FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to non-woven fabrics. More specifically it pertains to non-woven sheet prepared from Nerium Oleander stem fibers and method of manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The fabrics which are neither woven nor knitted are termed as non-woven fabrics. More specifically, non-woven fabrics are defined as sheets or web structures which are bonded together by entangling fibers or filaments mechanically, thermally or chemically. (https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/types-non-woven-fabrics-manufacturing-processes-applications/)

Non-wovens represent highest growth segment in textiles field and constitute roughly one third of the fiber industry. Due to Covid-19 situation, non-woven sector has become fastest growing sector in global textile industry, as the demand for disposable products, medical and hygienic products such as face masks, wipes, and other personal care products is increasing. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-9169-3_12)

Types of non-wovens:
Non-woven fabrics and products can be prepared from various types of fibers such as synthetic fibers, natural fibers or mixed fibers (Combination of natural and synthetic fibers). And on the basis of raw material, non-woven fabrics are broadly categorized into three types i.e., Synthetic, Natural and Mixed non-woven.

About 70% of non-woven fabrics are prepared using synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, polyester, polyamide, rayon, nylon etc. The demand of synthetic non-woven material is high. Most the manufacturing industries involve use of synthetic fiber as a raw material for non-woven production as overall cost of production of synthetic non-woven is low and the resulting products are cost effective and affordable. (https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/49647)
But there are certain drawbacks of synthetic non-woven:
- Use of Toxic and costly chemicals- Production of synthetic non-woven involve utilization of various chemicals which when released to the environment causes environmental pollution and health ailments. Further some chemicals which are waste material of synthetic manufacturing units are washed into the water bodies and results in water pollution, because these are difficult to decompose. Moreover the chemicals and raw materials which are used for synthesis are quite costly hence are not reliable to use. (https://superegoworld.com/blogs/the-world/the-dangers-of-synthetic-fibers-and-fabrics-on-the-environment)
- Contribute to environmental pollution- The synthetic non-wovens are non-biodegradable, the topmost layer of the diapers and sanitary napkin is prepared using polypropylene hence the synthetic non wovens and diapers and sanitary napkins are very difficult to decompose by their own. Further these contribute to accumulation of solid waste, which in turns causes environmental pollution. Moreover, when the waste chemicals and dyes are washed away in water bodies, these contribute to water pollution. Along with these, polyester, nylon etc. are major contributors of micro-plastic pollution in the environment. (https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/synthetic-fibres-contribute-to-plastic-pollution/article26305420.ece)
- Emission of Greenhouse gases: Production of nylon and nylon based products such as non-woven emit nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas and as a result contribute to global warming. Nitrous oxide is more dangerous as compared to carbon dioxide and also impart dangerous effects to individual’s health. (https://superegoworld.com/blogs/the-world/the-dangers-of-synthetic-fibers-and-fabrics-on-the-environment)

Existing commercial approaches to replace synthetic non-woven material

1. Natural Cotton based non-wovens-
Being bio-degradable, breathable and sustainable material, cotton is commonly used plant for Nonwovens production. Cotton is used for production of almost 30% of non-woven products. Cotton based non-woven sheets possesses quite high amount of cellulose i.e., about 80-90%. It also possesses some other properties such good absorbency, good color retention, comfortable, breathability etc. hence is most frequently used.
According to a survey report available at (https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/saea13/143072.html), it was observed that most of the non-woven products manufacturers are using Polyester or polypropylene for non-woven production and the use of cotton is limited due to following reasons:
Problems associated with use of cotton:
- Specialized growth and maintenance conditions: It usually take 175-225 days for sowing to harvesting of the cotton plant, which is quite lengthy time period. Further, the production of cotton require massive amount of water, use of pesticides, specialized growth conditions and proper maintenance throughout its growth. This increases the overall non-woven sheet production time.
- High Production cost: Most of the manufacturers does not use cotton for Non-woven fabric production, as the overall process is quite costly. Some processing techniques such as filtration cost of trash in cotton fiber is quite high. Furthermore, cotton does not tolerate high speed carding machines and start forming bundles when processed using carding machines hence require specialized equipments and proper care while carding procedures. As the overall production cost is high, this also increases the cost of the finished goods because of which, the consumers switch to the products made using synthetic fiber material as those are quite cheap.

2. Other natural non-wovens:
Other natural fiber such as Jute fiber, kenaf fiber, hemp fiber, bamboo, pineapple fiber etc. can also be used for production of non-woven fabrics. But these non-woven possesses a very low cellulose content and the properties of non-woven produced from these fibers are not similar to that of cotton based non-woven or synthetic non-woven hence are not used commonly for non-woven production.
Problem solved by present invention
To overcome the problems associated synthetic and natural cotton or other natural material based non-woven fabric, inventors in present invention came up with an approach of using natural bast fiber extracted from stem of Nerium oleander fiber for non-woven fabric production, which possesses high cellulose content of about 81%, that is similar to as that of cotton.
Nerium oleander commonly known as oleander, Kaner etc., is a shrub or small tree belonging to Apocynaceae family. Nerium oleander is a drought tolerant plant and grow well in in warm, subtropical and temperate regions. Nerium oleander has low soil fertility requirement and can grow well in wide range of soil types as well as in sandy dry areas. Nerium oleander possesses certain medicinal properties such as antidiabetic activity, anti-inflammatory activity, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, larvicidal, anticancer, antiviral and immune-modulating activities. (AgronomicandpharmacologicalaspectsofNeriumoleanderanimportantmedicinalplant.pdf)
Nerium oleander non-woven material is natural plant based material. It is biodegradable and will decompose easily by its own hence the same is eco-friendly and does not contribute to any type of environmental pollution. Nerium oleander is a drought tolerant plant, hence does not require massive amount of water for overall growth, moreover it can grow well in any soil types and does not require specialized growth conditions and is easily available. Also the cellulose content of Nerium oleander is quite high and similar to that of cotton and other properties such as absorbency, filterability etc. are also similar to that of cotton, hence Nerium oleander non-woven can be used as a substitute to replace cotton based non-woven products.
Earlier Nerium oleander was only used in pharmaceutical industry for production of herbal medicines and in textile industry for dyeing and fiber extraction purposes but none of the prior art patents or journals discloses the utilization of Nerium oleander fiber for non-woven fabric production, hence present invention in novel.
Advantages offered by present invention
1. Eco-friendly- Present invention discloses Nerium oleander based non-woven sheets, which are bio-degradable and does not involve use of any type of harsh chemicals or detergents as used for production of synthetic non-woven material. Hence the overall non-woven manufacturing process is eco-friendly and does not contribute to any type of environmental pollution.
2. Low cost production: Unlike cotton, the processing and production cost of Nerium oleander non-woven fabric is quite low. Nerium oleander plant is easily available, non-woven production does not involve use of costly chemicals and moreover, Nerium oleander can also tolerate high speed carding machines which is a major problem associated with cotton as cotton does not tolerate the high speed of carding machines. The processing cost is low hence the final product will also be of low cost as compared to cotton products.
3. Easy cultivation and maintenance- According to a journal available at (https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/49647), the choice of plant material and fiber is important for Non-woven production. The selection of fiber is based on two important criteria’s i.e., cost effectiveness and ease of process-ability. Nerium oleander plant is drought tolerant and can grow well in any soil type, hence is easy to cultivate anywhere and can also grow wildly without any specialized cultivation and growth requirements. Moreover it does not require proper care and maintenance during the growth period and is very easy to harvest. Hence the raw material used in present invention is cost effective, possesses easy process-ability and has properties similar to cotton.
Prior art
Patent Application No: US20150218740A1 discloses “Needle-punched non-woven fabric, manufacturing method thereof and filter and sound absorbing material formed thereby”
The above invention discloses a needle-punched nonwoven felt fabric which is made of same or substantially similar melting point short fibres. The invention provides a method for manufacturing the felt fabric, and a filter comprising the felt fabric used as the material of a filter element of the filter. The present invention further provides use of the felt fabric as a sound absorbing material. The method used for manufacturing a needle-punched non-woven left fabric, comprises steps like blending evenly same or substantially similar melting point short fibres of same type or different types to obtain a layer of fibre, carding the blended fibres on a carding machine; feeding the carded fibres into a web forming machine to produce a fibre web; followed by subjecting the fibre web to a forming treatment to form a fabric blank and at last subjecting the fabric blank to a short-time heating treatment and cooling the heated fabric blank so as to obtain the felt fabric.
The present invention is different from the above invention. The present invention discloses the use of Nerium Oleander fibres for making Nonwoven fabrics. The Nerium Oleander fibres are extracted from the stem of Nerium Oleander whereas the above invention makes use of a short fibre of any melting point, for example, polyesters, Terylene, polypropylene, nylon, acrylic, polyamide fibres, rayon fibres, acrylic fibres, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride are used. The fibre strength of Nerium Oleander fibre is 180 MPA whereas the hardness of the felt fabric is up to 50 to 80 HA. Hence, the present invention is different from the above invention.

Patent Application No. WO2014149999A1 discloses “Nonwoven Fabrics of short individualized Bast fibres and products made therefrom”
In Above invention, non-woven textile fibers are prepared from individualized bast fibers. Individualized bast fibers include fibers extracted from flax and hemp. Non-woven fabrics are prepared using bast fibers extracted from flax, hemp, jute, ramie, nettle, Spanish brown, kenaf or combination of these fibers. The fiber used can be straight or crimped. The method involves the production of air laid fiber web, which is further bonded using hydro entangling mechanical fiber bonding technique.
Present invention involves the utilization of Nerium oleander stem fiber for non-woven production and moreover the method disclosed in present invention comprises wet laying technique for web formation and needle punching method for bonding of fibers and preparation of non wovens, which is not disclosed in the above cited patent. Hence present invention differs from above cited invention.

Patent Application No. CN1133914A discloses “Non-Woven material containing mixture of pulp fibres and long hydrophilic plant fibres and method of production non-woven material”
The above cited invention discloses production of non-woven material by hydro entanglement of wet laid or foam formed fibre web. The material used for non-woven formation comprises of mixture of long hydrophilic plant fibers including leaf fibers such as pineapple, New-Zealand flax, bast fibers including flax, ramie, hemps etc. and seed fibers including cotton, kapok or milkweed etc. and short pulp fibers including esparto grass fibre, phalaris grass fiber, straw fiber etc.
The present invention differs from the above cited invention, as present invention discloses needle punching of dry laid Nerium oleander fiber web for preparation of non-woven fabric sheets, whereas the above cited invention discloses hydro entanglement of mixture of short pulp and long hydrophilic fibers for production of non-woven sheets.

Journals, Books and Publications

Chiparus, Ovidiu Iulius; Bagasse fibers for production of nonwoven materials; Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College. ProQuest Dissertations.
The above cited study discloses non-woven material produced from Bagasse fibers. Bagasse fibers in above study were extracted from sugarcane stalks by mechanical separation or chemical extraction technique with the help of sodium hydroxide and other alkalis. The method disclosed in above study involves web formation using dry laid carding technique and web consolidation using mechanical needle punching method followed by thermal bonding.
Present invention differs from the above cited invention. As present invention discloses the utilization of Nerium oleander stem fiber for production of non-woven sheets, whereas the above cited study discloses the utilization of bagasse fiber for production of non-woven sheets. The above cited study involve utilization of thermal bonding technique along with needle punching whereas in present invention, only simple needle punching technique is used for non-woven production.

Sr. Dr. Mary Gilda and Dr. V Subramaniam; Preparation of Non-woven fabrics using Natural fibers by Needle punching technology; International Journal of trend in Scientific Research and Development; ISSN No. 2456-6740
The above cited paper discloses a method of production of non-woven fabrics from bast fiber extracted from jute fiber, coir and banana fiber, or combinations of two or all three fibers. The above cited paper discloses the use of needle punching web bonding technique for bonding of web and preparation of non-woven fabrics. Further physical and other properties of prepared non wovens were determined in the above cited paper.
Present invention involves utilization of a complete different raw material i.e., Nerium oleander stem fiber.

From the above it is clear that none of the prior art discloses or anticipates the product of the present invention.

OBJECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The main object of the present invention is to disclose non-woven sheets from Nerium oleander stem fiber.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose Nerium oleander non-woven sheet which can be used as a substitute to replace cotton based non-woven products.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose Nerium oleander non-woven sheet which possesses higher water absorbency i.e., 14.6 to 22.7% and a higher elongation percentage i.e., 10 to 11.8%.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses non-woven sheets from Nerium oleander stem fiber. The present invention comprises of the steps of procurement of Nerium oleander stem fiber, web formation i.e. carding of the fiber to separate small tufts to individual fibers, web bonding/consolidation of fiber web by needle punching technique. The prepared non-woven sheets possesses excellent absorbance and filterability.
Nerium oleander non-woven material is natural plant based material. It is biodegradable and will decompose easily by its own hence the same is eco-friendly and does not contribute to any type of environmental pollution. Nerium oleander is a drought tolerant plant, hence does not require massive amount of water for overall growth, moreover it can grow well in any soil types and does not require specialized growth conditions and is easily available. Also the cellulose content of Nerium oleander is quite high and similar to that of cotton and other properties such as absorbency, filterability etc. are also similar to that of cotton, hence Nerium oleander non-woven can be used as a substitute to replace cotton based non-woven products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1: Nerium oleander non-woven sheet

Figure 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c): Scanning Electron Microscopic image of Nerium oleander non-woven sheet
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses Non-woven fabric prepared using Nerium oleander stem fiber. The non-woven sheets are prepared using needle punching technique. The prepared non-woven possesses good absorbency, filterability and permeability.
Specifically, Nerium oleander is selected for non-woven fabric production as it is easily available, easy to cultivate and harvest. Nerium oleander is a drought tolerant plant and does not require massive amount of water for growth, Moreover it can grow easily in any soil types. The overall process of preparation of non-woven from Nerium oleander is quite easy and does not involve use of toxic and harsh chemicals which makes the process cost effective and eco-friendly. Moreover the use of Nerium oleander overcomes the drawbacks which are faced during the production of non-woven material from cotton plant.
Unlike cotton, the processing and production cost of Nerium oleander non-woven fabric is quite low. Nerium oleander plant is easily available, non-woven production does not involve use of costly chemicals and moreover, Nerium oleander can also tolerate high speed carding machines which is a major problem associated with cotton as cotton does not tolerate the high speed of carding machines. Moreover, processing techniques such as filtration cost of trash in cotton fiber sheet is quite high, which is not a problem with Nerium oleander fibre sheet, and overall processing cost in case of Nerium oleander is quite low.

Method of preparation
The method used for the preparation of non-woven fabric from Nerium oleander stem fiber comprises of following steps:
Procurement of Nerium oleander stem fiber:
Nerium oleander stem fibers were prepared by using the method disclosed in Indian Patent application no. 202111011920; Titled “Method of extraction of textile fibre from stem of Nerium oleander and product thereof” filed by same applicants i.e., Dr. Ramratan and Rohit kumar.
Web formation/Carding:
Web formation is a process of arrangement of individualized fibers in the form of sheets. Web formation can be done chemically or mechanically. In present invention, inventors used mechanical web formation technique i.e., carding. Carding is performed to separate small tufts into individualized fibers. In this technique, the staple fiber/ extracted fiber is opened up, blended and transported to the card of the carding machine, which helps in combing of fiber and web formation. Carding is present invention is done using lab model carding machine.
Web bonding by needle punching:
Web bonding is also termed as web consolidation. Web bonding is used for bonding and increasing the strength fiber web. The web structure is bonded together by entangling fibers mechanically, chemically and thermally depending upon raw material, structure and manufacturing process.
Present invention involves the use of mechanical needle punching technique for web bonding, which works on the principle mechanism of interlocking and intermingling of fibers by means of barbed needles.
In present invention, the following specification was used for needle punching:
Needle penetration = 8 mm
Needle Cross density = 100
Speed = 1.2 mt/min
The needle punching system is used to bond dry and spun laid fiber webs. The web is fed into the needling zone, by the help of feed Apron which is supported with the help of two metallic plates (bed and stripper) plate. The bed is the lower confining member supporting web from bottom when the needle punches through on the other hand. The stripper plate on other hand is the upper confining member stripping the web from needle. Then the needle are withdrawn from the web. The gap between the two plates can be adjusted as per the thickness of web.
Microscopic examination of Non-woven sheet
The non-woven sheet prepared from Nerium oleander fiber was further examined microscopically using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Rod liked structures of needle punched fibers in non-woven sheet were observed in microscopic images and same are given in Figure 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c).
Vertical wicking test
Moisture wicking relies on capillary action which is the movement of a liquid for example sweat through tiny spaces within a fabric due to the molecular forces between the liquid and the fabric’s internal surfaces. In vertical wicking test, the rate of water transport is measured according vertical wicking strip, one end of the strip is dipped in water and further the height to which the water transports along with the strip is measured at intervals of 5, 10 and 15 minutes and the height was measured in cm. The results for vertical wicking test are given in table below:
S. No. Time (Min.) Vertical Wicking Height (cm)
1 5 8 to 8.5
2 10 8.9 to 9.4
3 15 9 to 9.8

Table 1: Vertical wicking test result for Nerium oleander nonwoven sheet
From above table, it was observed, that after 15 minutes, the water travels upto 9.8 cm height, which depicts that the rate of water transport of Nerium oleander non-woven fabric is about 9 to 9.8 cm.

Moisture Management test (MMT)
Moisture management test is used to measure and record liquid moisture transport behaviors in different directions. This test is done according to AATCC test method. Wetting time (top-bottom), absorption rate (top-bottom), maximum wetted radius (top-bottom), spreading speed (top-bottom), one-way transport capacity index and overall moisture management capability of Nerium oleander non-woven fabric were measured by MMT. Table 2 below discloses the results for various moisture management tests.
Parameters Top Layer Bottom Layer
Wetting time (Second) 5.1485 15.210
Absorption rate (%/Sec) 14.682 22.754
Maximum wetted radius (mm) 15.0 16.5
Spreading speed (mm/Sec) 2.3074 2.221
One way Transport Index (%) 225.49 255.49
Overall Moisture management capability 0.541 0.564
Table 2: Moisture management test results

- Wetting time: Wetting is defined as ability of liquid to spread over a solid surface. Top wetting time is defined as as a time in seconds, when the top layer of the specimen begins to be wetted after test started and bottom wetting time is defined as time in seconds, when bottom layer of the specimen begin to be wetted after test started. From table 2, it was observed that the time taken to wet the top later of the Nerium oleander non-woven fabric was 5.14 seconds and time taken to wet the bottom layer of the Nerium oleander non woven fabric was 15.21 seconds.
- Absorption rate: The absorption rate is defined as the average moisture absorbency (%/sec) of the top and bottom surfaces of the fabric. From table 2, it was observed that absorption rate of bottom layer was 22.754%/sec, which was higher than the absorption rate of top layer, that was 14.682%/sec.
- Maximum wetted radius: It is defined as the maximum wetted ring radii at the top and bottom surfaces of the fabric. From table 2, it was observed that maximum wetted radii of top layer and bottom layer was 15mm and 16.5mm respectively.
- Spreading speed: It is defined as the speed of moisture spreading on the top and bottom fabric surfaces to reach the maximum wetted radius. The spreading speed of top and bottom layer of Nerium oleander non-woven fabric was 2.3 mm/Sec and 2.2 mm/Sec respectively.
- One-way transport index: One-way transport index is the difference of the moisture content between the two surfaces of a fabric. One way transport index was 225.49% and 255.49% for top layer and bottom layer of the fabric respectively.
- Overall Moisture management capability: Overall Moisture Management Capacity is an index to indicate the overall capability of the fabric to manage the transport of liquid moisture and it was observed to be 0.541 for top layer and 0.564 for bottom layer of the Nerium oleander non-woven fabric.
Physical Characterizations
Other parameters such as Water vapour permeability (WVP), Thermal conductivity, Thermal resistance, Air permeability, Thickness, Fabric strength including breaking force and elongation, tear strength etc on Nerium oleander non-woven fabric were determined and same are given in table 3 and 4.
S.No. WVP (g/m2/day) Thermal Conductivity Thermal Resistance Air permeability (cm3/ cm2/s) Thickness (mm)
1. 496 53.98 112.65 185.21 5 to 5.5
Table 3: Results for physical properties of Nerium oleander non-woven fabric.

Test Parameter Test Method Test Results
Fabric strength Breaking Force (Kg) IS: 1969-1985 0.87 kg
Elongation (%) 11.8 %
Tear Strength (gms) IS:6489-1990 960 gms
Table 4: Results for fabric strength and tear strength of Nerium oleander non-woven fabric.

From table 3 and 4, it was observed that Nerium oleander non-woven fabric possesses 11.8% elongation, 960 g tear strength and about 0.87 kg breaking force is required to break the fabric. Further it possesses about 185.21 cm3/ cm2/s and fabric of about 5.5 mm thickness was obtained.

Comparative analysis-
Finally Nerium oleander non-woven sheet as disclosed in present invention is compared with non-woven material prepared using other natural bast fibers to compare the water absorbance and elongation percentage of non-woven material disclosed in present invention and other existing non-woven sheets.
S.No. Type of Non-woven Water absorbency (%)
1. Sisal fibre based non-woven 10 to 15.2 %
2. 70% sisal and 30% coir fibre based non-woven 7 to 11%
3. Hemp fibre based non-woven 8 to 12%
4. Jute fibre based non-woven 8 to 12%
5. Flex fibre based non-woven 7 to 12%
6. Nerium oleander fibre based non-woven 14.6 to 22.7%
Table 5: Comparative analysis for water absorbency (%)
From table 5, it is clear that Nerium oleander fibre based non-woven possesses higher water absorbency i.e., 14.6 to 22.7% as compared to other natural fibre based non-woven material.
S.No. Type of Non-woven Elongation (%)
1. Jute fibre based non-woven 1.16 to 8%
2. Banana fibre based Nonwoven 3%
3. Hemp fibre based Nonwoven 2 to 9%
4. Jute fibre based Nonwoven 2 to 8%
5. Flex fibre based Nonwoven 2 to 8%
6. Nerium oleander fibre based nonwoven 10 to 11.8%
Table 6: Comparative analysis for elongation (%)
From table 6, it is clear that Nerium oleander fibre based non-woven material possesses hight elongation percentage i.e., 10-11.8%, which is quite higher as compared to other natural fiber based non-woven material. Further higher elongation percentage usually indicate that the material possesses better quality.
From above comparative analysis, it is evident that Nerium oleander fibre based non-woven material is better in terms of various properties including water absorbency (%) and elongation (%) as compared to existing natural fibre based non-woven material.
The product of the present invention is novel, as evident from non-disclosure in the prior art.
Inventive step by way of technological advancement lies in production of Non-woven from a material whose properties resemble those of cotton based Non-wovens. Nerium oleander fiber as almost similar cellulose content i.e., 81% which is almost similar to cotton, hence the prepared non-woven possesses similar properties as that of cotton but at a low raw material cost.
The overall process of production of non-woven material from Nerium oleander stem is quite easy and low cost process. Further Nerium oleander does not require specialized growth conditions as it is draught tolerant plant and can grow well in any soil type hence is easily available. Moreover, Nerium oleander can tolerate high speed carding machines which is a major problem associated with cotton as cotton does not tolerate the high speed of carding machines. Along with that processing techniques such as filtration cost of trash in cotton fiber is quite high, which is not a problem with Nerium oleander, as overall processing cost in case of Nerium oleander is quite low. Hence due to use of novel fiber as raw material which is a low cost raw material as compared to Cotton fiber, has easier run-ability on high speed carding machines, has lesser need for trash filtration, the process of manufacturing of the present invention makes has economic advantage.
Industrial application is duly clear as it will boost the textile and medical textile sector. The non-woven fabric can be used for the production of sanitary napkins, diapers, filters, medical and health care products such as wipes, masks etc.,

WE CLAIM

1. Non-woven sheet from Nerium oleander stem fiber wherein the same has following characteristic features:
- Thickness (mm) : 5 to 5.5
- Fabric strength- Elongation (%) : 10 - 11.8
- Breaking force (kg) : 0.87
- Tear strength (g) : 960
- Vertical wicking height (cm) (after 15 seconds) : 9 to 9.8

2. The non-woven sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the same possesses following physical characteristics features:
- Water vapour permeability (WVP) (g/m2/day) : 496
- Air permeability (cm3/ cm2/s) : 185.21
- Thermal conductivity : 53.98
- Thermal resistance : 112.65
- Water absorbency (%) : 14.6 to 22.7

3. The non-woven sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the top layer of the sheet has following moisture characteristics:
- Wetting time (Second) : 5.1485
- Absorption rate (%/Sec) : 14.682
- Maximum wetted radius (mm) : 15.0
- Spreading speed (mm/Sec) : 2.3074
- One way Transport Index (%) : 225.49
- Overall Moisture management capability : 0.541

4. The non-woven sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bottom layer of the sheet has following moisture characteristics:
- Wetting time (Second) : 15.210
- Absorption rate (%/Sec) : 22.754
- Maximum wetted radius (mm) : 16.5
- Spreading speed (mm/Sec) : 2.221
- One way Transport Index (%) : 255.49
- Overall Moisture management capability : 0.564

5. The method for preparing non-woven sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the same consists of following steps:
- web formation of Nerium oleander stem fibers by carding to separate small tufts of Nerium oleander stem fiber into individualized fiber using carding machine;
- web bonding by needle punching of the Nerium oleander stem fiber;
- moulding the needle punched fiber to form sheet

6. The method of preparation of Non-woven sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the needle punching is done at speed of 1.2 meter/minute with 8 mm needle punching and 100 needle cross density.