Abstract: A method for making apertures in a web comprising providing a precursor web material; providing a pair of counter-rotating, intermeshing rollers, wherein a first roller comprises circumferentially-extending ridges and grooves, and a second roller comprises teeth being tapered from a base and a tip, the teeth being joined to the second roller at the base, the base of the tooth having a cross-sectional length dimension greater than a cross-sectional width dimension; and moving the web material through a nip of the counter-rotating, intermeshing rollers; wherein apertures are formed in the precursor web material as the teeth on one of the rollers intermesh with grooves on the other of the rollers.

Abstract: A multi-layer article having bonded first and second layers is described herein. The first layer has two plies and a third material disposed therebetween. The two plies are bonded together at a plurality of discrete bond sites. Bonding the plies forms an interior region between the plies. The second layer of the article preferably comprises a cellulosic web.

Abstract: A soft, fibrous material having excellent abrasion resistance and superior softness is made by relatively highly consolidating and then incrementally stretching a nonwoven material. The finished material is a nonwoven web having a plurality of discrete, spaced apart relatively high basis weight regions which are at least partially surrounded by at least one relatively low basis weight region. In one embodiment the soft, fibrous material is made from a nonwoven web having a consolidation area of at least about 30%, and the material has a bending rigidity (which correlates to softness) in a machine direction axis of bending of less than about 0.018 g·cm2/cm. In another embodiment, the soft, fibrous material is made from a nonwoven web having a consolidation area of at least about 30%, and the material has a fuzz removal value (which correlates to abrasion resistance) of less than about 0.30 mg/cm2.

Abstract: An apertured film web is disclosed. The web comprises a plurality of first regions having a first molecular orientation and a plurality of second regions having a second molecular orientation, the first and second regions being in an alternating and contiguous generally linear relationship in a first direction, the second molecular orientation being generally orthogonal to the first direction, and wherein the second region comprises openings defining apertures therein.

Abstract: A process for the continuous production of substantially purified lactide and lactide polymers from lactic acid or an ester of lactic acid including the steps of forming crude polylactic acid, preferably in the presence of a catalyst means in the case of the ester of lactic acid, to form a condensation reaction by-product and polylactic acid, and depolymerizing the polylactic acid in a lactide reactor to form crude lactide, followed by subsequent purification of the crude lactide in a distillation system. A purified lactide is then polymerized to form lactide polymers.

Abstract: A process for the continuous production of polylactide polymers from lactic acid which incorporates removal of water or a solvent carrier to concentrate the lactic acid feed followed by polymerization to a low-molecular-weight prepolymer. This prepolymer is fed to a reactor in which a catalyst is added to facilitate generation of lactide, the depolymerization product of polylactic acid. The lactide generated is continuously fed to a distillation system as a liquid or vapor wherein water and other impurities are removed. The resultant purified liquid lactide is fed directly to a polymerization process.

Abstract: A process for the continuous production of polylactide polymers from lactic acid which incorporates removal of water or a solvent carrier to concentrate the lactic acid feed followed by polymerization to a low-molecular-weight prepolymer. This prepolymer is fed to a reactor in which a catalyst is added to facilitate generation of lactide, the depolymerization product of polylactic acid. The lactide generated is continuously fed to a distillation system as a liquid or vapor wherein water and other impurities are removed. The resultant purified liquid lactide is fed directly to a polymerization process.