Fibers, often longer synthetics or specialty fibers mixed with pulp, are dispersed at very low consistency and drained on an inclined wire, so the sheet forms evenly even with fibers far longer than paper fibers. The web is then bonded by heat, binder or water jets. Wetlaid processes make tea bag material, filter media, battery separators, glass mats and many flushable wipes.
Wetlaid line has the inclined wire at 0.02 percent consistency, so the dilution pumps are maxed out.
Long synthetic fibers need extreme dilution to stay dispersed, so wetlaid lines move far more water per ton of product than paper machines.
Also heard as
- wet-laid
- wet-formed
Related terms
Drylaid
Describes webs formed from dry staple fibers, chiefly by carding and by air laying.
Flushable
Describes wipes and similar products designed to break up and pass safely through toilets, drains and sewers.
Nonwoven
Fabric made directly from fibers or filaments locked together by needles, water jets, heat or binder instead of woven or knitted yarn.