TREATED GLASS FIBERS FOR USE IN AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION TO MANUFACTURE NONWOVEN MAT

Chopped glass fibers used to manufacture a mat from an aqueous dispersion of the chopped glass fibers and/or strands are difficult to disperse in water especially if the fibers have large amounts of a protective organic coating. Treated glass fibers can be produced according to the invention that have adequate protection for gathering into strands and that, when chopped, are more dispersible in aqueous media. The treated glass fibers have a coating of an aqueous treating composition having a cationic surfactant having one or more primary, secondary and/or tertiary amine moieties and one or more water dispersible, emulsifiable or soluble polyols and one or more polar functional coupling agents. Glass fibers treated with the aqueous treating compositions and produced into wet or dry chopped glass fiber strands having lengths of about 1/16 of an inch (1.58 mm) to about 3 inches (76.2 mm), and have good dispersibility in aqueous media with or without addition of dispersing agents for production of nonwoven sheet-like mat.