Patent ID: 8552142

Claim:
A method of melt blowing a copolymer, comprising the steps of (a) providing a copolymer, the copolymer comprising ε-caprolactone in an amount ranging from 12 to 20 mole percent, glycolide in an amount ranging from 80 to 88 mole percent, crystallinity ranging from 10 and 50% as measured by WAXD or 10 to 50 J/g as measured by DSC, and an inherent viscosity ranging from 0.5 to 1.45 dL/g as measured in a 0.1 g/dl solution of HFIP at 25° C., wherein the copolymer is the reaction product of a predominant amount of a prepolymer of ε-caprolactone and glycolide having a mole ratio of ε-caprolactone/glycolide of less than 30/70, with a balance of glycolide; (b) extruding the copolymer through a die assembly, the die assembly having a plurality of spinnerets, to form filament strands; (c) attenuating the filament strands with hot air to form microfibers; (d) collecting the microfibers on a collector screen; and (e) cooling and solidifying the microfibers to form a nonwoven construct comprising microfibers having a diameter ranging from 1 to 8 μm.