Method of forming glass fiber dispersions with cationic quaternary ammonium surfactants having at least two long chain groups

Claim 1

In the manufacture of uniform glass mats at a high rate of production by the wet-laid process, the improved method which comprises forming an aqueous dispersion of glass fibers by mixing bundles of said fibers of about 1/4 to 3 inches in length in an aqueous medium at a fiber consistency of about 0.001 to 3.0% with about 5-500 ppm of a cationic quaternary ammonium surfactant compound having the formula: ##STR20## where R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are selected from the group consisting of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon radicals, straight chain or branched, or two or more form a cyclic group, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, at least two of said radicals containing at least 10 carbon atoms each, being the same or different, the sum of the carbon atoms in R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 being at least 22 and less than about 48, and X is an anion thereby to substantially disperse said bundles into individual fibers within the aqueous medium, and, passing said dispersion through a mat-forming screen to form the desired uniform glass fiber mat.