Abstract: An improved fibrous polyacrylonitrile mixture for use in friction products enables the production of low resiliency preforms by mixing an additive with a polyacrylonitrile wet gel. The additive is incorporated into the fiber in extremely large amounts. The additive is a member selected from the group consisting of:(a) polyethylene glycol esters of pelargonic acid; or(b) polyethylene glycol esters of enanthic, caprylic or capric acids; or(c) blends of polyethylene glycol esters of enanthic, caprylic, pelargonic, or capric acids; or(d) blends of polyethylene glycol esters of carboxylic acids derived from natural products containing at least 50% by weight of carboxylic acids containing less than 14 carbon atoms; or(e) reaction products of ethylene oxide and carboxylic acid amides wherein at least 70% of the acids from which the amide is derived contain between 16 and 20 carbon atoms.

Abstract: This process for making antistatic filaments utilizes a specific mixture of compounds in order to suffuse electrically conductive particles into a filamentary polymeric substrate by forwarding the substrate through a grooved roll-type mix applicator. The mixture comprises a dispersion of the electrically conductive particles in liquid solvent which is a mixture of formic acid and a member selected from the group consisting of an amide, a carboxylic acid other than formic acid, an alcohol, an ester, a ketone, an ether, and a hydrocarbon. The process provides advantages over the prior art in permitting the use of high processing speeds, enabling easy stringup, and allowing the use of knotty and/or slubby filamentary substrates.