Abstract: A process for the production of bulky, fiber-containing textile sheet material fills a material of loose fibers with a binding agent of an aqueous polymer dispersion containing a foaming adjuvant and puffs it up to a multiple of its original volume by the action of radiofrequency radiation in the range from 30 kHz to 30 GHz. The volume increase is then made permanent by drying. Even cellulosic fibers which formerly matted down when wet can be treated in the stated manner. The puffed textile sheet material is usable as padding for articles of clothing, for sound and heat insulation soft and resilient packing materials, clothing, protective padding and the like, but especially for products which are to absorb liquids to a relatively great extent.

Abstract: The present invention provides for an absorbent planar structure or so-called "sponge cloth" as well as for the method of making such a structure. The absorbent planar structure itself is permeated with pores and comprises a latex-bonded fiber material optionally reinforced with a woven or knit material, a layer of known foamed plastic, non-woven fabric or abrasive fleece. The method for making such a structure dispenses with conventional pore formers and is characterized by forming a foam of the latex and fiber materials by use of a suitable gaseous medium. The foam thus obtained, after homogeneous mixing, is applied to a substrate and the fiber-containing latex foam is then coagulated by heat action, resulting in an open-pore structure which is stabilized by subsequent drying and vulcanization.