Tyvek
Tyvek is a brand of spunbonded
olefin, a synthetic material made of
high-density polyethylene fibers; the name is a
registered trademark of the
DuPont Company. The material is very strong; it is nearly impossible for the average person to tear but can easily be cut with scissors or any other sharp object. Tyvek will allow only water vapor to pass through and therefore lends itself to a variety of applications: medical packaging, envelopes, car covers, air and water intrusion barriers under house siding, labels, wristbands, and graphics.
Tyvek has been used by the
United States Postal Service for some of its Priority Mail and Express Mail packages and for
banknotes in some countries.
Encyclopedia
Tyvek is a brand of spunbonded
olefin, a synthetic material made of
high-density polyethylene fibers; the name is a
registered trademark of the
DuPont Company. The material is very strong; it is nearly impossible for the average person to tear but can easily be cut with scissors or any other sharp object. Tyvek will allow only water vapor to pass through and therefore lends itself to a variety of applications: medical packaging, envelopes, car covers, air and water intrusion barriers under house siding, labels, wristbands, and graphics.
Tyvek has been used by the
United States Postal Service for some of its Priority Mail and Express Mail packages and for
banknotes in some countries. New Zealand has also used it for their driver's licences from 1986 to 1999.
Many lightweight backpackers are now using homemade Tyvek groundcloths, finding that they are lighter, cheaper, and pack smaller than the traditional blue plastic tarps.
Tyvek
coveralls are one-piece jumpsuits made of Tyvek, usually white in color. They are often worn by mechanics over their clothes to avoid contact with oil and fuel. They can also be worn for painting to protect skin and clothes from splattered paint, for installation of fiberglass insulation, by workers in laboratories and
clean rooms, and any other use where a disposable, one-time use coverall is needed. Tyvek coveralls are also used for some light
hazardous materials applications but do not provide the level of protection of a full
hazmat suit. Tychem is a brand of Tyvek rated for a higher level of protection. DuPont makes Tyvek clothing in different styles from lab coats and aprons to complete head-to-toe coveralls with hoods and booties.
Tyvek can also be used to make CD sleeves, due to its useful properties that give the CD sufficent protection.
Tyvek superficially resembles
paper; for example, it can be written and printed on. However, it cannot be
recycled the way used paper can. Instead, DuPont runs a program in the United States where disposable clothing, coveralls, lab coats, and other Tyvek disposable garments can be recycled. The recycling program for Tyvek garments is run by Garment Recovery Systems.
Tyvek is manufactured at the Spruance plant in Richmond, Virginia and Luxembourg.
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