MXPA00012989A - Liquid transport member for high flux rates between a port region and an opening - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a liquid transport member with significantly improved liquid handling capability, which has at least one bulk region and a wall region that completely circumscribes said bulk region, and which comprises a membrane port region and an open port region, whereby the bulk region has an average fluid permeability kb which is higher than the average fluid permeability kp of the membrane port region.

Description

MEMBER OF TRANSPORTATION OF LIQUID FOR HIGH FLOW SPEED BETWEEN A PORT REGION AND AN OPENING FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to liquid transport members useful for a wide range of applications that require a high flow rate and / or hyperflow, wherein the liquid can be transported through said member, and / or be transported inside or outside of said member. Such members are suitable for many applications, - without being limited to - water irrigation systems, spill absorbers, oil / water separators and the like. The invention also relates to liquid transport systems comprising said liquid transport members and articles using them.

BACKGROUND The need to transport liquids from one location to another is a well-known problem. Generally, transport will occur from a liquid source through a liquid transport member to a liquid landfill, for example from a liquid container through a pipe to another container. There may be differences in the potential energy between the containers (such as the hydrostatic head) and friction energy losses may occur within the transport system, such as within the transport member, particularly if the transport member is of a length significant in relation to its diameter. For this general problem of liquid transport, there are many approaches to creating a pressure differential to overcome energy differences or losses or to cause liquids to flow. A widely used principle is the use of mechanical energy such as pumps. However, it will often be desirable to overcome such losses or energy differences without the use of pumps, such as in the differential operation of hydrostatic head (gravity driven flow) or by means of capillary effects (often referred to as packing). In many such applications, it is desirable to transport the liquids at high speeds, ie at high flow velocity (volume per time), or at a hyperflow rate (volume per time per unit cross-sectional area). Examples of applications of liquid transport members for liquid transport members can be found in fields such as water irrigation as described in EP-A-0,439,890 or in the field of hygiene, such as for absorbent articles such as diapers for babies of the training type or with fastening elements such as tapes, training shorts, incontinence products for adults and female protection devices. A well-known and widely used embodiment of such liquid transport members are the capillary flow members, such as fibrous materials similar to staining paper, wherein the liquid can be packaged against gravity. Typically such materials are limited in their flow rates and / or hyperflow, especially when the packing height is added as an additional requirement. A particularly improvement towards the hyperflow speeds at packing heights particularly useful for the example of the application in absorbent articles is described in EP-A-0,810,078. Other capillary flow members may be non-fibrous, although they may be porous structures, such as open cell foams. In particular for the handling of aqueous liquids, hydrophilic polymeric foams have been described and especially the hydrophilic open cell foams made by the so-called High Internal Phase Emulsion (HIPE) polymerization process described in the documents US-A-5,563,179 and US-A-5,387,207. However, although several improvements have been made on such executions, there is still a need to obtain a significant increase in the liquid transport properties of the liquid transport members. In particular, it would be desirable to obtain liquid transport members that can transport liquids against gravity at very high rates of hyperflow. In situations where the liquid is not homogeneous in the composition (such as a salt solution in water), or in its phases (such as a liquid / solid suspension), it may be desired to transport the liquid in its entirety, or only in parts of the same. Many approaches are known for its selective transport mechanism, such as filter technology. For example, filtration technology exploits the highest and lowest permeability of a limb for a material or phase compared to another material or phase.

There is a lot of knowledge of the technique in this field, in particular also related to the so-called micro, ultra or nano filtration. Some of the most recent publications are: US-A-5,733,581 is related to the fibrous filter blown under fusion; US-A-5,728,292 relates to a non-woven fuel filter; W0-A-97/47375 refers to membrane filter systems; WO-A-97/35656 relates to membrane filter systems; EP-A-0,780,058 relates to monolithic membrane structures; EP-A-0.773.058 relates to oleophilic filter structures. Such membranes are also described for use in absorbent systems.

In US-A-4,820,293 (Kamme) absorbent bodies are described, for use in compresses or bandages, having a fluid absorbing substance enclosed in a packing made of an essentially homogeneous material. Fluid can enter the body through any part of the packing and no means is provided for fluid to leave the body. In said document, the fluid-absorbing materials can have osmotic effects or can be gel-forming absorbent substances enclosed in semi-permeable membranes, such as cellulose, regenerated cellulose, cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, polycarbonate, polyamide , glass fiber, polytetrafluoroethylene polysulfone, having pore sizes between 0.001 μm and 20 μm, preferably between 0.005 μm and 8 μm, especially around 0.01 μm. In such a system, the permeability of the membrane is intended to be such that the absorbed liquid can penetrate, although in such a way that the absorbent material is retained. It is therefore desired to use members having a high permeability K and a low thickness d, to achieve a high liquid conductivity k / d of the layer as described hereinafter. This can be achieved by the incorporation of promoters with higher molecular weight (for example, polyvinyl pyrrolidone with a molecular weight of 40,000), so that the membranes can have larger pores which leads to greater permeability of the membrane k. The maximum pore size set forth herein to be useful for this application is less than 0.5 μm, with pore sizes of approximately 0.01 μm or less that are preferred. The illustrated materials allow the calculation of the k / d values in the scale from 3 to 7 * 10-14 m.

Since this system is very slow, the absorbent body may further comprise, for a rapid discharge of fluid liquid acquisition means, such as conventional acquisition means to provide intermediate storage of the fluids before they are slowly absorbed. An additional application in the membranes in the absorbent packs is described in US-A-5,082,723, EP-A-0,365,565 or US-A-5,108,383 (White; Allied-Singnal). In these, an osmotic promoter, namely the high ionic strength material such as NaCl, or other high osmorality material such as glucose or sucrose is placed inside a membrane such as that made of cellulose films. As with the previous description, the fluid can enter the body through any part of the packing and no means are provided for the liquid to leave the body.

When these packages are brought into contact with aqueous liquids, such as urine, the promoter materials provide an osmotic driving force to push the liquid through the membranes. The membranes are characterized by having a low permeability for the promoter, and the packets achieve typical speeds of 0.001 ml / cm2 / min. When calculating the conductivity values of the membrane k / d for the membrane described herein, values of approximately 1 to 2 * 10-15 m may be the result. An essential property of the membranes useful for such applications is their "salt retention", that is, while the membranes must be easily penetrable by the liquid, they must retain a substantial amount of the promoter material within the packages. These salt retention requirements provide a limitation in the pore size which will limit the flow of liquid. US-A-5,082,723 (Gross et al) discloses an osmotic material such as NaCl which is enclosed by superabsorbent material, such as a copolymer of acrylic acid and sodium acrylate, thereby pretending an improvement in absorbency, such as improved absorbent capacity on a "gram per gram" basis and absorption rate. Above all, such fluid handling members are used for improved absorbency of liquids, although they have only very limited fluid transport capacity. Therefore, there still remains a need to improve the liquid transport properties, in particular to increase the flow and / or the flow rates in the liquid transport systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a liquid transport member comprising at least one volume region and one wall region that completely circumscribes the volume region, whereby the wall region further comprises at least one port region of membrane and at least one opening port region, and whereby the volume region has an average fluid permeability kb that is greater than the fluid permeability kp of the membrane port region. Preferably, the volume region has a fluid permeability of at least 10"11 m2, or at least 10" 8 m2, more preferably at least 10"7 m2, more preferably at least 10" 5 m2. The membrane port region preferably has a fluid permeability of at least 6 * 10'20 m2, or at least 7 * 10"18 m2, more preferably at least 3 * 10" 14 m2, more preferably from at least 1.2 * 10"11 m2, or even at least 7 * 10" 11 m2, even more preferably at least 10"9 m2 A liquid transport member according to the present invention can also have for the membrane port region a fluid to thickness permeability ratio in the direction of fluid transport, kp / dp of at least 7 * 10"14 m, more preferably at least 3 * 10" 10 m, still more preferably at least 8 * 10"8, and even preferred of at least 5 * 10" 7 m, and most preferably at least 10"5 m. In a preferred arrangement, the liquid transport member according to the present invention is positioned in such a way that the membrane port region is disposed over the opening port region when it is placed for its intended use. In a further embodiment, a liquid transport member according to the present invention the opening port region is an opening having a circular internal diameter smaller than the corresponding diameter d of a gas bubble formed in the liquid within the region of volume, or less than 6 mm, preferably less than 4 mm, more preferably less than 2 mm. In another aspect of the present invention, a liquid transport member according to the present invention can have a permeability ratio of the volume region to the permeability of the membrane port region of at least 10, preferably at least 100, more preferably at least 1000, and even more preferably at least 10,000. In yet another aspect, a liquid transport member according to the present invention, the membrane port region has a bubble point pressure when measured with a liquid having a surface tension value of 72 mN / m. of at least 1 kPa, preferably of at least 2 kPa, more preferably of at least 4.5 kPa, even more preferably of 8 kPa, more preferably of 50, or has a bubble point pressure when measured with a liquid having a surface tension of 33 mN / m of at least 0.67 kPa, preferably of at least 1.3 kPa, more preferably of at least 3.0 kPa, even more preferably 5.3 kPa, and even more preferably of 33 kPa . A liquid transport member according to the present invention may have a volume region having an average pore size greater than the membrane port region, preferably such that the average pore size ratio of the volume region and the average pore size of the membrane port region is at least 10, preferably at least 50, more preferably at least 100, and even more preferably at least 500, and even more so preferably of at least 1000. The liquid transport member may have a volume region with an average pore size of at least 200 μm, preferably of at least 500 μm, more preferably of at least 1000μm, and even more preferably of at least 5000μm, or with a porosity of at least 50%, preferably of at least 80%, more preferably of at least 90%, even more preferably at least 98%, and most preferably at least 99%. In a particular design, a liquid transport member according to the present invention can be constructed by a volume region, which is a hollow circumscribed by a wall region. In a further aspect of the present invention, a liquid transport member can have a membrane port region with a porosity of at least 10%, preferably at least 20%, more preferably at least 30%, and more preferably of at least 50% or an average pore size of no more than 100μm, preferably no more than 50μm, more preferably no more than 10μm, and most preferably no more than 5μm. In another aspect, the membrane port region has a pro size of at least 1 μm, preferably at least 3 μm. In addition, the membrane port region may have an average thickness of not more than 100μm, preferably no more than 50μm, more preferably no greater than 10μm, and even more preferably no more than 5μm. In yet another aspect of the present invention, the liquid transport member may have a volume region and a wall region having a volume ratio of at least 10, preferably at least 100, more preferably at least 1000 and even more preferably at least 10,000. In a further aspect of the present invention, a liquid transport member has a hydrophilic membrane port region, preferably having a recess contact angle for the liquid to be transported of less than 70 degrees, preferably less than 50 degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees and even more preferably less than 10 degrees. In a particular aspect, the membrane port region does not reduce the surface tension of the liquid to be transported. In another embodiment of the present invention, a liquid transport member has an oleophilic membrane port region, preferably having a recess contact angle for the liquid to be transported of less than 70 degrees, preferably less than 50. degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees and even more preferably less than 10 degrees. In particular embodiments, the shape of the liquid transport member may be sheet-like, or have a cylinder-like shape, and the membrane port region has an area greater than the average cross section of the member throughout. of the direction of liquid transport, preferably of at least a factor of 2, preferably a factor of 10, more preferably a factor The liquid transport member according to the present invention may comprise a material that is capable of expand when in contact with the liquid and able to collapse when removing the liquid. In particular, the volume region of a liquid transport member according to the present invention may comprise the material selected from the groups of fibers, particles, foams, coils, films, corrugated sheets or tubes, and the region of The wall may comprise the material selected from the groups of fibers, particles, foams, spirals, films, corrugated sheets, tubes, woven webs, woven fiber meshes, films with openings or monolithic films. The foam may be an open-cell cross-linked foam, preferably selected from the group of cellulose sponge, polyurethane foam, HIPE foams and the fibers may be made of polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, polyethers, polyacrylics, polyurethanes, metal, glass , cellulose and cellulose derivatives. A liquid transport member according to the present invention can be made by a region of porous volume that is packaged by a separate wall region. In a further embodiment of the present invention, a liquid transport member may comprise soluble materials, such as in the port region. A liquid transport member according to the present invention can be adopted for the transport of liquids based on water or viscoelastic liquids, of body discharge fluids such as urine, menstrual discharges, sweat or feces, or oil. , grease or other liquids that are not water based. Therefore, transportation can be selective for oil or grease, but not for water-based liquids. In one aspect, a liquid transport member according to the present invention, the properties or parameters that are established prior to, or during the handling of liquid, preferably by activation by contact with the liquid, pH, temperature, enzymes, chemical reaction, salt concentration or mechanical activation. In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a liquid transport system having a liquid transport member as described above, in addition to a liquid source and a landfill that are outside the transport member. In a particular aspect, the opening port region is submerged in the liquid of the weir or source. A liquid transport member according to the present invention is particularly suitable for the absorption of liquids, such as having an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably of at least 10 g / g, more preferably of at least less 50 g / g when subjected to the Demand Absorbency Test, or comprising material in the landfill, which has an absorption capacity of at least 10 g / g, preferably of at least 20 g / g, and in a manner more preferably of at least 50 g / g based on the weight of the pouring material, when subjected to tea bag centrifugal capacity. The liquid transport system may comprise superabsorbent material or open-cell foam of the Internal High-Phase Emulsion (HIPE) type. Optionally, a transport system may further comprise a conventional mechanical pump. A further aspect of the present invention relates to an article comprising a liquid transport member or liquid transport system as described above. Such an article may be suitable as a fat absorber or a water transport member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1: Schematic diagram of conventional open siphon. Figure 2: Schematic diagram of a liquid transport member according to the present invention. Figure 3A, B: Conventional siphon system and liquid transport member according to the present invention. Figure 4: Schematic cross-sectional view through a liquid transport member. Figures 5A, B, C: Schematic representation for the determination of the thickness of the port region. Figure 6: Permeability correlation and bubble point pressure. Figures 7 and 8: Schematic diagrams of various embodiments of the liquid transport member according to the present invention. Figures 9 and 10 A, B: Liquid permeability test. Figures 11A, B, C, D: Capillary absorption test.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION General Definitions As used herein, a "liquid transport member" refers to a material or compound of material, which are capable of transporting liquids. Such a member contains at least two regions, an "internal" region for which it can be used of "volume" region interchangeably and a wall region comprising at least two "port" regions, one of these being a membrane port region comprising a permeable membrane, and the other being an opening port region such as an opening. The terms "internal" and "external" refers to the relative placement of the regions, that is to say they represent that the external region generally circumscribes the internal region, such as a wall region circumscribes a region of volume. As used herein, the term "Z dimension" refers to the dimension orthogonal to the length and width of the liquid or article transport member. The dimension Z usually corresponds to the thickness of the liquid transport member or the article. As used herein, the term "X-Y dimension" refers to the plane orthogonal to the thickness of the member or article. The X-Y dimension usually corresponds to the length and width, respectively, of the liquid or article transport member. The term layer can also apply to a member, which - when described in its spherical or cylindrical coordinates - extends in the radial direction much less than in others. For example, the cover of a balloon could be considered a layer in this context, so the skin would define the wall region, and the central part filling the inner region with air. As used herein, the term "layer" refers to a region whose primary dimension is X-Y, that is, along its length and width. It should be understood that the term "layer" is not necessarily limited to individual layers or sheets of material. Therefore the layer may comprise laminates or combinations of various sheets or webs of the types of requisite materials. Accordingly, the term "layer" includes the terms "layers" and "layers". For purposes of this invention, it should also be understood that the term "upper" refers to members, articles such as layers, that are placed upward (ie oriented against the gravity vector) during the intended use. For example, a liquid transport member is intended to convey liquid from a "lower" container to an "upper" container, which means that it is transported against gravity. When this term is applied, for example to absorbent articles, this means that the upper elements are placed towards the user during the intended use. All percentages, ratios and proportions used herein were calculated by weight unless specified. another way. As used herein, the term "absorbent articles" refers to devices that absorb and contain body exudates and, more specifically, refer to devices that are placed against or in proximity to the user's body to absorb and contain the different exudates discharged from the body. As used in this, the term "body fluids" includes, but is not limited to, urine, menstrual discharges and vaginal discharges, sweat and feces. The term "disposable" is used herein to describe absorbent articles that are not intended to be washed or otherwise restored or reused as an absorbent article (i.e. they are intended to be discarded after use and preferably to be recycled). , formed in compost or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally compatible manner). As used herein, the term "absorbent core" refers to the component of the absorbent article that is primarily responsible for the fluid handling properties of the article, including the acquisition, transportation and distribution and storage of body fluids. As such, the absorbent core typically does not include the top cover or the back cover of the absorbent article. A member or material can be described as having a certain structure, such as a porosity, which is defined by the ratio of the volume of the solid material of the member or material to the total volume of the member or material. For example, for a fibrous structure made of polypropylene fibers, the porosity can be calculated from the specific gravity (density) of the structure, the gauge and the specific gravity (density) of the polypropylene fiber: «empty» tota - "Pvolumen'Pmaterial) The term" activable "refers to the situation, where a certain ability is restricted by certain means, such as the release of these means by a reaction as occurs with a mechanical response. a spring is held by a clamp (and therefore would be activatable), by releasing the clamp results in the activation of the spring expansion.For such springs or other members, materials or systems that have an elastic behavior, the expansion may be defined by the elastic modulus, as is known in the art.

Basic principles and definitions Liquid transport mechanism in conventional capillary flow systems. Without wishing to be bound by any of the following explanations, the basic operating mechanism of the present invention can be better explained by comparison of conventional materials. In the materials, for which the transport of liquids is based on the capillary pressure as the driving force, the liquid is extracted in the pores that were initially dry by the interaction of liquid with the surface of the pores. The filling of the pores with liquid replaces the air in those pores. If said material is at least partially saturated and if in addition a hydrostatic, capillary or osmotic suction force is applied to at least one region of that liquid material it will be desorbed from this material if the suction pressure is greater than the capillary pressure that retains the liquid in the pores of the materials (refer for example to "Dynamics of fluids in porous media" by J. Bear, Haifa, publ. Dover Publications Inc., NY 1988).

Upon desorption, air will enter the pores of such conventional capillary flow materials. If additional liquid is available, this liquid can be extracted into the pores against capillary pressure. If therefore a conventional capillary flow material is connected to one end of a liquid source (eg a container) and the other end to a liquid spout (eg, a hydrostatic suction), the liquid transport through This material is based on the cycle of absorption and reabsorption of the individual pores with the capillary force at the liquid / air interface that provides the internal driving force for the liquid through the material. This contrasts with the transport mechanism for liquids through the transport members according to the present invention.

Siphon Analogy A simplified explanation for the operation of the present invention can begin with the comparison with a siphon (reference to Figure 1), well known from drainage systems such as pipe in the form of an S-layer (101). ). The principle of it is, that-once the pipe (102) is filled with liquid (103) - upon receipt of additional liquid (as indicated by 106), it enters the siphon at one end, almost immediately the liquid comes out of the siphon at the other end (as indicated by 107) since - because the siphon is filled with non-compressible liquid - the liquid that enters is immediately displaced from the liquid in the siphon that forces the liquid at the other end to exit of the siphon, if there is a pressure difference for the liquid between the entry point and the exit point of said siphon. In such a siphon, the liquid is entering and leaving the system through an open surface inlet and outlet port regions (104 and 105 respectively). The driving pressure to move the liquid along the siphon can be obtained by a variety of mechanisms. For example, if the inlet is in a higher position than the outlet, the gravity will generate a difference in hydrostatic pressure generating the flow of the liquid through the system. Alternatively, if the outlet port is higher than the inlet port, and the liquid has to be transported against gravity, the liquid will flow through this siphon only if an external pressure difference greater than the hydrostatic pressure difference is applied. . For example, a pump could generate enough suction or pressure to move the liquid through this siphon. Therefore, the flow of liquid through a siphon or pipe is caused by a general pressure difference between its inlet and its outlet port region. This can be described through well-known models, such as are expressed in the Bernoulli equation. The analogy of the present invention to this principle is illustrated schematically in Figure 2 as a specific embodiment. In her, the liquid transport member (201) need not be in the form of s, but may be a straight tube (202). The liquid transport member can be filled with liquid (203), if - as shown in the figure - the entrance and exit of the transport member are covered by membrane port materials (204) and opening port materials ( 205), which may either be immersed in a liquid, or needs to meet a certain requirement as discussed below. Upon receipt of the additional liquid (indicated by 206) that easily penetrates through the input port material (204), the liquid (207) will immediately exit the member through the outlet region (205), by means of the opening outlet port material. Therefore, a key difference in the principle is that, the membrane port region is not open, although they have special permeability requirements as explained in more detail below, which prevents air or gas from penetrating into the membrane member. transport, so the transport member remains filled with liquid. A liquid transport member according to the present invention can be combined with one or more sources and / or landfills to form a liquid transport system. Such sources or liquid dumps may be attached to the transport member as in the inlet and / or outlet regions or the dump or source may be integral with the member. A liquid weir can be, for example integral with the transport member, when the transport member can expand its volume so that it receives the transported liquid. An analogy of further simplification to a siphon system compared to a Liquid Transport System can be seen in Figure 3A (siphon) and 3B (the present invention). When a liquid container (source) is connected (301) with a lower liquid container (in the direction of gravity (landfill) (302) by a conventional tube or pipe with open ends (303) in the form of a "U" (or "J") inverted, the liquid can flow from the upper to the lower container only if the tube is kept filled with liquid by keeping the upper end submerged in the liquid. If the air can enter the pipe in a manner that removes the upper end 305 from the liquid, the transport will be interrupted and the pipe must be refilled to be in operation again. A liquid transport member according to the present invention would resemble very similar to an analogous arrangement, except that the ends of the transport member, the inlet (305) and the outlet port (306), which comprise a material of membrane port with special permeability requirements as explained in more detail below and only one region of opening port. The inlet and outlet materials prevent air or gas from penetrating into the transport member and therefore maintain the liquid transport capacity even if the inlet is not submerged within the liquid source vessel. If the transport member is not submerged within the liquid source, the liquid transport will obviously stop although it can obviously start with re-immersion. In broader terms, the present invention relates to the transport of liquid which is based on direct suction instead of capillary action. In the present, the liquid is transported through a region through which substantially no air must enter this member (or other gas) or at least not in a significant amount. The driving force for fluid to flow through said member can be created by a liquid spout and a liquid source in liquid communication with the member, either externally or internally. There are a variety of embodiments of the present invention, some of which will be described in greater detail hereinafter. For example, there may be members where the input and / or output port materials are different from the internal region or volume, or they may be members with gradual change in properties, or they may be member executions where the source or landfill it is integral with the transport member or where the liquid that enters is different from the type or properties of the liquid that leaves the member. In addition, all modes rely on the region of inlet or outlet port having a different permeability for the transported liquid than the internal / volume region. Within the context of the present invention, the term "liquid" refers to fluids consisting of a continuous liquid phase, optionally comprising a discontinuous phase such as the immiscible liquid phase, or solids or gases, to form slurries, emulsions or the like. The liquid can be homogeneous in its composition, it can be a mixture of miscible liquids, it can be a mixture of solids or gases in a liquid and the like. Non-limiting examples for liquid that can be transported through the members according to the present invention include water, pure or with contaminating additives, saline solutions, urine, blood, menstrual fluids, fecal matter of a wide variety of consistencies and viscosities , oil, food grease, lotions, cream and the like. The term "transporter liquid" or "transport liquid" refers to the liquid that is actually transported by the transport member, ie this may be the total of a homogeneous phase or may be the solvent in a phase comprising the dissolved matter , for example, the water of an aqueous saline solution or it may be a phase in a multi-phase liquid, or it may be the total of the liquid with multiple components or phases. Therefore, it will become readily apparent to any liquid that the respective liquid properties, eg, surface energy, viscosity, density, are relevant to various embodiments. While the liquid that frequently enters the liquid transport member will be the same or different in kind from the liquid that leaves the member or is stored therein, this does not necessarily need to be the case. For example, when the liquid transport member is filled with an aqueous liquid, and - under the appropriate design - an oily liquid is received by the member, the aqueous phase can leave the member first. In this case, the aqueous phase could be considered "replaceable liquid".

Description geometry of the Transport Member Regions A liquid transport member in the sense of the present invention has to comprise at least two regions, a "volume region" and a "wall region" comprising at least one "membrane port region" permeable to liquid and an opening port region. "The geometry and especially the requirement of the wall region that completely circumscribes the volume region is defined by the following description (reference to Figure 4). ), which considers a transport member at a point of time.The volume / internal regions (403) and the wall region (404) are different regions and geometry does not overlap one with respect to the other as with with respect to the internal region (ie "the rest of the element"), which can be defined by the following characterization (reference to Figure 4). to one of the regions. The volume region 403 is connected, for example, to either of the two points A 'and A "within the volume region (403), there is at least one continuous line (curved or straight) connecting the two points without leave the volume region (403). For any point A within the volume region (403), all straight bar-like rays having a circular thickness of at least 2 mm in diameter intersect the wall region (404 A straight ray has the geometric meaning in analogy to point A which is a light source and the rays that are rays of light, although these rays need to have a minimum geometric "thickness" (since otherwise a line can pass to through the pore opening of the port regions 405. This thickness is fixed at 2 mm, which of course has to be considered in an approximation to the closeness of point A (it does not have a three-dimensional extension to be coupled with said ray in the form of a bar). Wall ion (404) completely circumscribes the volume region (403). Therefore, for which any points A "- belonging to the region of volume (403) - and C - belonging to the external region -, any curved bar continues (in analogy to a continuous curved line but having circular thickness 2mm in diameter), intersects the wall region (404) A port region (405) connects a volume region (403) with the outer region, and there exists at least one continuous curved connection bar having a 2mm circular thickness, which intersects the port region (405) .The term "region" refers to three-dimensional regions, which can be of any shape.Frequently, though not necessarily, the thickness of the region may be thin , so that the region looks similar to a flat structure, such as a thin film.For example, the membranes can be used in a film form, which - depending on the porosity - can have a thickness of 100μm or much smaller, being in this way smaller than the extension of the membrane perpendicular to it (ie dimension of length and width). A wall region may be placed around a volume region for example in an overlapping arrangement, ie certain portions of the wall region material contact each other and are connected to each other by sealing. Then, this seal should not have openings that are large enough to interrupt the functionality of the member, i.e. the sealing line may be considered to belong either to a wall region (impermeable) or to another wall region. While a region can be described as having at least one property to remain within certain limits to define the common functionality of the subregions of this region, other properties may change within these subregions. Within the current description, the term "regions" should be read to also cover the term "region", that is, if a member includes certain "regions", the possibility of understanding only one region must be included in this term, unless explicitly mentioned otherwise. The "port" and "volume / internal" regions can be easily distinguished from each other, so that a gap for one region and a membrane for another or those regions can have a gradual transition from certain relevant parameters as describe below. It is therefore essential that a transport member according to the present invention has at least one region that satisfies the requirements for the "internal region" and a region that satisfies the requirements for the "membrane port region", ( which in fact can have a very small thickness in relation to its extension in the other two dimensions and therefore appear more as a surface than as a volume). Therefore, for a liquid transport member, the transport path can be defined as the path of a liquid entering the port region and the liquid exits a port region, whereby the liquid transport path is Scrolls through the volume region. The transport path can also be defined by the path of a liquid entering a port region and then entering a fluid storage region that is integral within the internal region of the transport member, or alternatively defined as the path of a liquid from a liquid release source region within the inner region of the transport member to an exit port region. The transport path of a liquid transport member can be of substantial length, a length of 100 m or even more can be contemplated, alternatively, the liquid transport member can also be of a very short length, such as a few millimeters or even less. While it is a particular benefit of the present invention to provide high transport speeds and also allow large quantities of liquid to be transported, the latter is not a requirement. It can also be contemplated that only small amounts of liquid are transported for relatively short times, for example when the system is used to transmit signals in the form of liquids in order to activate a certain signal response at an alternate point along the member of transport. In this case, the liquid transport member can function as a real-time signaling device. Alternatively, the transported liquid can perform a function at the output port, such as activating a gap to release the mechanical energy and create a three-dimensional structure. For example, the liquid transport member can provide an activation signal to a response device comprising a comprised material that is retained in vacuum compression within a bag, at least a portion of which is soluble (e.g. Water). When a threshold level of the signaling liquid (eg water) provided by the liquid transport member dissolves a portion of the water-soluble region and discontinuously releases the vacuum, the compressed material expands to form a three-dimensional structure. The compressed material, for example, can be an elastic plastic having a void formed of sufficient volume to trap body waste. Alternatively, the compressed material may be an absorbent material that functions as a pump by withdrawing fluid within its body as it expands (e.g., it may function as a liquid spillway as described below). The transport of liquid can take place along a single transport path or along multiple trajectories, which can be divided or recombined through the transport member. Generally, the transport path will define a transport direction, allowing the definition of the transverse cross section plane that is perpendicular to said path. The internal region / volume configuration will then define the transport cross-sectional area, combining the different trajectories. For irregularly shaped transport members and respective regions thereof, it may be necessary to average the transport cross section over the length of one or more transport paths either through the use of incremental approaches or differential approaches as known from the geometric calculations. It is conceivable that there are members of transport where the internal region and port regions are easily separable and distinguishable. In other cases, it may take more effort to distinguish and / or separate the different regions. Therefore, when the requirements for certain regions are described, this should be read to apply to certain materials within those regions. Therefore, a certain region may consist of a homogeneous material, or a region may comprise such a homogeneous material. Also, such material may have variable properties and / or parameters and therefore comprise more than one region. The following description will focus on the description of properties and parameters for functionally defined regions.

General functional description of the transport member As briefly mentioned in the foregoing, the present invention relates to a liquid transport member, which is based on direct suction instead of capillary action. In it, the liquid is transported through a region within which substantially no air (or other gas) enters (at all or at least not in a significant amount). The driving force for the liquid to flow through such a member can be created by a liquid spout and / or liquid source, in communication of the liquid with the transport member either externally or internally. Direct suction is maintained by ensuring that substantially no air or gas enters the liquid transport member during transportation. This means that air must not enter the transport member in significant amounts, nor through the membrane port region, which can for example be achieved by appropriately adopting the bubble point pressure, or through the opening port region, which may be obtained by immersing this opening port region in a liquid reservoir, such as the landfill or liquid source to be transported. Alternatively, if the opening port region is disposed below the membrane port regions (aligned to the gravity vector), the opening port regions do not need to be submerged in liquid (at least not permanently) they have a opening small enough to not allow air to enter through the member. Therefore, a liquid transport member must have a certain permeability of the liquid (as will be described later herein). Higher liquid permeability provides less resistance to flow and is therefore preferred from this point of view. The liquid transport member according to the present invention has an internal region with a liquid permeability that is relatively high to provide maximum liquid transport velocity. The permeability of a membrane port region, which may be a part of the wall region circumscribing the volume region, is substantially smaller. This is achieved through port regions that have a membrane functionality, designed for the intended conditions of use. The membrane is permeable to liquids, but not to gases or vapors. Such property is generally expressed by the bubble point pressure parameter, which is in summary, defined by the pressure to which the gas or air does not penetrate through a damp membrane. As will be described in more detail, the property requirements have to be met at the same time as liquid transport is carried out. However, they may be created or adjusted by activating a transport member, for example, before use, which, without or before such activation, would not satisfy the requirements but would do so after activation. For example, a member can be compressed or elastically collapsed and expanded by wetting to then create a structure with the required properties. For one aspect of the present invention, however, there are at least three regions within the transport member with different pore sizes, namely at least one membrane port region having smaller pore sizes (at least one opening port region) and an internal region that has a relatively larger pore size compared to the membrane port region. The membrane port region must have a relatively high bubble point pressure. In this aspect of the invention, the high bubble point pressure of the port region is obtained by the capillary pressure of the small pores of the port region, which - once it gets wet - will prevent air or gas from entering. to the transport member. In another aspect, the present invention is related to liquid transport members, which-once activated and / or moistened-are selective with respect to the fluids they transport. The membrane port region of the transport member are - up to a certain limit as can be expressed by the bubble pressure point - closed for natural gas (such as air) but relatively open for transport liquid (such as water) . The port regions do not require a specific directionality of their properties, that is, the materials used in them can be used in any orientation of the liquid flow through them. It is also not a requirement for membranes having different properties (such as permeability) with respect to certain parts or component of the liquid. This is in contrast to the membranes as described for osmotic absorbent packs in US-A-5,108,383 (White et al.), Wherein the membranes should have a low permeability to the promoter material, such as a salt, and the respective salt ions.

Region of volume In the next section, the requirements as well as the specific executions for the "internal region" or "volume region" will be described. A key requirement for the volume region is that it has a low average flow resistance, as expressed by having a permeability k of at least preferably 10 ~ 11 m2, preferably greater than 10"8 m2, and more preferably more of 10"5 m2. An important means to achieve high permeabilities for internal regions can be achieved by using the material that provides relatively high porosity. Said porosity, which is commonly defined as the ratio of the volume of materials that make up the porous materials to the total volume of the porous materials, and as determined by commonly known density measurements, must be at least 50% , preferably of at least 80%, more preferably of at least 90%, or even exceeding 98% or 99%. At the end of the inner region consisting essentially of an individual pore, hollow space, the porosity approaches or even reaches 100%. The inner region may have pores, which are greater than about 200 μm, 500 μm, 1 mm or even 9 mm in diameter or more. For certain applications, such as irrigation or oil separation, the internal region may have pores as large as 10 cm, for example when the internal region is a hollow tube. Such pores may be smaller before the transport of fluid, so that the inner region may have a smaller volume, and expand only just before or in contact with the liquid. Preferably, if such pores are compressed or collapsed, they should be able to expand by the volumetric expansion factor of at least 5, preferably greater than 10. Such expansion can be achieved through materials having an elastic modulus of more than the pressure external, which, however, must be less than the bubble point pressure. High porosities can be achieved through a number of materials, well known in the art as such. For example, the fibrous members can easily achieve such porosity values. Non-limiting examples of such fibrous materials that can be compressed in the volume region are high-fluff non-woven materials, for example, from polyolefin or polyester fibers as used in the field of sanitary articles, or the automotive industry , or for upholstery or for the HVAC industry. Other examples comprise fiber webs made from cellulosic fiber. Such porosities can be further achieved through porous open cell foam structures, such as, without intending to be limited, for example cross-linked polyurethane foams, cellulose sponges or open cell foams such as those made by the Phase Emulsion Polymerization process. Internal Elevation (HIPE foams), as is well known from a variety of industrial applications such as filtration ecology, upholstery, hygiene and others. Such porosities can be achieved by wall regions (as explained in more detail below) circumscribing gaps defining the internal region, such as those exemplified by pipe. Alternatively, several smaller pipes can be grouped. Such porosities can be further achieved by "space supports", such as springs, spacers, particulate material, corrugated structures and the like.

Pore sizes of internal region or waves permeabilities can be homogeneous throughout the internal region or can be heterogeneous. It is not necessary for the high porosity of the inner region to be maintained throughout all stages between the manufacture and use of the liquid transport member, although voids within the inner region may be created shortly before or during its intended use. For example, bellows-like structures held together by suitable means can be activated by a user and during their expansion, the liquid penetrates through a port region within the expanding internal region, thereby filling the transport member completely or at least enough so as not to impede the flow of liquid. Alternatively, open cell foam materials, such as those described in (US-A-5,563,179 or US-A-5,387,207) have the tendency to collapse under water removal, and the ability to re-expand. by re-moistening. Therefore, such foams can be transported from the manufacturing site to the user in relatively dry and therefore thin (or lower volume) form, and only upon contact with the source liquid they increase their volume to meet the permeability requirements of the hole. The internal regions can have various shapes or contours. The inner region may be cylindrical, ellipsoidal, leaf-like, band-like, or may have any irregular shape. The internal regions may have a constant cross-sectional area, with the constant or variable transverse shape, such as rectangular, triangular, circular, elliptical or irregular. A cross-sectional area is defined for use herein as a cross-section of the inner region, prior to the addition of the source liquid, when measured in the plane perpendicular to the transport liquid flow path and this definition will be used to determine the average internal region transverse area by averaging the individual transverse areas of all the flow paths. The absolute size of the internal region must be selected to adequately match the geometrical requirements of the intended use. Generally, it would be desirable to have a minimum dimension for the intended use. A benefit of the designs according to the present invention is to allow areas of cross section much smaller than conventional materials. The dimensions of the internal region are determined by the permeability of said internal region, which can be very high, due to the large possible pores, since the internal region does not have to be designed under contradictory requirements of hyperflow (ie large pores). ) and elevated vertical liquid transport (ie, small pores). Such large permeabilities allow much smaller cross sections and therefore different designs. Also, the length of the inner region can be significantly greater than for conventional systems, as well as with respect to this parameter of the novel transport member that can link larger distances and also higher vertical liquid transport heights. The internal region can be essentially non-deformable, ie it maintains its shape, contour, volume under normal conditions of the intended use. However, in many uses, it would be desirable, that the inner region allow the full member to remain soft and foldable. The internal region can change its shape, through deformation forces or pressures during use or under the influence of the fluid itself. The deformability or absence thereof can be achieved by the selection of one or more materials in the internal region (such as a fibrous member) or can be determined essentially by the circumscribed regions, such as the wall regions of the transport member. One such approach is to use elastomeric materials as the wall material.

The gaps in the inner region may be confined by wall regions only or the internal region may comprise internal gaps therein. If, for example, the internal region is made up of parallel pipes, with impermeable cylindrical walls, these would be considered to form such internal separations, possibly creating pores that are unitary with the internal hollow opening of the pipes and possibly other pores created. for the interstitial spaces between the pipes. If, as a further example, the internal region comprises a fibrous structure, the fiber material can be considered to form the internal separations. The internal separations of the internal region may have surface energies adapted to the liquid transported. For example, in order to facilitate the wetting and / or transport of aqueous liquids, the separations or parts thereof can be hydrophilic. Therefore, in certain embodiments that relate to the transport of aqueous liquids, it is preferred to have the separations of the internal regions to be wettable by such liquids, even more preferably to have adhesion tensions of more than 65 nN / m, more preferably of 70 nN / m. In the case that the liquid transported is based on oil, the separations or parts thereof can be oil or lipophilic. The confinement separations of the inner region may further comprise materials that significantly change their wetting properties, or which may even dissolve upon wetting. Thus, the inner region may comprise an open cell foam material having a relatively small pore at least partially formed of soluble material, such as polyvinyl alcohol or the like. The small porosity can extract the liquid in the initial phase of transport d liquid and then quickly dissolve and then leave large voids filled with liquid. Alternatively, such materials can fill pores larger, fully and partially. For example, the inner region may comprise soluble materials such as polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinyl acetate. Such materials can fill the voids or withstand a collapsed state of the voids before the member comes into contact with the liquid. In contact with fluid, such as water, those materials can dissolve and thus create empty or expanded voids. In one embodiment, the gaps in the inner region (which can essentially make up the entire inner region) are essentially completely filled with an essentially non-compressible fluid. The term "essentially completely" refers to the situation, where the sufficient void volume of the internal region is filled with the liquid so that a continuous flow path can be established. Preferably, the majority of the void volume, preferably more than 90%, more preferably more than 95%, and even more preferably more than 99%, including 100%, is filled with liquid. The internal region may be designed to improve the accumulation of gas or other liquid in parts of the region where it is less harmful. The remaining voids can then be filled with another fluid, such as residual gas or vapors, or liquid immiscible as oil in an inner region filled with aqueous liquids or they can be solids such as particles, fibers, films. The liquid comprised in the inner region may be of the same type as the liquid that is designated to be transported. For example, when water-based liquids are intended for the transported medium, the internal region of the transport medium can be filled with water, or if the oil is the intended transport liquid, the inner region can be filled with oil. The liquid of the internal region can also be different, so these differences can be relatively small in nature (just like when the intended transport liquid is water, the liquid of the internal region can be an aqueous solution and vice versa). Alternatively, the intended transport liquid may be very different in its properties, when comparing the liquid with which the internal region has been pre-filled, such as when the source liquid is oil, which is transported through a pipe initially filled with water and closed through suitable inlet and outlet ports, whereby water leaves the membrane through a suitable outlet port region, and the oil enters the member through a suitable port entry region. In this specific embodiment, the total amount of liquid transported is limited by the amount that can be received within the member respectively to the amount of liquid exchanged, unless for example there were output port regions comprising material with properties compatible with the liquids to allow functionality with one or both liquids. The liquid of the internal region and the liquid to be transported can be mutually soluble, such as saline solutions in water, for example, the liquid transport member is intended for the transport of blood or menstrual fluids, or an oily liquid , the inner region may be filled with water. In another embodiment, the internal region comprises a vacuum, or a gas or vapor below the corresponding equilibrium and the ambient or external pressure at the respective temperatures and the volumetric conditions. Upon contact with the transported liquid, the liquid can enter the internal region through the permeable port regions (as described below), and then fill the gaps in the inner region to the required degree. Subsequently, the internal region now filled works as a "pre-filled" region as described above. The functional requirements and the previous structural modalities of the internal region can be satisfied by a number of suitable structures. Without being limited to the creation of structures that satisfy the appropriate internal regions, a range of preferred modalities are described below. A simple and highly descriptive example for an internal region is an empty tube defined by impermeable or semipermeable walls and an opening more submerged in a liquid, as already indicated in Figure 2. The diameter of such tubes can be relatively large compared to the diameters commonly used for transport in capillary systems. The diameter of the course depends to a large extent on the specific system and the intended use. Also suitable is a porous material, or a combination of parallel tubes of a suitable diameter such as from about 0.2 mm to several centimeters for a group of tubes, such as (in principle) known from other principles of engineering design such as heat exchanger systems. For certain applications, pieces of glass tubes can provide straight functionality, although, for certain applications such structures may have certain restrictions of mechanical strength. Suitable tubes can also be made of silicon, PVC rubber, etc. for example, Masterflex 6404-17 from Norton, distributed by Barnat Company, Barrington, Illinois 60010 U.S. Another embodiment can be seen in the combination of mechanically expanding elements, such as springs or which can open the hollow space in the structure if the direction of expansion is oriented so that the appropriate pore size is also oriented along of the flow path direction. Such materials are well known in the art and for example described in US-A-5,563,179, US-A-5,387,207, US-A-5,632,737 all relating to HIPE foam materials, or in US-A 5,674,917 which refers to absorbent foams, or EP-A-0,340,763, which refers to highly porous fibrous structures or sheets, such as those made from PET fibers. Other materials may be suitable even when they do not satisfy all the above requirements at the same time, if this deficiency can be compensated with other design elements. Other materials having relatively large pore sizes are high-flux non-woven filter materials such as open cell foams from Recticel in Brussels, Belgium such as Bulpren, Filtren (Filtren TM10 blue, Filtren TM20 blue, Filtren TM30 blue, Filtren Firend 10 black, Filtren Firend 30 black, Filtren HC 20 gray, Filgren Firend HC 30 grex, Bulpren S10 black, Bulpren S20 black, Bulpren S30 black). A further embodiment for exemplifying a material with two pore size regions can be seen in PCT application US97 / 20840, which relates to a woven cycle structure. The internal region can also be constructed from several materials, ie, for example, from combinations of the above. The inner region may also contain strips, particles, or other non-homogeneous structures that generate large gaps between them and act as space separators. As will be described in more detail in the port regions, the fluids in the inner region should not prevent the port regions from filling with the transport liquid.

Wall region The liquid transport member according to the present invention comprises, in addition to the internal regions, a wall region circumscribing this inner region. This wall region must comprise at least one membrane port region and one port region. of opening, as described below. The wall region may also contain materials that are essentially impermeable to liquids and / or gases, thus preventing gases or environmental values from entering the liquid transport member. Such walls may be of any structure or shape and may be present in the key structural element of the liquid transport member. Such walls may be in the form of a straight or flexed pipe, a flexible pipe or a cubic shape and so on. The walls can be thin flexible films that circumscribe the inner region. Such walls may be expandable, either permanently by means of deformation or elastically through an elastomeric film or by activation. While the wall regions are an essential element for the present invention, this is particularly true for the port region comprised in the wall regions and described below. The properties of the remaining parts of the wall regions can be important for the general structure, for elasticity and for other structural effects.

Membrane Port Regions The membrane port region can be generally described to comprise materials having different permeabilities for different fluids, ie they must be permeable for the transport liquid, but not for the ambient gas (such as air), under conditions otherwise identical (identical temperature or pressure, ...) and once they are moistened / filled with transport liquid or similar operating liquid. Frequently, such materials are described as membranes with respective characteristic parameters. In the context of this invention a membrane is generally defined as a region that is permeable to liquid, gas or a suspension of particles in a liquid or gas. The membrane may for example comprise a microporous region to provide the liquid in a permeable manner through the capillaries. In an alternative embodiment, the membrane may comprise a monolithic region comprising a block copolymer through which the liquid is transported by diffusion. For a set of predetermined conditions, the membranes will often have selective transport properties for liquids, gases or suspensions that depend on the type of medium to be transported. They are therefore widely used in the filtration of fine particles outside the suspensions (for example, in liquid filtration, air filtration). Another type of membrane shows the selective transport for different types of ions or molecules and are therefore found in biological systems, (for example cell membranes, molecular sieves) or in chemical energy applications (for example reverse osmosis). Microporous hydrophobic membranes will typically allow the gas to permeate, while water-based liquids will not be transported through the membrane if the driving pressure is below a threshold pressure commonly referred to as "separation" or "bond" pressure. " In contrast, hydrophilic microporous membranes transport liquids based on water. However, once the gases are moistened, (for example air) they will essentially not pass through the membrane if the driving pressure is below a threshold pressure commonly referred to as "bubble point pressure". Hydrophilic monolithic films will typically allow water vapor to permeate while gas will not be transported rapidly through the membrane. Similarly, the membranes can be used for liquids that are not based on water such as oils. For example, most hydrophobic materials will be in a hydrophobic to oleophilic microporous membrane that will therefore be permeable to oil but not to water and can be used to transport oil, or to separate oil and water. Membranes are often produced as thin sheets and can be used alone or in combination with a support layer (for example a non-woven layer) or a support element (spiral support). Other forms of membrane include, but are not limited to, thin polymer layers coated directly on another material, beads, corrugated sheets. The additional known membranes are "activatable" or "switchable" which can change their properties after activation or in response to a stimulus. This change in properties may be permanently reversible depending on the specific use. For example, a hydrophobic microporous layer can be coated by a thin, dissolvable layer, for example made of polyvinyl alcohol. Such a double layer system is rendered impermeable to gas. However, once moistened the polyvinyl alcohol film has dissolved, the system will be permeable for the gas although impermeable for aqueous liquids. Conversely, if a hydrophilic membrane is coated by such a soluble layer, it will be activated upon contact with the liquid to allow the liquid to pass through it but not from the air. In another example, a hydrophilic microporous membrane is normally dry, in this state the membrane is permeable to air. Once moistened with water, the membrane is no longer permeable to air. Another example of a reversible switching of a membrane in response to a stimulus is a microporous membrane coated with a surfactant that changes its hydrophilicity depending on the temperature. For example, the membrane will be hydrophilic for the hot and hydrophobic liquid for the cold liquid. As a result, the hot liquid will pass through the membrane while the cold liquid will not pass. Other examples include but are not limited to microporous membranes made from an activated gel by stimulus that changes its dimensions in response to pH, temperature, electric fields, radiation or the like.

Properties of the Membrane port region The membrane port region can be described by a number of properties and parameters. Permeability is a key aspect of the membrane port region. The transport properties of the membranes can generally be described by a permeability function using the Darcy's law which is applicable to all porous systems: Q = 1 / A * dV / dt = k /? *? P / L Therefore, a volumetric flow dV / dt through the membrane is caused by an external pressure difference? p (driving pressure) and the permeability function k may depend on the type of medium to be transported (liquid or gas), a threshold pressure, and an activation stimulus. Additional relevant parameters that impact on the liquid transport are the cross section A and the length L of the transport regions and the viscosity del of the liquid transported. For porous membranes, the macroscopic transport properties mainly depend on the pore size distribution, porosity, tortuosity and surface properties such as hydrophilicity.

If taken alone, the permeability of the membrane port region must be high to allow high flow rates through them. However, since permeability is intrinsically connected to other properties and parameters, typical permeability values for port regions or port region materials will vary from approximately 6 * 10"20m2 to 7 * 10"18m2, or 3 * 10-1 m2, up to 1.2 * 10-10m2 or more.An additional parameter relevant to the membrane port region and respectively materials is the bubble point pressure, which can be measured according to With the method as described below, the appropriate boiling point pressure values depend on the type of application in mind.The table below lists the bubble point pressure ranges of the appropriate port region (pbb). ) for some applications, as determined for the respective typical fluids: Application bpp (kPa) Range wide typical range Irrigation < 2 a > 50 8 to 50 Absorption of fat 1 to 20 1 to 5 Separation of oil < 1 to approx. fifty In a more general approach, it has been found useful to determine the pbb for a material using a standardized test fluid as described in the test methods below.

Thickness and size of the Membrane port region The membrane port region of a liquid transport member is defined as a part of the wall having the highest permeability, when the port of opening region is ignored as described continuation. The membrane port region is also defined to have the lowest relative permeability when closed along a path from the volume region to a point outside the transport region. The membrane port region can be constructed of easily recognizable materials and then both thickness and size can be easily determined. The membrane port region may, however, have a gradual transition from its properties to one another, the impermeable regions of the wall region or the volume region. Then the determination of thickness and size can be done as described below. When a segment of the wall region is closed, as illustrated in Figure 5A, it will have a surface defined by the corners ABCD, which are oriented towards the internal or volume region and an EFGH surface facing the outside of the member. Therefore, the thickness dimension is oriented along the lines AE, BF, and so on, ie using Cartesian coordinates, along the z-direction. Analogously, the wall region will have a greater extension along two perpendicular directions, that is to say the direction x and y. Then, the thickness of the membrane port region can be determined as follows: a) In case of essentially homogeneous port region properties at least in the direction through the thickness of the region, it is the thickness of the material having a homogeneous permeability (such as a membrane film); b) It is the thickness of the membrane if it is combining with a carrier (this carrier being inside or outside the membrane), ie this refers to a non-continuous stage change function of the properties along this path. c) For a material that has a continuous gradient permeability (determinable) through any segment as in Figure 5A, the following steps can be performed to achieve a determinable thickness (refer to Figure 5B): cO) First, a permeability profile is determined along the z axis the kpocaii vrs curve is graphed; for certain members the porosity or pore size curve can also be taken for this determination with appropriate changes of the subsequent procedure. d) Then the point of least permeability (km? n is determined and the corresponding length reading is taken (r [m, n]) c2) As the third stage, "the permeability of the upper port region" is determined being ten times the value of km? n c3) Since the curve has a minimum of km, there are two rmterno and rexterno, corresponding that define the internal and external limits of the port region respectively. C4) The distance between the two limits define the thickness, and the average port average will be determined through it. If this approach fails due to indeterminable gradient permeability, porosity or pore size, the thickness of the membrane port region will be set at 1 micrometer. As indicated above, it will often be desirable to minimize the thickness of the membrane port region, respectively the membrane materials comprised therein. Typical thickness values are in the range of less than 100μm, often less than 50μm, 10μm or even less than 5μm. Analogously, the x-y extension of the membrane port region can be determined. In certain liquid transport member designs it will be readily apparent, that part of the wall region are membrane port regions. In other designs, with gradually changing properties across the wall region, the local permeability curves along the x and y direction of the wall region can be determined and plotted analogously to Figure 5B as shown in the Figure 5C. However, in this case, the maximum permeability of the wall region defines the membrane port region, so the maximum will be determined and the region that has permeabilities not less than one tenth of the maximum permeability surrounding this maximum are defined as the membrane port region. Another useful parameter to describe aspects of the membrane port region useful in the present invention is the thickness permeability ratio, which in the context of the present invention is also referred to as "membrane conductivity". This reflects the fact that - for a given driving force - the amount of liquid that penetrates through a material such as a membrane is on one side proportional to the loss of material, ie, the greater the permeability, the greater the amount of liquid will penetrate. and on the other side inversely proportional to the thickness of the material. In the following, a material having a low permeability compared to the same material having a decrease is thickness, shows that this thickness can compensate for the permeability deficiency (when high speeds are desirable). Therefore, this parameter can be very useful for designing the materials of the membrane port region to be used. The adequate conductivity k / d depends on the type of application you have in mind. The table below lists typical ranges of k / d for some illustrative applications: Application bpp (kPa) Range wide typical range Irrigation 1 to 300 Absorption of fat - 100 to 500 Separation of oil 1 to 500 The membrane port region must be wettable by the transport fluid and the hydrophilicity or lipophilicity must be designed in a suitable manner, such as by the use of hydrophilic membranes in the case of transport of aqueous liquids, or hydrophobic membranes in the case of lipophilic or oleic. The surface properties in the membrane port region can be permanent, or may change with time or conditions of use. It is preferred that the recoil contact angle for the liquid being conveyed be less than 70 °, more preferably less than 50 °, even more preferred less than 20 ° or less than 10 °. Furthermore, it is often preferred that the material has no negative impact on the surface tension of the liquid transported. For example, a lipophilic membrane can be made from lipophilic polymers such as polyethylene or polypropylene and such membranes will remain lipophilic during use. Another example is a hydrophilic material that allows aqueous liquids to be transported. If a polymer such as polyethylene or polypropylene is used, it has to be hydrophilized, by surfactants added to the surface of the material or added to the polymer by volume, adding a hydrophilic polymer before forming the membrane port material. In both cases, the hydrophilicity imparted can be permanent or non-permanent, for example removal by washing with the transport liquid passing through the material. However, since it is an important aspect of the present invention, that membrane port region remains in a wet state to prevent gas from passing through them, the lack of hydrophilizer will not be significant once the port region membrane is wetted.

Maintenance of liquid filling of the membrane For a porous membrane to be functional once it has been wetted (permeable to liquid, not permeable to air) at least one continuous layer of pores of the membrane always needs to be filled with liquid and not with gas or air. Therefore, it may be desirable for particular applications to minimize the evaporation of liquid from the membrane pores, either by decreasing the vapor pressure in the liquid or by increasing the vapor pressure in the air . Possible ways to do this, include without any limitation: Seal the membrane with a waterproof wrap to prevent evaporation between promotion and use. The use of strong desiccants (for example CaCI2) in the pores, or the use of a liquid with a low vapor pressure in the pores that mix with the transported fluid, such as glycerin. Alternatively, the membrane port region can be sealed with soluble polymers, such as polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinyl acetate, which dissolve on contact with liquids and thus activate the functionality of the transport member. In addition, of the liquid handling requirements, the membrane port region must meet certain mechanical requirements. First, the membrane port region should not have a negative effect on the intended conditions of use. For example, when such members are intended for hygienic absorbent articles, comfort and safety should not be Negatively shaped. Therefore it will often be desirable for the membrane port region to be soft and flexible, although this is not always the case. However, the port region must be strong enough to withstand the stresses of practical use, such as tear strain or drilling tension or the like. In certain designs, it may be desirable for the materials of the membrane port region to be extensible or collapsible or flexable. A single hole in the membrane (for example, caused by perforation during use), a failure in the sealing membrane (for example, due to production), or tearing of the membrane (for example, due to pressure exerted during use) can lead to a failure of the liquid transport mechanism. While this should be used as a destructive testing method to determine whether the materials or functions of the membrane according to the present invention, this is not desirable during its intended use. If the air or other gas penetrates within the inner region, it can block the liquid flow path within the region, or it can also disrupt the liquid connection between the volume and port region. One possibility to be a stronger individual member is to provide in certain parts the internal region remote from the main liquid flow path, a bag where the air entering the system is allowed to accumulate without making this system non-functional. An additional way to solve this issue is to have several liquid transport members in a parallel arrangement (functionality or geometry) instead of a single liquid transport member. If one of the members fails, the others will maintain the functionality of "the liquid transport member battery". The functional requirements of the above regions of the port regions can be satisfied by a wide range of materials or structures described by the following properties or structural parameters. The pore structure of the region, respectively of the materials in it, is an important parameter that impacts on properties such as permeability and bubble point pressure. Two key aspects of the pore structure are the pore size and the pore size distribution. A suitable method to characterize these parameters at least on the surface of the region is by optical analysis. As mentioned above in the context of permeability, the permeability is influenced by the pore size and the thickness of the region, respectively the part of the thickness that is predominantly determining the permeability. In the following, it has been found that, for example, for aqueous systems typical average pore size values are in the range of 0.5 μm to 500 μm.

Thus, the pores preferably have an average size of less than 100 μm, preferably less than 50 μm, more preferably less than 10 μm or even less than 5 μm. Typically, those pores are not less than 1 μm. It is an important characteristic for example of bubble point pressure, which will depend on the largest pores in the region, which are in a connected arrangement in it. For example, having a larger pore embedded in a smaller one will not necessarily hurt performance, while a "grouping" of larger pores together will do quite well. In the following, it will be desirable to have narrower pore distribution ranges.

Another aspect relates to pore walls, such as pore wall thicknesses, which must be a balance of opening and resistance requirements. Also, the pores must be connected to each other, to allow the liquid to pass through them easily. Since some of the preferred port region materials may be thin membrane materials, these by themselves may have relatively poor mechanical properties. Hereinafter, such membranes can be combined with a support structure, such as a coarser mesh, yarns or filaments, a non-woven material, apertured films or the like. Such support structure can be combined with the membrane so that it will be placed towards the internal / volume region or towards the outside of the member.

Size / surface area of the membrane port region The size of the membrane port region is essential for the overall performance of the transport member, and needs to be determined in combination with "thickness permeability" (k / d) radl0 of the membrane port region. The size has to be adapted to the intended use, so that it meets the liquid handling requirements. Generally, it will be desirable to have the liquid handling capability of the inner / volume region and the membrane port region to be compatible, so that none is a major limiting factor for the transport of liquid compared to the other. As regards a given driving force, the flow (ie, the flow velocity through a unit area) of the membrane port region will generally be less than the flow through the inner region , it may be preferred to design the larger membrane port region (surface) than the cross section of the inner region.

Therefore, the exact design and shape of the membrane port region can vary over a wide range. For example, when the amount of liquid transported per unit of time is relatively slow - such as providing an activation or signal from one port region to another, or to provide instead a controlled flow of liquid, as may be desirable for systems Irrigation - The membrane port region may be relatively small, such as the approximate size of the cross section of the inner region, so that a substantially smaller transport member results. Alternatively, when large quantities of liquids are to be rapidly trapped and transported, distributed, or stored, the member may be formed, for example in the form of, a bone with the relatively large membrane port region at either end of the member. of transport or, the membrane port region can be spoon-shaped to increase the reception area. Alternatively, the membrane port region may be non-planar, such as for example corrugated or folded, or have other shapes to create relatively large surface area for the volume ratios. The properties of the membrane port region may be constant over time or may change over time such as being different before and during use. For example, the membrane port region may have properties not suitable for operation on members according to the present invention to the point of use. The membrane port region can be activated, for example by manual activation, intervention of the person using the member, or through automatic activation means such as the moistening of the transport member.

Other alternative mechanisms for activating the membrane port region may include changes in temperature, for example from room temperature to a user's body temperature or pH, for example from transport fluid or an electrical or mechanical stimulus. As described in the context of the osmotic package materials above, the membranes useful for the present invention do not have a specific requirement of a certain saline impermeability. While the membrane port regions and suitable materials have been described with respect to their descriptive properties or parameters, some of the materials that meet the different requirements will be described below, thus focusing on the transport of aqueous liquids. Suitable materials may be open cell foams, such as high internal phase emulsion foams may be cellulose nitrate membranes, cellulose acetate membranes, polyvinyl difluoride films, non-woven materials, woven materials such as mesh made from metal or polymers from polyamide or polyester. Other suitable materials can be films, openings, such as those formed by vacuum, with hydro-openings, with mechanical openings or laser beam or films treated with electronic, ionic or heavy ion beams. The specific materials are cellulose acetate membranes, as described in US 5,108,383 (White, Allied-Signal Inc.). Nitrocellulose membranes as available from, for example, Advanced Microdevices (PCT) LTD, Arríbala Cantt. INDIA calls CNJ-10 (Lot # F 030328) and CNJ-20 (Lot # F 024248). Membranes of cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate membranes, PTFE membranes, polyamide membranes, polyester membranes as available for example from Sartorius in Gottingen, Germany and Millipore in Bedford USA, which may be very appropriate. Also the microporous films, such as PE / PP filled with CaCO3 particles, or the filler containing PET films as described in EP-A-0,451,797. Other embodiments for the harbor region materials may be polymer films with openings through ion beam, such as those made from PE as described in "ion Tracks and Microtechnology - Basic Principles and Applications" edited by R. Spohr and K. Bethge, published by Vieweg, Wiesbaden, Germany 1990. Other suitable materials are woven polymer meshes, such as polyamide or polyethylene meshes as available from Verseidag in Geldemm-Waldbeck, Germany, or SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. Other materials that may be suitable for current applications are hydrophilized woven materials, such as are known under the designation DRYLOFT® from Goretex in Newark, DE 19711, USA. In addition, certain non-woven materials are suitable, such as those available under the designation CoroGard® from BBA Corovin, Peine, Germany, which may also be used, i.e. whether such webs are specially designed for the relatively narrow pore size distribution, such as those that comprise the "meltblown" frames suitable. For applications with low limb flexibility requirements, or when a certain rigidity is desirable, metal filter meshes of the appropriate pore size may be appropriate, such as HIGHFLOW from Haver & Bocker, in Oelde, Germany.

Port of Aperture Region In addition to the membrane port region, the liquid handling member according to the present invention comprises at least one port opening region. This region can be represented generally by an opening having a dimension significantly greater than the pores that the membrane port region has. In one embodiment of the present invention, the functionality of the liquid transport membrane is maintained as long as this opening is not exposed to air, that is, it is effectively closed by a liquid in which the part of the liquid transport membrane comprising the opening is submerged. Therefore, the opening port region can be submerged in the liquid container, from which the liquid is removed through the liquid transport membrane having the membrane port connected to the liquid spillway. Conversely, the opening port region can be immersed in a liquid receiving container, in which liquid can be transported from a liquid source in contact with the membrane port region. The opening port region may be of any suitable shape and dimension, obviously large enough so as not to significantly impede liquid transport. A particular embodiment of the present invention comprises an opening port region with one or more openings that are still significantly larger than the pores of the membrane port regions, but being significantly small so as not to allow the generation of gas bubbles towards the inner region in the opening. This is, of course, depending on the fluids, and can generally be approximate (taken from the Perry manual). For aqueous liquids, and for horizontally oriented openings, the dimension should not be larger than the size of the bubble as can be approximated by the well-known bubble formation formula (see, for example, Chemical Engineering Manual, Perry / Chilton , McGraw-Hill, 5th edition, 1973, equation 18-128) db = (6 * d0 / (g * pt)) 1/3 where you have the bubble diameter of the gas bubble generated, in mm; d0 denotes the diameter of the opening in mm; g denotes the constant of gravity; And p ! denotes the density of the liquid (negligible gas density) as expressed in mm. For typical aqueous systems, an opening preferably has a circumscribed internal diameter of less than about 6 mm, preferably less than about 4 mm and more preferably less than about 2 mm, whereby the diameter is defined by the largest circle, which may be inscribed in the opening. If the opening port region is not aligned horizontally, the opening may be larger, and - for example for a flexible tube bent towards the horizontal plane (thereby providing a vertically oriented opening extending towards the horizontal part of the tube , which can then be folded up), it has been found that openings up to 12 mm work satisfactorily. If the opening is irregularly formed, (for example, as having a star-like shape), the corresponding diameter is the diameter of the largest inscribed circle, which can geometrically be placed in the opening. If there is more than one opening, each one will be considered as an opening port region. For such designs, the gas will not enter the system even if the opening port region of the liquid container is removed, or the liquid level in the container is greatly reduced, while the opening port region is placed lower with Regarding the direction of gravity the membrane port region or - more generally - the pressure inside the membrane near the membrane is less than the surrounding pressure outside the membrane.

One and the same structure may at one point in time have an opening port submerged in the liquid (such as a filled vessel), and thus would need to satisfy the requirements for the first embodiment, but at another point in time (such as when the container is emptied) it would not be immersed in the liquid, and the requirements of the second embodiment would need to be satisfied to ensure maintenance of the functionality of the liquid transport member in the liquid supply in the container.

Additional elements While the definition of volume, wall, and external region has been made previously in relation to the function of each of these regions, there may optionally be elements added to the materials that form those regions, which may extend within a nearby region without extending liquid handling functionality, but improving other properties, such as mechanical strength or tactile or visual aspects of the materials that make up the region or the entire structure.

For example, a support structure can be added to the exterior of the port wall or region, which can be so open that it does not impact the fluid handling properties and as such would be functionally considered to belong to the external region. When such an open support element extends from the wall region within the internal region or volume, it will functionally belong to the volume region. If there is a gradual transition between these materials and / or elements, the definitions made for the respective functional regions will allow a clear distinction between the materials that make up the region and the additional elements. In addition to the internal / volume and wall regions, the liquid transport member according to the present invention may optionally contain other elements, such as walls or liquid impervious separations, in addition to the wall region with one or more regions from Port. In addition, additional elements may exist outside wall regions such as materials to provide improved physical strength or improved tactile sensation or the like. While the external elements can be placed so that the liquid flows through them, they do not contribute to the essential functionality of the liquid transport member. Therefore, such elements should not be a factor that limits the flow and can not function as a port region. Such elements can be integral with the wall region. In addition, there are elements attached to or integral with the liquid transport member to assist in its implementation within an absorbent system, or an article comprising a liquid transport member.

Relative Permeability If the permeability of the inner / volume region and the membrane port region can be determined independently, it is preferred that the membrane port region have a lower liquid permeability than the inner region. Thus, a liquid transport member must have a permeability ratio of the volume region to the membrane port region of preferably at least 10: 1, more preferably at least 100: 1, even more preferably at least 1000: 1 and even 10,000: 1 ratios are adequate.

Relative disposition of the regions Depending on the specific modalities, there may be several combinations of the inner region, the wall, the membrane port region, and the opening port region.

At least a portion of the membrane port region must be in liquid communication with the internal region, to allow the fluid to be transferred thereto. The opening port region will also be in contact with the inner region as it naturally occurs through an opening. The pore size ratio of the pores of the inner region to the pores of the membrane port region are preferably at least 10: 1, more preferably of at least 30: 1, even more preferably of at least 100: 1 and most preferably of at least 350: 1. The area of the membrane port region will typically be larger than the cross section of the internal regions. In most cases, the membrane port region will be twice as large as the cross section of the inner region, often four times as large or even 10 times as large as that region.

Structural relationship of regions Different regions may have similar or different structural properties, possibly complementing structural properties such as strength, flexibility and the like. For example, all regions may comprise flexible material designed to deform in a cooperative manner, whereby the inner region comprises a thin material until it is wetted which expands upon contact with the transported liquid, the membrane port region comprises flexible membranes and the walls can be made of flexible film impervious to liquid having an opening that represents the opening port region. The transport member can be made of several materials, whereby each region can comprise one or more materials. For example, the inner region may comprise porous materials, the walls may comprise film material, and the membrane port may comprise a membrane material.

Alternatively, the transport member may consist essentially of a material with different properties in various regions, such as a foam with very large voids to provide the functionality of the internal region, with membrane-like materials to function as the membrane-port materials. In a embodiment as shown in Figure 7, the liquid transport member may comprise several internal and / or several external port regions, for example as can be achieved by connecting a number of tubes (802) and closing several end openings with input ports 806 and an output port 807, whereby either of the input or output ports are aperture port regions, thus circumscribing the inner region 803 or a "split" system where the fluid is simultaneously transported towards more than one location (more than one exit port). Alternatively, the transport for different locations can be selective (for example, gaps in a transport material on the route to a port can be filled with water-soluble material, and gaps in transport material on the route to a second port). they can be filled with an oil-soluble material Also, the transport member can be hydrophilic and / or oleophilic to further improve the screening ability). In a particular embodiment, the internal region may be devoid of liquid at the beginning of the liquid transport process, (ie it contains a gas at a pressure less than the ambient pressure surrounding the liquid transport member). In such cases, the liquid supplied by a liquid source may penetrate through the membrane port region or the opening port regions to fill the voids of the membrane and the inner region. In another embodiment, where the membrane port region comprises a liquid soluble material, the liquid first contacts this member, it can first dissolve this soluble material and subsequently wet the membrane. In such a case, the internal regions may not be completely filled with the transport fluid, although a certain amount of gas or vapor may be retained. If the vapor or gas is soluble in the transported liquid, it is possible that after some liquid passes through the member, this substantially all the gas or vapor initially present is removed and the internal regions are substantially free of gases. In cases with some residual gas or vapor that is present in the inner region, this may reduce the effective available cross section of the fluid member, unless specific measures are taken such as those indicated in Figure 8, with the region of wall (1202) comprising the membrane port region (1206) and the opening port region (1207) circumscribing the inner region (1203) and region (1210) to allow gas to accumulate. In additional embodiments of the present invention, one or more of the above-described embodiments may be combined.

Liquid Transport System The following describes the suitable arrangement for a liquid transport member in order to create a suitable Liquid Transport System (LTS) in accordance with the present invention. A Liquid Transport System within the scope of the present invention comprises the combination of at least one liquid transport member with at least one additional liquid source or weir in liquid communication with the member. The source can be any form of free liquid or loose bound liquid to be readily available to be received by the transport member.

For example, a liquid reservoir, or a free liquid flow volume, or an open porous structure filled with liquid. The landfill can be any shape of a liquid receiving region. In certain embodiments, it is preferred to have the liquid attached more hermetically than the liquid in the source thereof. The weir can also be an element or region containing free liquid, such as liquid that would be able to flow freely or by gravity driven away from the member.

Alternatively, the landfill may contain absorbent or superabsorbent material, absorbent foams, expandable foams, alternatively it may be of a spring activated failure system or may contain osmotically functional material or combinations thereof. Liquid communication in this context refers to the ability of liquids to transfer or be transferred from the landfill or source to the member, such as can easily be achieved by contacting the elements or bringing the elements as close to one another as possible. liquid can bind the remaining space. Such a liquid transport system comprises a liquid transport member according to the above description plus at least one spillway or liquid source. The term applies at least to systems, where the liquid transport member itself can store or release liquids, such as a liquid transport system comprising: a spillway and a liquid release liquid transport member; or a source and a fluid receiving liquid transport member; or a landfill and a source and a liquid transport member. In each of these options, the liquid transport member can have the liquid release or reception properties in addition to a source or dump outside the member.

At least a portion of the membrane port region must be in liquid communication with the source liquid and when the landfill material is applicable. One approach is to have the membrane port region material that forms the outer surface of the liquid transport member, in part or as the entire outer surface, to allow liquids such as liquids from the liquid waste source to enter. in contact easily with the membrane port region. The effective port region size can be determined by the size of the liquid communication with the landfill or the source respectively. For example, the total of the membrane port region may be in contact with the landfill or source, or only a part thereof. • In one embodiment of the present invention, the functionality of the liquid transport member is maintained as long as this opening is not exposed to air, i.e., this is effectively closed by a liquid in which part of the liquid transport member which comprises the opening is submerged. One more modality of The present invention comprises an opening port region with one or more openings still being significantly larger than the pores of the membrane port regions, but being small enough not to allow the generation of gas bubbles in the inner region in the opening, such as for this embodiment, the opening port region may under the conditions described above be removed from the liquid container. It will be evident, that a landfill must be able to receive liquids from the member (and when applicable from the respective port regions) and a source must be able to release the liquid towards the member (and when applicable towards the port regions). respective). Hereinafter, a liquid source for a liquid transport member according to the present invention can be a free flowing liquid, such as urine released by a user, or an open water container. A liquid source region may also be an intermediate container, such as a liquid acquisition member in absorbent articles. Similarly, a liquid spillway can be a free flow channel, or an expansion vessel, for example, a bellows element is combined with mechanical expansion by spacer means, such as springs. A liquid landfill region may also be a final liquid storage element of the absorbent members, such as is useful in absorbent articles and the like. In a preferred embodiment, a liquid transport system has an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably at least 10 g / g, more preferably at least 50 g / g, and in the most efficient manner. preferable of at least 75 g / g based on the weight of the liquid transport system, when measured in the demand absorbance test as described below. In another preferred embodiment, the liquid transport system contains a weir comprising an absorbent material having an absorption capacity of at least 10 g / g, preferably at least 20 g / g, and more preferably at least less 50 g / g, based on the weight of the liquid transport system, when measured in the Centrifugal Capacity Test in tea bag, as described below. In a further preferred embodiment, the liquid transport system comprises an absorbent material which provides an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably of at least 10 g / g, more preferably of at least 50 g / g. , or most preferably at least 75 g / g up to a capillary suction corresponding to the capillary suction of the bubble point of the member, especially of at least 4 kPa, preferably of at least 10 kPa, when subjected to the capillary absorption test, as described in the test section of the co-pending PCT application US98 / 13497, filed on June 29, 1998. Such materials also preferably exhibit a low absorptive capacity in the Capillary Absorption Test on bubble point pressure, such as 4kPa or even 10kPa, of less than 5 g / g, preferably less than 2 g / g, more preferably less than 1 g / g and most preferably less than 0.2 g / g. In certain specific embodiments, the liquid transport member also contains foam superabsorbent materials or made with high internal phase emulsion polymerization, as described in the PCT application US98 / 05044. Typically, the suction of liquid landfill material will not exceed the bubble boiling pressure of the port region.

Applications There is a wide field of application for liquid transport members or liquid transport system according to the present invention. The following should not be considered as limiting in any way, but as example areas, where such members or systems are useful. Suitable applications can be found for a bandage, or other absorbent health care systems. In another aspect, the article may be a water transport system or member, which optionally combines transport functionality with filtration functionality, for example, by purifying the water that is transported. Also, the member may be useful in the cleaning operation to remove liquids or by releasing fluids in a controlled manner. A liquid transport member according to the present invention can also be a fat or oil absorber. A specific application can be seen in self-regulation irrigation systems for plants. Therefore the entrance port can be submerged in a container, and the transport member may be in the form of an elongated tube. In contrast to known irrigation systems (such as those known under BLUMAT as available from Jade @ National Guild, PO Box 5370, Mt Crested Butte, CO 81225), the system according to the present invention will not lose its functionality when the container is dried, but remains in operation until and after the container is replenished. An additional application can be seen in air conditioning systems, with a similar advantage as described for irrigation systems. Also, due to the small pore sizes of the port regions, this system would be easier to clean than conventional wetting aids, such as porous clay structures, or stained paper type elements. Even an additional application is the replacement of miniature pumps, as can be seen in biological systems or even in the field of medicine. An additional application can be observed in the selective transport of liquids such as when it is intended to transport the oil away from the oil / water mixture. For example, in oil spills on a water, a liquid transport member can be used to transfer the oil into an additional container. Alternatively, the oil can be transported in a liquid transport member which comprises, herein, a dump functionality for oil. An additional application uses the liquid transport member according to the present invention as a transmitter as a signal. In such an application, the total amount of liquid transported must not be very large, but transportation must be reduced. This can be achieved by having a transport member filled with liquid, which upon receipt of a small amount of liquid in the port of entry virtually immediately releases the liquid at the outlet port.

This liquid can be used to stimulate the additional reaction, such as a signal or activate a response, for example, dissolving a seal to release mechanical energy, stored to create a three-dimensional change in shape or structure. One more application exploits the very short response times of the liquid transport and the almost immediate response time.

Method of manufacturing liquid transport members The liquid transport members according to the present invention can be produced by several methods, which have in common the essential steps of combining a volume or internal region with a wall region which comprises regions of port with appropriate selection of the respective properties as described above. This can be achieved by starting from a homogeneous material and imparting different properties therein. For example, if a member is a polymeric foam material, it can be produced from a monomer with variable pore sizes, which will be polymerized to form a suitable member. This can also be achieved by starting from several essentially homogeneous materials and combining these in the member. In this embodiment a wall material can be provided, which can have homogeneous or variable properties, and volume material that can be provided, which can be an open porous material or a hollow space can be defined to represent the volume region. The two materials that can be combined through suitable techniques such as packing or wrapping as is known in the art, so that the wall material completely circumscribes the volume region or the volume region material. In order to allow the transport of liquid, the region of volume can be filled with liquid or can be held in vacuum, or it can be equipped with other auxiliaries for the created vacuum or the filling of the liquid. Optionally, the method of forming a member according to the present invention may comprise the step of applying activation means, which can be of the mechanical type. These activation means may also comprise materials that react to the transport liquid, such as in solution. Such materials can be applied in the port regions, for example, to open the port regions in use, or such materials can be applied to the regions of volume, to allow the expansion of those regions to wetting. The fabrication of members according to the present invention can be done in an essentially continuous manner, having several materials provided in the form of a roll, which are unrolled and processed or any of the materials can be provided discretely, such as pieces of foam or particles.

Examples The following section provides suitable examples for the liquid transport members and systems according to the present invention, thus starting with the description of several samples, suitable for use in certain regions of those members or systems.

S-1 Suitable samples for membrane port regions: S-1.1: HIFLO® woven filter mesh, type 20, as available from Haver & Boecker, Oelde, Germany, made from stainless steel, having a porosity of 61% and a caliber of 0.09 mm, designated for filtering up to 19 μ at 20 μm. S-1.2a: Polyamide mesh Monodur type MON PA 20 N as available from Verseidag in Geldern-Waldbeck, Germany. S-1.2b: Monodur polyamide mesh Type MON PA 42.5 N as available from Verseidag in Geldern-Waldbeck, Germany. S-1.3b: Polyester mesh 03-15 / 10 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3c: Polyester mesh 03-20 / 14 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3d: Polyester mesh 03-1 / 1 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3e: Polyester mesh 03-5 / 1 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3f: Polyester mesh 03-10 / 2 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3g: Polyester mesh 03-11 / 6 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.4: Cellulose acetate membranes as described in US 5,108,383 (White, Allied-Signal Inc.). S-1.5: HIPE foam produced in accordance with the teachings of the U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/042429, filed March 13, 1998 by T. DesMarais et al., Entitled "High Suction polymeric foam", the description of which is incorporated herein by reference. present by reference. S-1.6: Nylon socks, for example of the 1.5 den type, commercially available in Germany, such as Hudson. S-2 Suitable samples for wall regions which do not represent port regions S-2.1: Flexible adhesive coated film, as commercially available under the trade name "d-c-fix" from Alkor, Gráfelfing, Germany. S-2.2: Plastic funnel Catalog # 625 617 20 of Fisher Scientific in Nidderau, Germany. S-2.3: Flexible piping (internal diameter approximately 8 mm) such as Masterflex 6404-17 by Nortor, distributed by Barnant Company, Barrington, Illinois, 60010 U.S.A. S-2.4: Conventional polyethylene film such as that used as backsheet material in disposable diapers as available from Clopay Corp., Cincinnati, OH, US, under the code DH-227. S-2.5: Conventional polyethylene film such as that used as the back cover material in disposable diapers, as available from Nuova Pansac SpA in Milan, Italy, under the code BS 441118. S-2.6: Flexible PVC pipe for example Catalog # 620 853 84 of Fisher Scientific in Nidderau, Germany. S-2.7: PTFE tube for example, catalog # 620 456 68 from Fisher Scientific in Nidderau, Germany. S-3 Suitable samples of inner region S-3: 1: Hollow as created by any rigid wall / port region. S-3.2: Metal springs having an external diameter of 4 mm and a length of approximately 6 cm with any force applied as are available from Federnfabrik Dietz in Neustadt, Germany, under the designation of article "federn" # DD / 100. S-3.3: Recticel open cell foams in Brussels, Belgium as Filtren TM10 blue, Filtren TM20 blue, Filtren TM30 blue, Filtren Firend 10 black, Filtren Firend 30 black, Filtren HC 20 gray, Filtren Firend HC 30 grex, Bulpren S10 black, Bulpren S20 black, Bulpren S30 black). S-3.4: HIPE foams as produced in accordance with the teachings of the United States of America Patent Application Serial No. 09/042418, filed on March 13, 1998 by T. DesMarais et al. entitled "Absorbent Materials for Distributing Aqueous Liquids", the description of which is incorporated herein by reference. S-3.5: Particle parts of S-3.4 or S-3.3. S-4 Samples for pressure gradient creation means S-4.1: Osmotic pressure gradient materials according to the teachings of US-A-5, 108.383 (White, Allied Signal). S-4.2: Difference of height between the entrance and the exit that generates a difference of pressure generated by hydrostatic height. S-4.3: Several partially saturated pore materials (absorbent foams, superabsorbent materials, particles, sand, stains) that generate a difference in capillary pressure. S-4.4: Difference in the air pressure at the inlet and outlet, generated for example by means of a vacuum pump (sealed air tight) at the outlet.

Example A for transport member Combination of wall region with port region, inner region filled with liquid: A) A tube of 20 cm in length (S-2.6) is connected in an airtight manner to the air with a plastic funnel ( S-2.2). Sealing can be done with Parafilm M (available from Fischer Scientific in Nidderau, Germany, catalog number 617 800 02). A circular piece of port material (S-1.1), slightly larger than the open area of the funnel is sealed in an airtight manner with the funnel. The seal is made with a suitable adhesive, for example, Pattex ™ from Henkel KGA, Germany.

Example B for transport system (ie member and (source and / or landfill)) B) To exemplify an application of a liquid transport system, the liquid transport member of A has been placed between a source container of liquid. liquid and a pot, so that a portion of the inlet port region is immersed in the liquid container and the outlet portion that is placed inside the pot soil. The relative humidity of the container and the pot is not relevant to the length of the member, and would not be of a member length of approximately 50 cm.

METHODS Activation Since the properties are relevant to the liquid handling ability of a liquid transport member according to the present invention, it is considered at the time of liquid transport and how some materials and designs may have properties that differ from these , for example, to facilitate transportation or other handling between the manufacturing and its intended use, such materials must be activated before they are subjected to a test. The term "activation" means that the member is placed in the condition of use such as by establishing a liquid communication along a flow path or such as by initiating a pulse pressure differential, and this it can be achieved by mechanical activation, which simulates the activation prior to the use of a user (such as the removal of restraint means such as a fastener, or a strip of a release paper such as an adhesive or the removal of a stamp from package, thus allowing the mechanical expansion optionally with the creation of a vacuum within the member). Activation can also be achieved by other stimuli transmitted to the activation means, such as pH or temperature change, by radiation or the like. Activation can also be achieved by interaction with liquids, such as by having certain solubility properties or changing concentrations, or they are carrier activation ingredients such as enzymes. This can also be achieved through the transport liquid itself, and in those cases, the member must be immersed in the test liquid which must be representative of the transport liquid, optionally removing the air by means of a vacuum pump and allowing Balance for 30 minutes. Afterwards, the member is removed from the liquid, placed on a coarse mesh (such as a 14 mesh mesh screen) to allow excess liquid to drip.

Closed System Test The test provides an easy-to-implement tool for determining whether a material or transport member satisfies the principles of the present invention.

It should be noted, that this test is not useful to exclude materials or members, that is, if a member or members do not pass the Closed System Test, it may or may not be a liquid transport member according to the present invention. First, the test sample is activated as described above, while the weight is monitored, and therefore the weight of the dry system as well as the initial liquid can be determined. If the sample contains significant amounts of liquid before activation, the initial liquid weight can be determined by conventional methods, such as drying under moderate conditions. Then, the test sample is suspended or supported in a position such that a larger extent of the sample is essentially aligned with the gravity vector. For example, the sample can be supported by a support board or mesh placed at an angle of about 90 ° to the horizontal, or the sample can be suspended by bands or strips in a vertical position. In this way, the opening port region should be placed below the membrane port region, and be immersed in the liquid of a container. The test sample can be conveniently attached to a weighing device, to allow monitoring of continuous weighing outside the procedure. The container is also placed on a scale. Then, as a next stage, the wall region is opened both in the part of the sample and just above the liquid level of the container, that is, if the sample has sharp corners, then those corners, if the sample has a Curved or rounded periphery, then in the upper part of the periphery. The size of the opening must be such as to allow the liquid to pass through the lower opening and the air to pass through the upper opening which is sufficient to allow the flow of the liquid without adding pressure or deformation. Typically, an opening having an inscribed circular diameter of at least 2 mm is suitable. The opening can be made through any suitable means, such as by the use of a pair of scissors, a holding tab, a needle, a sharp blade or a scalpel and the like. If a groove is applied to the sample, it must be done so that the flanks of the groove can be separated from each other, to create a two-dimensional opening. Alternatively, a cut can remove a part of the wall material creating an opening. Care must be taken not to add additional weight or pressure, or deformation exerted on the sample. Similarly, care must be taken that no liquid is removed by the opening means, unless this can be accurately considered when calculating weight differences. If the material or member is a liquid transport member according to the present invention, the liquid will flow through the opening or through the opening port into the container.

System and container weights are monitored, preferably not after 10 minutes after opening the test sample. Care must be taken that no excessive evaporation takes place, if this could be the case and this can be determined by monitoring the weight loss of a sample without having to open it during the test time and by correcting the results in consecuense. If the weight loss of the test sample is greater than or equal to 3% based on the liquid in the test sample before opening, then the test material or member has passed this test, and is a member of liquid transport according to the present invention. If the drip weight is less than 3% of the initial total weight, then this test does not allow the determination of whether the material is a liquid transport member according to the present invention or not.

Bubble Point Pressure (Port Region) The following procedure applies when you want to determine the bubble point pressure of a membrane port region or a material useful for port regions. First, the port region respectively the port region material is connected to a funnel and a tube as described in Example A-1. Therefore, the lower end of the tube is left open that is, not covered with a port region material. The tube must be of sufficient length, that is, up to 10 m in length that may be required. In case the test material is very thin or fragile, it may be appropriate to support it by an open support structure (such as a layer of open pore nonwoven material) before connecting it to the funnel and the tube.

In the event that the test sample is not of sufficient size, the funnel can be replaced by a small one (for example, catalog # 625 616 02 of Fisher Scientific in Nidderau, Germany). If the test sample is too large, a representative piece can be trimmed to fit the funnel. The test liquid may be the liquid transported, although for ease of comparison, the test liquid must be a solution of 0.03% TRITON X 100, as available from MERCK KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, under catalog number 1.08603 , in distilled or deionized water, thus resulting in a surface tension of 33 mN / m, when measured according to the surface tension method as described further. The filling device with the test liquid by immersing it in a sufficiently large container filled with the test liquid, and removing the remaining air with a vacuum pump. As long as the lower (open) end of the funnel is maintained within the liquid in the container, the part of the funnel with the port region is removed from the liquid. If appropriate, but not necessarily, the funnel with the port region material should remain aligned horizontally. While continuing to slowly raise the port material over the vessel, the height is monitored and carefully observed through the funnel or through the port material itself (optionally with the help of adequate lighting) if the air bubbles start to rise. enter through the material inside the funnel. At this point, the height above the container is recorded to be the height of the bubble point. From this height H the bubble point pressure bpp is calculated as: BPP: pgH with the density of the liquid p, the gravity constant (g «9.81 m / s2) In particular for the bubble point pressures that exceed of about 50 kPa, an alternative determination, as commonly used to determine bubble point pressures for membranes used in filtration systems, can be used. In the present, the wetted membrane is separating two gas filling chambers when one is set under an increased gas pressure (such as an air pressure) and the point is recorded when the first bubbles of air "sprout".

Surface Tension Test Method The surface tension measurement is well known to those skilled in the art, such as with a K10T Tensiometer from Krüss GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, using the DuNouy ring method as described in equipment instructions. After cleaning the glass parts with isopropanol and deionized water, they are dried at 105 ° C. The platinum ring is heated on a Bunsen burner until it reaches red hot. A first reference measurement is taken to verify the accuracy of the tensiometer. An adequate number of test replicas are taken to ensure the consistency of the data. The resulting surface tension of that liquid as expressed in units of mN / m can be used to determine the adhesion tension values and the surface energy parameter of the respective liquid / solid / gas systems. The distilled water will generally exhibit a surface tension value of 72 mN / m, a 0.03% solution, X-100 in water of 33 mN / m.

Liquid Transport Test The following test can be applied to liquid transport members that have defined input and output port regions with a certain transport path length H0 between the input and output port regions. For members, where the respective port regions can not be determined because they are made of a homogeneous material those regions can be defined considering the intended use thereby defining the respective port regions. Before running the test, the liquid transport member must be activated if necessary as described above. The test sample is placed in a vertical position on a liquid container, the opening port placed below the membrane port, so that it is suspended from a support, so that the opening port remains completely submerged in the liquid at the recipient. The membrane port is connected by means of a 6 mm outer diameter flexible pipe to a vacuum pump, optionally, with a separator flask connected between the sample and the pump, and sealed in an air-tight manner as described in FIG. the above bubble point pressure method for a liquid transport member. The vacuum suction pressure differential can be monitored and adjusted. The lowermost point of the membrane port is adjusted to be at a height H0 above the level of the liquid in the container. The pressure differential is slightly increased at a pressure P0 = 0.9kPa + pg H0 with the density of the liquid p, and the gravitational constant g (g «9.81 m / s ~ 2). After reaching this pressure differential, the decrease in the weight of the liquid in the container is monitored, preferably by placing the container on a scale that measures the weight of the container, and which connects the scale to a computer equipment. After an initial unstable decrease (typically not taking more than about one minute), the weight decrease in the container will become constant (ie, showing a straight line in a presentation of graphical data).

This constant weight decrease over time is the flow velocity (in g / s) of the liquid transport member at a suction of 0.9kPa and at a height of H0. The corresponding flow velocity of the liquid transport member at 0.9 kPa suction and a height H0 is calculated from the flow velocity by dividing the flow velocity between the average section of the liquid transport member along a path of flow, expressed in g / s / cm2. Care should be taken that the container is large enough so that the fluid level in the container does not change by more than 1 mm. In addition, the effective permeability of the liquid transport member can be calculated by dividing the flow velocity between the average length along the flow path and the pulse pressure difference (0.9kPa).

Liquid Permeability Test Generally, the test must be carried out with a suitable test fluid representing the transport fluid. For example, when the application is in the context of disposable absorbent articles, Jayco SynUrine available from Jayco Pharmaceuticals Company of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania has been found to be suitable. The formula for synthetic urine is: 2.0 g /: KCl; 2.0 g / l of Na2SO4; 0.85 g / l of (NH4) O4; 0.15 g / l (NH4) O4; 0.19 g / l of CaCl2; ad 0.23 g / l MgCl2. All chemical elements are reactive in grade. The pH of synthetic urine is in the range of 6.0 to 6.4. Also for such applications, it has been found useful to carry out the tests under controlled laboratory conditions of approximately 23 +/- 2 ° C and approximately 50 +/- 10% relative humidity. The test sample is stored under these conditions for at least 24 hours before the test and, if applicable, is activated as described above. The present Permeability Test provides a measure for the permeability of two special conditions: Either the permeability that can be measured for a wide range of porous materials (such as non-woven materials made of synthetic fibers, or cellulose structures) to 100% of saturation, or for materials, which reach different degrees of saturation with a proportional change in the gauge without being filled with air (respectively the external vapor phase), such as collapsible polymer foams, for which the permeability in varying degrees Saturation can easily be measured in various thicknesses. In particular, for polymeric foam materials, such as those described in US-A-5,563,179 or US-A-5,387,207 it has been found useful to operate the test at an elevated temperature of 31 ° C, to better stimulate the conditions in the use of absorbent articles. In principle, these tests are based on Darcy's law, according to which the velocity of the volumetric flow of a liquid through any porous medium is proportional to the pressure gradient, with the constant of proportionality related to permeability. Q / A = (k /?) * (-? P / L) where: Q = Volumetric Flow Rate [cm3 / s]; A = Cross Section Area [cm2]; k = Permeability (cm2) (with 1 Darcy corresponding to 9,869 * 10"13 m2);? = Viscosity (Poise) [Pa * s];? P / L = Pressure Gradient [Pa / m]; L = gauge sample [cm]; Therefore, the permeability can be calculated, for a fixed or determined cross-sectional area, and the viscosity of the test liquid, through the measurement of the pressure drop and the volumetric flow rate through of the sample: k = (Q / A) * (L /? P) *? The test can be executed in two modifications, the first one referring to the transplanar permeability (ie, the flow direction which is essentially at length of the thickness dimension of the material), the second being the permeability in the plane (ie the direction in the flow that is in the x direction of the material) .The test facility for the transplanar permeability test can be seen in Figure 9 which is a schematic diagram of the general equipment and, like an inserted diagram, a cross section l partially exploded, not a scale view of the sample cell. The test facility comprises a generally circular or cylindrical sample cell (19120), having an upper part (19121) and a lower part (19122). The distance of these parts can be measured and therefore adjusted through each of the three circumferentially placed flat gauges (19145) and the adjustment screws (19140). In addition, the equipment comprises several fluid containers (19150, 19154, 19156), which include a height adjustment (19170) for the inlet container (19150) as well as piping (19180), quick release settings (19189) for connecting the sample cell with the rest of the team, additional valves (19182, 19184, 19186, 19188). The differential pressure transducer (19197) is connected by means of the pipe (19180) to the pressure sensing point (19194) and to the lower pressure detecting point (19196). A computer device (19190) to control the valves is connected by means of the connections (19199) to the differential pressure transducer (19197), the temperature probe (19192), and the load cell of the weight scale (19198). ). The circular sample (19110) having a diameter of (approximately 2. 54 cm) is placed between the two porous screens (19135) inside the sample cell (19120), which is made of two cylindrical pieces of 2.54 cm (19121, 19122) joined by means of the internal connection (19132) to the inlet vessel (19150) and by means of the external connection (19133) to the outlet vessel (19154) by means of the flexible pipe (19180), such as tygon pipe. Closed cell foam gaskets (19115) provide protection against spillage around the sides of the sample. The test sample (19110) is compressed from the caliper corresponding to the desired wet compression, which is set at 0.2 psi (approximately 1.4 kPa) unless otherwise stated. The liquid is allowed to flow through the sample (19110) to achieve a steady state flow. Once the steady-state flow through the sample (19110) has been established, the volumetric flow velocity and pressure drop are recorded as a function of time using a load cell (19198) and the differential pressure transducer (19197). The experiment can run at any hydrostatic head up to 80 cm of water (approximately 7.8 kPa), which can be adjusted by the height adjustment device (19170). From these measurements, the flow velocity at different pressures for the sample can be determined. The equipment is commercially available as a permeameter as supplied by Porous Materials, Inc., Ithaca, New York, US under the designation liquid permeameter PMl, as described in the respective user manual 2/97. This equipment includes two Stainless Steel Frits as porous sieves (19135), as specified in this manual. The equipment consists of the sample cell (19120), the input container (19150), the outlet container (19154), and the waste container (19156) and the respective filling and emptying valves and connections, an electronic scale and a valve control and computerized monitoring unit (19190). The gasket material (19115) is a closed cell neoprene sponge SNC-1 (Soft), such as that supplied by Netherland Rubber Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, the set of materials with variable thicknesses in the stages of approximately 0.159 cm should be available to cover the range from about 0.159 cm to about 1.27 cm thick. In addition, a supply of pressurized air of at least 4.1 bar) is required to operate the respective valves. The test fluid is deionized water. The test is then executed through the following stages: 1) Preparation of the test samples: In a preparatory test, it is determined, if one or more layers of the test sample are required, where the test as determined below is operated at the lowest and highest pressures. The number of layers is then adjusted to maintain the flow rate during the test between 0.5 cm3 / seconds at the lowest pressure drop and 15 cm3 / seconds at the highest pressure drop. The flow velocity for the sample must be less than the flow velocity for the model at the same pressure drop. If the sample flow rate exceeds that of the model for a given pressure drop, more layers must be added to decrease the flow velocity. Sample size: Samples are cut to approximately 2.54 cm in diameter, using an arc punch, as supplied by McMaster-Carr Supply Company, Cleveland, OH, US. If the samples have very little internal strength or integrity to maintain their structure during the required handling, conventional low weight base support means, such as a PET net or thin canvas, may be added. Therefore, at least two samples (made of the number of layers required each, if necessary), are pre-cut. Then, one of these is saturated in deionized water at the temperature of the experiment to be run (31 ° C) unless noted otherwise.) The caliber of the wet sample is measured, (if necessary after a stabilization time of 30 seconds) under the desired compression pressure for which the experiment will be operated by using a conventional flat gauge (such as that provided by AMES, Waltham, MASS, US) having a pressure diameter of approximately 2.86 cm, exerting a pressure of approximately 1.4 kPa on the sample (19110) unless otherwise desired. An appropriate combination of joint materials is selected, so that the total thickness of the bonded foam (19115) is between 150 and 200% of the thickness of the wet sample (note that a combination of varying thicknesses of the joint material may be necessary to achieve the general desired thickness). The gasket material (19115) is cut to a circular size of 7.62 cm in diameter and 2.54 cm of the hole is cut in the center by using the arc punch. In case the sample dimensions change with wetting, the sample must be cut so that the required diameter is obtained in the wet stage. This can also be determined in your preparatory test, with the monitoring of the respective dimensions. If this changes so that any space is formed, or the sample forms folds that would prevent uniform contact of the porous screens or the frits, the cut diameter should be adjusted accordingly. The test sample (19110) is placed inside the hole in the joint foam (19115) and the composite is placed on top of the lower half of the sample cell, ensuring that the sample is in uniform and flat contact with sieve (19135) and spaces are not formed on the sides. The upper part of the test cell (19121) is placed flat on the laboratory table (or other horizontal plane) and the three flat calibres (19145) mounted on it are set to zero. The upper part of the test cell (19121) is then placed on the lower part (19122) so that the joining material (19115) with the test sample (19110) is located between the two parts. The upper and lower part are then adjusted by fixing screws (19140), so that three flat gauges are adjusted to the same value as measured for the wet sample under the respective pressure in the previous one. 2) To prepare the experiment, the program on the computerized unit (19190) is started and the sample identification, the respective pressure, etc. are recorded. 3) The test will be operated on a sample (19190) for several pressure cycles with the first pressure that is the lowest pressure. The results of the individual pressure operations are placed in different results files through the computerized unit (19190). The data is taken from each of those files for calculations as described below. (A different sample must be used for any subsequent operations of the material). 4) The inlet liquid container (19150) is set to the required height and the test is started in the computerized unit (19190). 5) Then the sample cell (19120) is placed in the permeameter unit with Quick Disconnect devices (19189). 6) The sample cell (19120) is filled through the opening of the vent valve (19188) and the lower fill valves (19184, 19186). During this stage, care must be taken to remove air bubbles from the system, which can be achieved by placing the sample cell vertically, forcing the air bubbles, if present, to exit the permeameter through the drain. Once the sample cell is filled until the tygon pipe attached to the top of the chamber (19121), air bubbles are removed from this pipe in the waste container (19156). 7) After having carefully removed the air bubbles, the bottom filling valves (19184), 19186) are closed, and the top filling valves (19182) are opened, to fill the upper part, also carefully removing all the air bubbles. 8) The fluid container is filled with the test fluid to the filling line (19152). Then the flow begins through the sample initiating the computerized unit (19190). After the temperature in the sample chamber has reached the required value the experiment is ready to start. At the start of the experiment by means of the computerized unit (19190), the liquid outflow is automatically derived from the waste container (19156) to the outlet vessel (19154), and the pressure drop and temperature are monitored as a function of time for several minutes. Once the program has finished, the computerized unit provides the recorded data (in numerical and / or graphic form). If desired, the same test sample can be used to measure the permeability in various hydrostatic loads, thereby increasing the pressure from one operation to another. The equipment should be cleaned every two weeks and calibrated at least once a week, especially the frits, the load cell, the thermocouple and the pressure transducer, thus following the instructions of the equipment supplier. The differential pressure is recorded by means of the differential pressure transducer connected to the pressure probes at the measurement points (19194, 19196) at the top and bottom of the sample cell. Since there may be other flow resistances within the chamber added to the pressure that is recorded, each experiment must be corrected by a sample operation. A sample operation must be done at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 cm of pressure required each day. The permeameter will emit a Mean Test Pressure for each experiment and also an average flow rate. For each pressure that the sample has tested, the flow rate is registered as the Model Corrected Pressure through the computerized unit (19190), which is also correcting the Average Test pressure (Real Pressure) in each of the differentials. registered height pressure to result in Corrected Pressure. This Corrected Pressure is the DP that must be used in the following permeability equation. The permeability can be calculated at each required pressure and all permeabilities must be averaged to determine the k for the material being tested. More than three measurements should be taken for each sample in each hydrostatic head and the averaged results and the standard deviation calculated. However, the same sample must be used, the permeability measured in each hydrostatic head and then a new sample must be used to make the second and third replicas. The measurement of plane permeability under the same conditions as the transplanar permeability described above, can be achieved by modifying the previous equipment as shown schematically in Figures 10A and 10B showing a view that is not to scale and partially exploded only from the sample cell. Equivalent elements are denoted equivalently, so that the sample cell of Figure 10 is denoted (20210), correlating with the number (19110) of Figure 9, and so on, therefore, the sample cell Transplanar (19120) of Figure 9 is replaced by the plane simplified cell (20220), which is designed so that the liquid can flow only in one direction (either the machine direction or the transverse direction depending on how place the sample in the cell). Care must be taken to minimize the channeling of the liquid along the walls (wall effects), as this can give an erroneously high permeability reading. The test procedure is then executed analogously to the transplanar test. The sample cell (20220) is designed to be placed in the equipment essentially as described for the sample cell (19120) in the previous transplanar test, except that the filling tube is directed towards the inlet connection (20232) at the bottom of the cell (20220). Figure 10A shows a partially exploded view of the sample cell and Figure 10B a cross-sectional view through the sample level. The sample cell (20220) is made up of two pieces: a lower part (20225), which is similar to a rectangular box with flanges, and an upper part (20223) that fits inside the lower part (20225) and has eyelashes too.

The test sample is cut to a size of 5.1 cm by 5.1 cm and is placed on the bottom piece. The upper part (20223) of the sample chamber is then placed inside the lower part (20225) and sits on the test sample (20210). A non-compressible neoprene rubber seal (20224) is attached to the upper part (20223) to provide a hermetic seal. The test liquid flows from the inlet vessel into the sample space via the Tygon pipe and the inlet connection (20232) through the outlet connection (20233) to the outlet vessel. As in this test run, the temperature control of the fluid passing through the sample cell may be insufficient due to the low flow rates, the sample is maintained at the desired test temperature by the heating device (20226). ), so the water that passes through the thermostat is pumped through the heating chamber (20227). The space in the test cell is set to the gauge corresponding to the desired humidity compression, normally around 1.4 kPa). Baffles (20216) that vary in size from 0.1 mm to 20.0 mm are used to set the correct gauge, optionally using combinations of several deflectors. At the beginning of the experiment, the test cell (20220) is rotated 90 ° (sample is vertical) and the test liquid is allowed to enter slowly from the bottom. This is necessary to ensure that all air is extracted from the sample and the inlet / outlet connections (20232/20233). Next, the test cell (20220) is rotated back to its original position to make the sample (20210) horizontal. The subsequent procedure is the same as that described above for the transplanar permeability, that is, the inlet vessel is placed at the desired height, the flow is allowed to equilibrate and the flow velocity and pressure drop are measured. Permeability is calculated using Darcy's law. This procedure is repeated for higher pressures as well. For samples that have low permeability, it may be necessary to increase the pulse pressure, such as by extending the height or by applying additional air pressure on the vessel in order to obtain a measurable flow velocity. In the flat permeability can be measured independently in the machine and cross directions depending on how the sample is placed in the test cell.

Optical Determination of Pore Size Optical determination of pore size is used especially for thin layers of the porous system using standard image analysis procedure known to those skilled in the art.

The principle of the method consists of the following stages: 1) A thin layer of the sample material is prepared by slicing a simple sample into thinner sheets or if the sample itself is thin using it directly. The term "thin" refers to achieving a sample size sufficiently low to allow a cross-sectional image under the microscope.

Typical sample sizes are below 200 μm. 2) A microscopic image is obtained by means of the video microscope using the appropriate amplification. Optimum results are obtained if approximately 10 to 100 pores are visible to such an image. The image is then scanned by a standard image analysis package such as OPTIMAS from BioScan Corp. which operates under Windows 95 on an IBM compatible PC. The structure recorder of sufficient pixel resolution (preferred at least 1024 x 1024 pixels) must be used to obtain good results. 3) The image is converted to a binary image, using an appropriate threshold level, so that the pores visible in the image are marked as blank object areas and the rest remains in black. Automatic threshold setting procedures such as those available under OPTIMAL can be used. 4) The areas of individual pores (objects) are determined. OPTIMAS offers a fully automatic determination of the areas. 5) The equivalent radius of each pore is determined by a circle that would have the same area as the pore. If A is the pore area, then the equivalent radius is given by r = (A / p) 1/2. The average pore size can be determined from the pore size distribution using standard statistical rules. For materials that do not have a very uniform pore size, it is recommended to use at least 3 samples for the determination. The useful alternative equipment to determine the pore sizes are commercially available Porosimeter or Permeater Tester, such as a Permeameter supplied by Porous Materials, Inc., Ithaca, New York, USA, under the designation Liquid Permemometer PMl Model No. CFP-1200AEXI, as described further in the respective 2/97 user manual.

Tepan Bag Centrifugal Capacity Test (TCC test) While the TCC test has been developed specifically for superabsorbent materials, it can be easily applied to other absorbent materials. The Tea Bag Centrifugal Capacity test measures the Tea Bag Centrifugal Capacity values that are a measure of the retention of liquids in the absorbent materials. The absorbent material is placed inside a "tea bag" immersed in a 0.9% by weight sodium chloride solution for 20 minutes and then centrifuged for 3 minutes. The ratio of the weight of the retained liquid to the initial weight of the dry material is the absorbent capacity of the absorbent material. Two liters of sodium chloride at 0.9% by weight in distilled water are poured into a tray having dimensions of 24 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm. The liquid filling height should be approximately 3 cm. The tea bag cavity has dimensions of 6.5 cm x 6.5 cm and is available from Teekanne in Dusseldorf, Germany. The cavity is heat sealable with a standard kitchen plastic bag sealing device (for example, VACUPACK2 PLUS from Krups, Germany). The tea bag is opened by carefully cutting, partially cutting it and then weighing it. Approximately 0.200 g of the sample of the absorbent material, weighed precisely to +/- 0.005 g, is placed in the tea bag. The tea bag is then closed with a thermal sealant. This is called the sample tea bag. A sample tea bag is sealed and used as a model. The sample tea bag and model tea bag are placed on the surface of the saline solution and immersed for approximately 5 seconds using a spatula to allow complete wetting (tea bags will float on the surface of the saline solution although they are completely moistened). The stopwatch is started immediately. After 20 minutes of moistening time, the sample tea bag and model tea bag are removed from the saline solution and placed in Bauknecht WS130, Bosch 772 NZK096 or an equivalent centrifugal machine (230 mm diameter) so that each bag adheres to the outer wall of the centrifugal basket. The centrifugal cap is closed, the spin starts and the speed increases rapidly up to 1, 400 rpm. Once the centrifugal machine has stabilized at 1, 400 rpm, the timer is started. After 3 minutes, the centrifugal machine is stopped. The sample tea bag and model tea bag are removed and weighed separately. The Tea Bag Centrifugal Capacity (TCC) for the sample of the absorbent material is calculated as follows: TCC = [(weight of sample tea bag after centrifugation) - (weight of model tea bag after centrifugation) - (weight of dry absorbent material)] + (weight of dry absorbent material).

Claims (46)

1. CLAIMS 1. A liquid transport member comprising at least one volume region and one wall region that completely circumscribes the volume region, the wall region further comprising at least one membrane port region and at least one region of opening port, characterized in that the volume region has an average fluid permeability k, which is greater than the average fluid permeability kp of the membrane port region. The liquid transport member according to claim 1, characterized in that the volume region has a fluid permeability of at least 10"11 m2, preferably at least 10" 8 m2, more preferably at least 10 ~ 7 m2, and more preferably at least 10"5 m2 3. The liquid transport member according to claim 1, wherein the membrane port region has a fluid permeability of at least 6 * 10"20 m2, preferably at least 7 * 10" 18 m2, more preferably at least 3 * 10"14 m2, even more preferably at least 1.2 * 10" 11 m2, or even at least 7 * 10"11 m2, more preferably at least 109 m2. 4. The liquid transport member according to claim 1, wherein the membrane port region has a fluid to thickness permeability ratio in the direction of fluid transport of kp / dp of at least 3 * 10. "15 m, preferably at least 7 * 10" 14 m, more preferably at least 3 * 10"10 m, even more preferably at least 8 * 10" 8 m, and still preferred by at least 5 * 10"7 m, 10'6 m, and very preferred of at least 10" 5 m. The liquid transport member according to claim 1, wherein the membrane port region is disposed above the opening port region when placed for intended use. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the opening port region is an opening having a circular internal diameter of less than the corresponding diameter d of a gas bubble formed in the liquid inside. of the volume region. The liquid transport member according to the preceding claims, wherein the opening port region is an opening having a circular internal diameter of less than 6 mm, preferably less than 4 mm, more preferably less than 2 mm The liquid transport member according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the permeability ratio of the volume region to the permeability of the membrane port region is at least 10, preferably at least 100, more preferably at least 1000, and even more preferably at least 10,000. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region has a bubble point pressure when a liquid having a surface tension value of 72 mN / m is measured. of at least 1 kPa, preferably of at least 2 kPa, more preferably at least 4.5 kPa, even more preferably 8 kPa, more preferably 50 kPa of pressure. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region has a bubble point pressure when measured with a liquid having a surface tension value of 33 mN / m of at least 0.67 kPa, preferably at least 1.3 kPa, more preferably at least 3.0 kPa, even more preferably 5.3 kPa, more preferably 33 kPa. 11. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region has an average pore size greater than said membrane port region., preferably such that the average pore size ratio of the volume region and the average pore size of the membrane port region is at least 10, preferably at least 50, more preferably at least 100. , and even more preferably at least 500, and more preferably at least 1000. 12. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region has an average pore size of less 200 μm, preferably at least 500 μm, more preferably at least 1000 μm, and more preferably at least 5000 μm. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region has a porosity of at least 50%, preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 98%, and more preferably at least 99%. 14. The liquid transport member according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the volume region is a recess circumscribed by a wall region. 15. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region has a porosity of at least 10%, preferably at least 20%, more preferably at least 30%. %, and more preferably at least 50%. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region has an average pore size of not more than 100 μm, preferably not more than 50 μm, more preferably not more than 10 μm, and more preferably no more than 5 μm. 17. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region has a pore size of at least 1 μm, preferably at least 3 μm. 18. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region has an average thickness of not more than 100 μm, preferably not more than 50 μm, more preferably not more than 10 μm, and most preferably no more than 5 μm. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region and the wall region have a volume ratio of at least 10, preferably at least 100, more preferably at least 1000, and even in the most preferable way of at least 10,000. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region is hydrophilic, preferably having a back contact angle for liquid that is transported less than 70 degrees, preferably less than 50 degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees, and even more preferably less than 10 degrees. 21. The liquid transport member according to claim 20, wherein the membrane port region does not substantially decrease the liquid surface tension to be transported. 22. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region is oleophilic, preferably because it has a receding contact angle for the liquid that is transported less than 70 degrees, preferably less than 50 degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees, and even more preferably less than 10 grades. 23. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, which has a leaf-like shape, or has a cylindrical-like shape. 24. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cross-sectional area of the member along the direction of liquid transport is not constant. 25. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane port region has an area greater than the average cross section of the member along the direction of liquid transport, preferably by a factor of 2, preferably a factor of 10, more preferably a factor of 100. 26. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a material that is expandable in contact with the liquid and collapsible to the removal of the liquid. 27. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region comprises a material selected from the groups of fibers, particles, foams, coils, films, corrugated sheets or tubes. 28. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the wall region comprises a material selected from the groups of fibers, particles, foams, coils, films, corrugated sheets, tubes, woven wefts , woven fiber meshes, films with openings or monolithic films. 29. The liquid transport member according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the foam is an open-cell cross-linked foam, preferably selected from the group of cellulose sponge, polyurethane foam and HIPE foams. 30. The liquid transport member according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the fibers are made of polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, polyethers, polyacrylics, polyurethanes, metal, glass, cellulose, cellulose derivatives. 31. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the member is made by a region of porous volume that is wrapped with a separate wall region. 32. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, comprising water soluble materials. 33. The liquid transport member according to claim 32, wherein at least one of the port regions comprises a water soluble material. 34. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, for transporting liquids based on water or viscoelastic liquids. 35. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, for transporting oil, grease, or other liquids that are not based on water. 36. The liquid transport member according to claim 35, for selective transport of oil or fat, but not of liquids based on water. 37. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein any of the properties of the member or parameter are established prior to, or in the handling of the liquid, preferably by activation by contact with the liquid, the pH, temperature, enzymes, chemical reaction, saline concentration or mechanical activation. 38. A liquid transport system comprising a liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, and a liquid source and a liquid spillway that are outside the liquid transport member. 39. A liquid transport system according to claim 38, wherein the opening port region is submerged in the liquid of said weir or source. 40. A liquid transport system according to claim 38 or 39, which has an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably of at least 10 g / g, more preferably of at least 50 g / g when subjected to the Absorbance on Demand Test. 41. The liquid transport system according to any of claims 38 to 40, comprising a landfill material having an absorption capacity of at least 10 g / g, preferably at least 20 g / g and more preferably at least 50 g / g based on the weight of the landfill material, when subjected to the Tea Bag Centrifugal Capacity Test. 42. The liquid transport system according to any of claims 38 to 41, which comprises the superabsorbent material or open-cell foam of the Internal High-Phase Emulsion (HIPE) type. 43. The liquid transport system according to any of claims 38 to 42, further comprising a mechanical pump for liquid. 44. An ale comprising a liquid transport member according to any of claims 1 to 37, or a liquid transport system according to any of claims 38 to 43. 45. An ale in accordance with the claim 44, which is a fat absorber. 46. An ale according to claim 44, which is a water transport member, preferably a self-regulating irrigation system.