounced structural characteristics, occupy an important position in applications such as geotextiles, horticultural planting, filtration materials, and automotive interiors.
PLA Needled Non-woven Fabric is made from polylactic acid staple fibers. Through the needling process, fibers are mechanically entangled and reinforced to form a high-strength, porous, and highly structured non-woven material. Compared with non-woven fabrics produced by other processes, needled fabrics are generally more durable and robust.
Advantages and Characteristics of PLA Needled Non-woven Fabric and Its Application Fields
1.Environmentally Friendly and Biodegradable
PLA is derived from renewable plant resources and is biodegradable under industrial composting conditions, making it a green alternative material for engineering, agriculture, packaging, and other fields.
2.Strong Structure and Good Loft
The needling process gives the material excellent tensile strength, tear resistance, and abrasion resistance, while maintaining a certain thickness and loft, making it suitable for various functional structural materials.
3.Good Air Permeability and Moisture–Heat Management
The porous structure provides excellent breathability and moisture dissipation, suitable for covering, interlayers, insulation, and similar uses.
4.Thermal Insulation and Sound Absorption Properties
In construction, home furnishing, and industrial auxiliary materials, it can be used as a structural layer or cushioning layer.
5.Natural Antibacterial Properties and Adhesive-Free Process
PLA itself has high safety and is a naturally derived material with antibacterial properties, offering users a safer and more comfortable experience.
Overview of Applications of PLA Needled Non-woven Fabric
Needled non-woven fabrics are widely suitable for industrial, agricultural, engineering, protective, packaging, and home furnishing applications. Thanks to their biodegradable advantages, they perform particularly well in geotextile and horticultural planting applications.
What Are the Main Functions of “Agricultural Non-woven Fabrics”?
In agriculture and horticulture, non-woven fabrics are often referred to as “agricultural non-woven fabrics” or “geotextiles.” They are widely used in agriculture and horticulture, mainly serving to create a better crop growth environment through physical methods such as covering, isolation, and protection.
Applications of Polylactic Acid (PLA) Needled Non-woven Fabric in Agriculture and Horticultural Planting
1.Covering and Thermal Insulation
Applications: Ground cover films/fabrics, thermal insulation quilts, floating row covers
Functions: Heat preservation and frost protection; regulation of soil temperature; providing a more suitable growth temperature for crops to promote earlier market entry.
2.Weed Suppression and Weed Control
Applications: Weed control fabric, horticultural ground fabric
Functions: Blocking sunlight to control weed growth, reducing the use of herbicides and labor costs.
3.Seedling Raising and Cultivation
Applications: Seedling fabrics, biodegradable planting bags, cultivation mats
Functions: Water retention and air permeability to improve germination rates; convenient transplanting, with bags that naturally degrade and can be planted directly into the soil; used as cultivation mats for strawberries, melons, and other crops to provide support and protection.
4.Soil Protection and Ecological Engineering
Applications: Slope protection fabric, pasture cover fabric, ecological blankets
Functions: Preventing erosion and stabilizing topsoil; providing a moisture-retentive and warm microenvironment for seed germination and seedling growth to improve survival rates; natural degradation without polluting land or the natural environment.
5.Physical Plant Protection
Applications: Fruit and vegetable protective layers, insect nets, hail nets
Functions: Directly wrapping fruits or constructing frames to isolate external damage; creating localized microenvironments that can sometimes help improve fruit color and surface appearance.
Applications Beyond Agriculture and Horticulture
In addition to agricultural and horticultural uses, PLA Needled Non-woven Fabric can also be applied in the following scenarios:
1.Ecological Engineering: Greening, Landscape Construction, and Soil & Water Conservation
Examples include lightweight geotextiles, slope greening base materials, surface cover layers, landscape engineering ecological fabrics, and anti-scour protection layers.
Its biodegradable properties help realize the ecological engineering concept of “from nature, back to nature.”
2.Sustainable Packaging and Cushioning Materials
The lofty structure and three-dimensional texture of needled fabrics make them ideal for cushioning fragile items, premium packaging linings, and handicraft protection materials, as well as cultural and creative gift packaging and reusable eco-friendly packaging.
The PLA material enables true sustainability from the source.
3.Home and Lifestyle Applications
With stable structure, comfortable loft, and natural hand feel, PLA Needled Non-woven Fabric can also be used in carpets, soft sound insulation materials, pet products, home furnishing fillings, and cultural and creative materials.
Main Products and Services of eSUN
eSUN focuses on the development of polylactic acid fibers and their applications, providing PLA fiber and non-woven material solutions, including PLA staple fibers, filaments, non-woven fabrics, and yarn products. In particular, eSUN offers differentiated PLA fibers such as bicomponent fibers and three-dimensional crimped fibers, and can customize fiber and non-woven fabric products according to customer needs.
eSUN’s PLA staple fibers can be used to produce PLA Needled Non-woven Fabric, including staple fiber geotextiles in the weight range of 60 g/m² to 500 g/m², as well as other related application products. The production processes follow those of traditional materials (such as polyester and polypropylene). Available product colors include white, coffee brown, and grass green, with support for other customized colors.
