Patent ID: 8663517

Claim:
A method for imparting permanent wettability to a polyolefin fiber, filament or woven or nonwoven fabric made therefrom, comprising melt extruding a mixture comprising (a) a thermoplastic polyolefin and (b) at least one compound of the formula (I) into a plurality of fibers and cooling the fibers, wherein formula (I) is R 1 -(hydrophilic oligomer) (I) wherein R 1 is a straight or branched chain alkyl of 22 to 40 carbon atoms and the hydrophilic oligomer is a homo- or co-oligomer consisting of monomer units derived from monomers selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, epichlorhydrin, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethylene imine, caprolactone, vinyl alcohol and vinyl acetate; and wherein the hydrophilic oligomer consists of between 2 and 10 monomer units.