Fluff pulps are used as a raw material in the absorbent core of personal care products such as diapers, feminine hygiene products, air-laid absorbent towelling, as such, or with superabsorbents and/or synthetic fibres. More than 80% of the pulps are used in baby diapers.

-The top-sheet, closest to the baby’s skin, is commonly made of polypropene. Some brands also have a thin layer of lotion on the top-sheet to protect the baby’s skin. This layer of the nappy allows the baby’s urine to pass through and into the further nappy layers below.

-The layer below the top-sheet is the acquisition layer. This layer is usually composed of cotton and polyester and absorbs the urine, moving it away from the baby’s skin. Cotton absorbs up to 27 times its weight in water. Salts and other compounds in urine reduce the amount that it absorbs relative to this figure, but it still does a pretty good job of soaking it up.

- The absorbent layer underneath the acquisition layer contains some cotton too but also contains another polymer: sodium polyacrylate. This is a superabsorbent polymer which is able to absorb a whopping 800 times its own weight in distilled water. As with cotton, the amount of urine it can absorb is reduced by other compounds found within urine. Even so, it still manages a pretty impressive 30 times its own weight. As it absorbs the urine, it forms a gel, preventing wetness inside the nappy.

-The final disposable nappy layer is the water-resistant back-sheet. Commonly composed of polypropene and polyethene, this layer prevents the wetness contained in the nappy from transferring to the baby’s sheets or clothes.