The invention relates to an aqueous impregnation bath for reinforcement fibers for manufacturing prepregs having a thermoplastic matrix, resulting in highly satisfactory consolidation, in terms of residual porosity, of the composite material parts manufactured using the prepregs. The impregnation bath includes a least one thermoplastic polymer, a surfactant and water, and is characterized in that the surfactant is an ethoxylated stearyl alcohol of formula: HO—(CH2—CH2—O)n—CH2—(CH2)16—CH3 wherein n is 100. The invention also relates to a method for impregnating reinforcement fibers using the impregnation bath, to a method for manufacturing a prepreg having a thermoplastic matrix using the impregnation method, and to a method for manufacturing a part made of a composite material having a thermoplastic matrix using the method for manufacturing a prepreg. The invention is useful in any field for manufacturing parts made of composite materials and, specifically, in the aeronautical, space, rail, shipping and automotive industries.
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