What Are The Quality Inspection Standards For PLA Non-woven Fabric?

The quality inspection standards for PLA non-woven fabrics should be combined with the characteristics of their raw materials (degradability, biosafety, etc.), application scenarios (medical and health care, packaging, agriculture, etc.), and the basic performance requirements of general non-woven fabrics. Currently, there is no globally unified dedicated standard, but relevant international, national and industry standards can be referred to, and specific indicators can be formulated in combination with product characteristics. The following are the main classifications of testing standards and core indicators: I. Basic performance testing standards (Common indicators for General nonwoven fabrics) These standards are applicable to all types of nonwoven fabrics, including PLA nonwoven fabrics, mainly focusing on physical and mechanical properties, appearance, and processing adaptability

1. International Standards (ISO)

ISO 9073 Series: General Testing Methods for Nonwoven Fabrics, covering multiple core indicators

ISO 9073-1: Definitions and Terminology (Clarifying the basic concepts of nonwoven fabrics).

ISO 9073-2: Determination of mass per unit area (weight in grams) (with an error of ≤5% to ensure material uniformity).

ISO 9073-3: Measurement of thickness (using a thickness gauge at a specific pressure to reflect fluffiness and structural density).

ISO 9073-4: Tensile strength and elongation at break (tested separately in the longitudinal and transverse directions to evaluate the tensile resistance of materials. For example, medical non-woven fabrics need to meet a strength of ≥10N/5cm).

ISO 9073-5: Tear resistance (Elmendorf method, which assesses the material's resistance to damage, and non-woven fabrics used for packaging usually have higher requirements). 

ISO 11040 series: Tests related to medical dressings, involving the air permeability and water absorption of non-woven fabrics (such as ISO 11040-4: Liquid absorbency test, applicable to medical care pads).

2. National Standard (China GB)

• GB/T 24218.1-2009: Textiles - Test methods for nonwovens - Part 1: Mass per unit Area (equivalent to ISO 9073-2).

• GB/T 24218.2-2009: Part 2: Thickness (specifies test conditions under different pressures, such as 0.5kPa for fluffy materials).

• GB/T 19277.1-2011: Determination of final aerobic biodegradability of materials under controlled composting conditions - Part 1: General methods (applicable to degradation performance testing of PLA, degradation rate calculated by measuring CO₂ release).

• GB/T 35795-2017: Biodegradable Plastic Shopping Bags (Specify the load-bearing and drop performance of PLA non-woven fabric used for shopping bags, such as no damage when the load-bearing capacity is ≥5kg)

Degradation Performance Testing Standards (Core Characteristic Indicators of PLA)

The degradability of PLA non-woven fabric is the key difference from traditional plastic non-woven fabric, and it must meet the following standards:

1. International Standard

• ISO 13432:2019: Packaging Requirements and Test Methods Compostable plastics (specified that under industrial composting conditions, the biodegradation rate within 6 months is ≥90%, and the content of heavy metals complies with the limit values, such as lead ≤50mg/kg).

• ASTM D6400-22: American Society for Testing and Materials standard, similar to ISO 13432, requires that the biodegradation rate in industrial composting be ≥90%, and disintegration (disintegration rate) be ≥90% (i.e., the material is broken into particles less than 2mm).

2. National Standards and Industry Standards

• GB/T 20197-2006: Definition, Classification, Marking and Degradation Performance Requirements for Biodegradable Plastics (Clearly stating that "biodegradable plastics" must be decomposed by microorganisms into CO₂ and water in a natural environment or under specific conditions, without toxic residues).

• QB/T 5661-2021: Fully biodegradable agricultural ground cover film (suitable for PLA non-woven fabric used in agriculture, with a biodegradation rate of ≥80% within 12 months under natural soil conditions, and light transmittance, weather resistance, etc. meeting agricultural requirements).

Summary

The quality inspection of PLA non-woven fabric requires a comprehensive consideration of basic physical properties (such as strength and thickness) and core degradation performance (such as biodegradation rate and disintegration). In actual testing, corresponding international, national or industry standards should be selected based on the product's application. When necessary, internal enterprise standards should be formulated to meet specific requirements.