The viscose fiber Leonardo from the Bavarian specialty fiber manufacturer Kelheim Fibres GmbH is an extremely smooth and flat viscose fiber with a width to thickness ratio of up to 1:40. This geometry with parallel sides gives the fiber its unique characteristics: In wet laid nonwovens, Leonardo scores with skin friendliness and high liquid storage capacity, typical properties of viscose fibers, which are further improved in Leonardo.
In contrast to other viscose fibers, however, Leonardo also offers high transparency, a property that is much sought after in cosmetic facial sheet masks in the Asian market. Here, transparency not only suggests a high load of moisture, but it also enables a discreet use of the mask even in everyday situations.
But transparency also offers benefits for other nonwovens products, such as for tea bags where the contents can be clearly seen. The possible applications of Leonardo are not limited to nonwovens either: processed into effect yarns, the transparent Leonardo fiber can provide a special look in textiles.
Leonardo, as all viscose specialties from Kelheim Fibres, is made of 100% renewable cellulose and is therefore fully biodegradable.
Dr. Ingo Bernt from the Bavarian fiber expert’s R&D team will present Leonardo at this year’s Global Fiber Congress at Dornbirn. For further discussions and with a broad range of other specialty fibers, he and his colleagues will be available at Kelheim Fibres’ info point at the conference.