US Patent 11396720 Methods of creating soft and lofty nonwoven webs

A method of creating a soft and lofty continuous fiber nonwoven web is provided. The method includes providing two molten polymer components having different melting temperatures to a spinneret defining a plurality of orifices, and flowing a fluid intermediate the spinneret and a moving porous member. The moving porous member is positioned below the spinneret. The method includes using the fluid to draw or push the two molten polymer components, in a direction that is toward the moving porous member, through at least some of the plurality of orifices to form a plurality of individual bi-component continuous fiber strands. The method includes depositing the continuous fiber strands on the moving porous member at a first location to create an intermediate continuous fiber nonwoven web, and removing and/or diverting some of the fluid proximate to the first location to maintain loft and softness in the deposited intermediate continuous fiber nonwoven web.