The paper focuses on developing an eco-friendly sanitary napkin, with multilayer construction by using biodegradable resources. Hybrid top sheet was developed by needle punching wool fibre over cotton non-woven fabric to keep the top sheet dry. Three different combinations of core layer were tried by sandwiching SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer) sheet between cotton, bamboo and a blend of cotton/bamboo (50/50). Biodegradable polyethylene plastic was used as barrier layer. The performance of sanitary napkin was assessed by absorption capacity, strike through, wet back test. Two natural herbal extract (Curcuma longa and Azadirachta indica) were used as antimicrobial agents. It is revealed from the results that sanitary pad made of bamboo core with Azadirachta indica finished top sheet shows best menstrual hygiene performance.

1. Design and Development of Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirement for the Award of the Degree of
MASTER OF TEXTILES IN
TEXTILE TECHNOLOGY
Submitted By
Ms. Anuradha Barman
Under The Guidance of
Prof. (Dr.) S. D. Asagekar & Prof. Pooja M. Katkar

2. Content
•Introduction
•Problem Statement
•Objective of study
•Methodology
•Result & discussion
•Conclusion
•Further Scope

3. Introduction
Menstruation
• Menstruation is a process in which woman discharges blood and other
material from the lining of the uterus at an interval of about 28 to 35
days until menopause.
• On an average a women losses 65-80 ml of fluid during a period.

4. Management of menstrual hygiene
EXTERNAL USE
Cloth Rag
INTERNAL USE
Sanitary Pad
Cloth Pad
Menstrual Cup Tampon

5. The essential properties of
sanitary napkins are as follows:
•Protection Against Leakage
•Comfortable To Wear And Stay In Place
•Hygienic And Environmentally Friendly
•Odorless

6. Absorption mechanism of
sanitary napkin
Flow path of fluid through each
layers of sanitary pad.
• Fluid comes vertically in contact
with the fluid acquisition layer
and then to the absorbent layer
without spreading in the facing
layer
• Fluid reaches the absorbent layer
it then spreads, where it could be
held without reversing its
direction of flow

7. There are 3 degrees of exposure
exists to its component
(1)Direct skin contact
(top sheet basically made out of polypropylene)
(2) Indirect skin contact
(absorbent core and perfume principally finished
with chlorine-bleached wood pulp)
(3) Negligible skin contact
(barrier sheet predominantly prepared with
polyethylene)

8. Problem Statement
Hygiene risk
Disposability
Affordability
Occupational
hazard

9. Objective
To design and develop biodegradable sanitary napkin based on
naturally available resources.
To determine the performance of the developed sanitary napkin.

10. Plan of work
Material procurement
Development of Top Sheet
Development of Absorbent core
Assembling of components
Extraction & Application of
anti-microbial agent onto the top sheet
Testing & analysis of sanitary napkin
Result & Discussion

11. Material & Suppliers
Component Function Material Suppliers
Hybrid Top
Sheet
a. Allow fluid to penetrate
b. Skin friendly
c. Soft to skin
d. Dry feel
Wool Indigenous
Cotton non-
woven fabric
Veeom Health care
New Delhi
Absorbent core a. Absorption of fluid
b. Retention of fluid
Cotton Jaycot Industries Hyderabad
Bamboo Gokak Mills
BioSAP sheet Veeom Health care
New Delhi
Barrier sheet a. Prevent leakage Biodegradable
Plastic
Green plastic Indore(India)

12. Properties of Raw Material
Properties of Fibre
Fibre Length
(mm)
Fineness Imbibitions/gm
Wool 76.21 786mTex -
Cotton 12.3 152 mTex 10.9
Bamboo 34.3 185mTex 8.71
Cot+Bam(1:1) - - 10.2

13. Property of non-woven fabric
Properties of Barrier Sheet
Absorption Capacity of SAP:
Absorption Capacity of Test fluid by BioSAP/ Gram = 200.05 gm
Properties GSM Thickness
(mm)
100% cotton non-woven fabric 50 0.97
Properties GSM Thickness
(mm)
Barrier sheet
Bio Plastic
34.9 0.05

14. Design of Experiment
Taguchi 32 Design
Notation Process
parameter
(Factors)
Levels
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
X Absorbent Core Cotton
(A)
Bamboo
(B)
Cot+Bam(1:1)
(C)
Y Cover Stock Untreated
(T1)
Curcuma Longa
(Turmeric) finish
(T2)
Azadirachta indica
(Neem) finish
(T3)

15. Number of Combinations
Coding Hybrid Top Layer Absorbent Core Barrier Sheet
A1 C-W –T1 A+SAP Biodegradable plastic
A2 C-W –T2 A+SAP Biodegradable plastic
A3 C-W –T3 A+SAP Biodegradable plastic
B1 C-W –T1 B+SAP Biodegradable plastic
B2 C-W –T2 B+SAP Biodegradable plastic
B3 C-W –T3 B+SAP Biodegradable plastic
C1 C-W –T1 C+SAP Biodegradable plastic
C2 C-W –T2 C+SAP Biodegradable plastic
C3 C-W –T3 C+SAP Biodegradable plastic
A-Cotton; B-Bamboo; C-Cot+Bam(1:1); W-Wool; SAP-Super absorbent Polymer;
T1-No finishing; T2-Turmeric finish; T3-Neem finish

16. 1.Development of Top Sheet

17. Step 1:Development of hybrid covers stock by
manual needle punching method
50GSM 100% cotton nonwoven
fabric + Wool fibre web
Needle punched with
triangular regular needle
Type of needle
Feature of needle is given below:
• Classical needles is equilateral triangular
• Working part parallel from the point to the tapered transition
• There are 3 barbs along each edge
• Barb dimensions are identical across all edges
• Needle Gauge: 38
• Needle length:18mm
• Barb styles: KV barb

18. Step 2 : Antimicrobial Treatment by natural resources
Herbal medicinal plant selected :
•Azadirachta indica (Neem)
Cyclic Trisulphide CyclicTetrasulphide
•Curcuma Longa(Turmeric)
Curcumin

19. Choice of Solvent
Phytochemical Properties of Azadirachta indica (Neem)
Ref-Global Journal of Pharmacology 7(3):316-320,2013
Phytochemical
Contituents
Acetone Ethanol Methanol Ether Distilled
water
Alkaloids + + + + +
Steriods + + + - -
Saponin + + + - -
Tanin - + + - -
Flavonoids + + + + +

20. Phyto-chemical Properties of Curcuma Longa
Phytochemical Acetone Methanol Ethanol Chloroform
Saponin + + + +
Steroid - + - +
Tannin + + + -
Anthocyanin + + + +
Coumarin - - - -
Emodins + + + +
Phytosterol + + - -
Phenol + + - -

21. Extraction of Azadiracta Indica (Neem) &
Curcuma Longa(Turmeric)Extract : Step 1
Step 1
Azadiracta
Indica Leaves
Curcuma Longa
Rhizome
Washed &
Shadow Dried
Grind into
fine powder

22. Extraction of Azadiracta Indica (Neem) &
Curcuma Longa(Turmeric)Extract : Step 2
20 grams Neem
powder
100ml of organic
solvent (methanol)
Methanoic extract
stand it for 3days
Filtered and allowed
to evaporate

23. Yield of the extracts
Out of 20 grams of Azadiracta indica dried leaves and Curcuma longa rhizome
powder, the air dried crude extracts obtained was 2.715 grams (13.57% yields)
and 2.86 grams(14.3%yield) respectively.

24. Neem extract
of 5gpl
Samples were placed
in the herbal bath
Sample were washed with
Cold water and dried
Exhaust Method
M:L=1:20,
Citric acid at R.T for 24hours
Same procedure is followed for turmeric

25. 2. Development of Absorbent Core

26. Development of absorbent core
Cotton
A
Bamboo
B
Cotton+Bamboo
(1:1)
C
Opening
machine
C
SAP
C
B
SAP
B
A
SAP
A

27. Specification of Sanitary Napkin
Code Dimension
(cms)
Top
Sheet
(gms)
Cotton
(gms)
Bamboo
(gms)
SAP
(gms)
Bio
Plastic
(gms)
Total
Weight
(gms)
L W
A 15 8 0.96 4.2 - 2 0.418 7.578
B 15 8.3 1.03 - 4.07 2 0.434 7.534
C 15 7.8 0.96 2.13 2.2 2 0.408 7.700

28. Results and Discussion

29. Parameters Studied
Test Parameter Standard Instrument
Fibre length ASTM D 5866-05 AFIS
Fibre strength ASTM D3822 Instron Tester
Fineness ASTM D 1577-01 Gravimetric method
Imbibitions / 1gram EDANA NWSP 350.1 Syngina Test
Spray Test AATCC (ISO 4920) Spray tester
Thickness ISO9073-2:1995 Thickness test by SDL Atlas
Air permeability EDANA 141.1 Textest Instruments AG
Strike Through EDANA/INDA-Std WSP 70.3 Lister AC
Wet back EDANA/INDA -Std WSP 80.10
Vertical wicking AATCC TM 197-2011
Absorption Capacity EAS 96:2008-Annex C
Antimicrobial test AATCC Std

30. Artificial blood preparation for testing
Following chemicals were taken into 1 litre vessel.
Chemical required Concentration
Plain Flour 10gms
Distilled water 200ml
Dye 1%

31. 1. Performance assessment of cover stock

32. Thickness of cover stock
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
T1
T2
T3
Thickness(mm)
The results show that there is significant difference between the samples.
Thickness of the treated samples increased due to the addition of antibacterial agent and swelling
of cotton fibre after antimicrobial finish.

33. GSM of Cover Stock
• After statistical analysis is was
found that there is significant
difference between the samples.
• 5%increase in GSM after treating
it with Curcuma longa and an
increase of 3.8% was observed
when treated with Azadiracta
Indica
• Add on value of fabric treated
with Curcumalonga and
AzadiractaIndica is found to be
4.21% and 3.42% respectively.
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
T1
T2
T3
GSM

34. Air permeability of cover stock
• Air permeability of cover stock
fabric treated with antimicrobial
shows significant difference
between the sample.
• Void in the structure decreases as the
antimicrobial agent gets deposited
after finishing and thus it resists the
passage of air through it.
0
50
100
150
200
250
T1
T2
T3
Airpermeability(cm3/cm2/sec)

35. Strike through of cover stock
Strike through time is the time taken for the solution to
transport from the upper layer of the napkin to the inner layers
of the sample was measured.
The statistical analysis reveals that there is
no significant difference in the strike
through time after antimicrobial finishing.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
T1
T2
T3
Strikethroughtime(sec)
Strike though time of cover stock

36. Assessment of Antimicrobial Activity
Coding Sample
Agar Diffusion test
Zone of inhibition ( mm)
Gram (+)organism
(Staphlococcus
Asreus)
Gram(-) organism
(Psedomonus
Aeruginosa)
T1 Control sample - -
T2 Curcuma longa - 19
T3 Azadirachtaindica - 22

37. 2. Performance assessment of Barrier layer

38. Leakage Proof
• The test result shows that
there were no signs of
leakage when the barrier
sheet was folded into a cone
and placed with fluid for
48hrs.

39. Spray Test
Rating -100
No wetting is observed.

40. 3. Performance assessment of sanitary napkin

41. Thickness of sanitary napkin
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
Sample-A(cotton core) Sample-B(Bamboo core Sample-
C(cotton+bamboo core)
Thickness(mm)
The results show that there is no
significant difference in the thickness
of the sanitary pad with three different
cores.

42. Air permeability of sanitary napkin
There is significant difference between
the sample .
• The order of air permeability is as
follows B>C>A
• Air permeability is higher with bamboo
core than cotton core sanitary napkin is
because bamboo is coarser than cotton
having fineness of 1.6D and 1.36D
respectively.
• Air permeability is affected
maximum by the absorbent core(X)
at level C and in case of Top sheet
(Y) at level T3.Air permeability is
not very much affected by the finish
as the graph is almost horizontal.
An optimum Combination for air
permeability at XB YT3

43. Absorption Capacity of
sanitary napkin
There is significant difference
It was observed that absorption capacity
was maximum in the case of Absorbent
core (X) at level A and for Top sheet
finish(Y) at level T2.
So the optimal parameter setting for the
absorption was found to be
X AYT2
CBA
31
30
29
28
27
T3T2T1
Core
MeanofSNratios
Top Finish
Main Effects Plot for SN ratios of Absorption Capacity of Sanitary Napkin
Data Means
Signal-to-noise: Larger is better
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
Sample-A (cotton core) Sample-B (Bamboo
core)
Sample-C
(cotton+bamboo core)
AbsorptionCapacity(grams)

44. Vertical wicking of
Sanitary Napkin
There is significant difference between
the samples.
Vertical wicking will be maximum in the
case of absorbent core (X) at level B, in
the case of top sheet finish (Y) at level T3,
So the optimal parameter combination for
maximum wicking is XBYT3
CBA
21.5
21.0
20.5
20.0
19.5
T3T2T1
Core
MeanofSNratios
Top Finish
Main Effects Plot for SN ratios of Vertical Wicking of Sanitary Napkin
Data Means
Signal-to-noise: Larger is better
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 1 2 5 10 15 20 25 30
WickingHeight(cm)
Time (min)
A1
A2
A3
B1
B2
B3
C1
C2
C3

45. Strike Through of sanitary napkin
There is no significant difference between the sample.
Strike through time majorly depends on parameter Y than X.
Therefore, optimal parameter combination for strike through time is XAYT3.
CBA
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8
T3T2T1
Core
MeanofSNratios
Top Finish
Main Effects Plot for SN ratios of Strike Through of Sanitary Napkin
Data Means
Signal-to-noise: Smaller is better
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
Strikethrough(sec)

46. Wet back of Sanitary
Napkin
• There is significant difference
between the sample
• Minimum wet back value is observed
with surface finish (Y) at level T1
and show best performance with
absorbent core (X) at level C.
• From Taguchi parameter design the
optimum parameter combination for
wet back is XcYT1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3
wetback(gms)

47. S/N ratio of properties of Sanitary Napkin
Level Ranking of
factors for
absorption on
S/N ratio
Ranking of
factors for air
permeability on
S/N ratio
Ranking of
factors for
vertical wicking
on S/N ratio
Ranking of
factors for Strike
through on S/N
ratio
Ranking of factors
for Wet Back on
S/N ratio
Ranking of factors
for Thickness on
S/N ratio
Higher-the-better Higher-the-better Higher-the-better Lower-the-better Lower-the-better Lower-the-better
Core Finish Core Finish Core Finish Core Finish Core Finish Core Finish
1 31.33 28.71 21.5 22.6 19.48 20.21 -5.84 -7.31 -7.761 -7.06 -12.86 -13.7
2 27.43 29.60 21.1 22.4 21.53 20.86 -6.07 -7.80 -6.978 -6.85 -13.52 -13.85
3 27.98 28.42 25.4 23.0 21.06 21.01 -6.69 -3.49 -6.062 -6.88 -14.97 -13.76
Delta 4.28 1.18 4.28 0.55 2.05 0.80 0.85 4.30 1.699 0.216 2.11 0.11
Rank 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 2

48. Assessment of Sanitary Napkin
Serial No. PARAMETER A B C T1 T2 T3
1 Thickness 1 3 2 3 1 2
2 Air permeability 1 3 2 3 1 2
3 Absorption Capacity 3 1 2
4 Vertical wicking 1 3 2
5 Strike Through 3 1 2 2 1 3
6 Wet back 1 2 3
7 Antimicrobial test 1 2 3
After the assessment, optimum combination for sanitary was found to be XcYT3
Xc = Core with blend of cotton and bamboo(1:1)
YT3 = Cover Stock finished with Azadirachtaindica

49. Comparative Analysis of developed sanitary
napkin with commercial sanitary napkin
Developed sanitary napkin C3(XcYT3) is selected for
comparison with commercial napkin

50. Thickness
There is no significant
difference between the
sample C3 and commercial
sample.

51. Air permeability
Developed sanitary napkin shows
significant difference in air
permeability.
The developed product shows good
result which means that the product
will permit body heat to flow & will
feel comfortable.

52. Absorption Capacity
• There is significant
difference between the
sample.
• The developed sanitary
napkin shows satisfactory
absorbent capacity.

53. Vertical wicking
• There is significant
difference between the
samples.
• Higher wicking height is
observed in developed
sanitary pad than
commercial one.

54. Strike through test
Strike through of commercial sanitary napkin is significantly low.
The top sheets for a sanitary napkin according to the present invention
are provided with satisfactory strike through, improved skin
friendliness and dryness.

55. Wet back
• Wet back result of developed and commercial sanitary
napkin shows significant difference between the samples
• The wet back of developed sanitary napkin is showing high
wet back value which is not desirable

56. Conclusion
From the results of performance characteristic of sanitary napkin we can conclude that
sanitary napkin can be manufactured by the available natural resources .
Developed sanitary napkin shows satisfactory performance in terms of absorption ,
strike through ,wet back, leakage proof etc.
1.Absorption capacity is seen highest with cotton core and lowest in bamboo fibre core while
intermediate absorption is seen in blend of cot/bam (50/50) proportion.
2.Bamboo core demonstrate high wicking rate than core with blend of cotton/bamboo (50/50)
and cotton.
3.Strike through test shows no significant difference with respect to antimicrobial treatment.

57. 4. As far as wet back is concerned core with Bamboo shows lowest
wet back followed by C and A.
5. Low Density Polyethylene, biodegradable plastic manufactured by using green
technology offers good fluid impermeability and act as excellent barrier layer.
6. Both the antimicrobial finish Curcuma longa and Azadirachta indica shows good
antimicrobial activity against Gram negative bacterial.
Sanitary pad is best in case of Cotton/Bamboo(50/50) blend
absorbent core with Azadirachta indica finished top sheet.

58. Performance characteristic of developed sanitary napkin w.r.t to
commercial napkin can be summarized as follows:-
• Thickness of developed sanitary napkin is comparable to regular
commercial sanitary.
• Air permeability of developed sanitary napkin is better than selected
commercial sanitary napkin.
• Selected commercial sanitary napkin shows slightly better absorbency
than developed sanitary napkin
• Vertical wicking of developed sanitary napkin is better than commercial
napkin.
• Strike through time of develop sanitary is similar to regular commercial
sanitary napkin whisper choice.
• Wet back of developed napkin if high in comparison to commercial
sanitary napkin which is not desirable.

59. Future Scope
• Other bonding technology can be explored to develop the cover stock to decrease
the thickness and GSM of cover stock.
• Herb used for antimicrobial activity can be extended to other herbs also.
• Treated cover stock fabric can be tested against other bacteria.
• Bioplastic can be tried as barrier layer in developing sanitary napkin to reduce the
carbon foot print.
• Other method of application of antimicrobial agent such as microencapsulation
can be tried to enhance the durability of finish.

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62. Paper Published
Paper Journal
Development of Eco-friendly Herbal Finished
Sanitary Napkin
Published online in IJIRST
International Journal for Innovative Research in
Science and Technology
Vol4,Issue-1,2017
Natural and Sustainable Raw Materials for
Sanitary Napkin
Journal of Textile Science & Engineering, Barman
et al., J Textile Sci Eng 2017, 7:308
An overview on Sanitary Napkins
Fibre2Fashion
(Technical Textile) (Online)
http://www.technicaltextile.net/articles/medical-
textiles/detail.aspx?article_id=7850

63. Award Backed
Won 3rd prize in project competition
Organized by “Girls Project Competition”
Rajarambapu Institute of Technology