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Catbridge has donated meltblown wipes to help with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup. The blown microfiber wipes, manufactured on the company’s new meltblown production machinery, went to a Florida nonprofit to help remove oil from animals on the state’s beaches.

Made of polypropylene, the donated meltblown wipes have a strong affinity for oil. The polypropylene attracts oil and the extremely fine meltblown fibers have lots of surface area to collect the oil on the fiber surface.

Meltblown material has also been used extensively for the filling in oil spill containment booms. Polypropylene meltblown fibers can adsorb significantly more oil than their weight, and they are also light enough to float on the water’s surface. The booms help contain the spill and also concentrate the oil so it can be skimmed or vacuumed.

More traditional uses for the ultrafine, high-performance meltblown microfiber include filters, industrial and consumer wipes, and hygiene products. Catbridge has had excellent results producing high-performance meltblown with commonly-used Z-N based polypropylene and also the new metallocene resins. The company builds a compact, easy-to-install meltblown line as well as a larger multi-die production line. These modular meltblown systems achieve impressive throughput, tensile strength, and elongation values.