Preparation of functional nonwoven fabric "Kamiko" utilizing wasted tea leaves

Various fiber materials were mixed with wasted tea leaves to attempt the preparation of new "KAMIKO" materials. When konjac pastes was applied to the surface of compounded papers using hemp and wasted tea leaves, the paper properties increased in tensile index, bursting index, and stiffness. On the other hand, konjac pastes application was found to increase the air permeance of the papers. Konjac pastes application was also found to extend time required for the papers to absorb water droplets, showing a decrease in water absorbency. Furthermore, when the papers were sewed on a machine, konjac pastes application was found to improve seam strength of the papers by about 20 N. Moreover, the papers with konjac pastes applied were tested for deodorization effect using ammonia gas. The result showed that the papers containing even a small amount, 10wt%, of wasted tea leaves exhibited an excellent deodorization effect and that konjac pastes application affected the effect very little. The results presented above showed that the use of hemp greatly improved mechanical properties of compounded papers using wasted tea leaves, whereas konjac pastes application also effectively improved the papers in seam strength.