Water stable compositions and articles comprising starch and methods of making the same

a technology of compositions and articles and starch, which is applied in the field of water-stable compositions and articles of thermoplastic polymer compositions, can solve the problems of increasing landfill space, tps is susceptible to moisture, and the use of petroleum-based thermoplastic polymers is becoming less pragmati

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-04-12
THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY
View PDF83 Cites 54 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] These and other embodiments, aspects, and advantages are encompassed within the present invention, and will become better understood with regard to the following description and appended claims.

Problems solved by technology

However, the use of petroleum-based thermoplastic polymers is becoming less pragmatic due to disruptions in petroleum supply and increasing expense.
Additionally, after use it is common for petroleum-based plastic materials, which are typically not biodegradable, to become solid waste that is to be discarded in rapidly vanishing, increasingly expensive landfill space.
However, unlike many petroleum-based polymers, TPS is susceptible to moisture.
This susceptibility to moisture can limit the applications in which TPS may be utilized.
However, the addition of petroleum-based polymers to TPS may propagate disadvantages such as those described above.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

A Single Layer Film

[0123] The following materials are mixed in a Haake Rheocord 90 melt mixer, Thermo Electron Corporation, Newington, N.H.: [0124] 30 g Ethylex™ 2015, hydroxyethylated starch (Tate and Lyle, Decatur, Ill.) [0125] 12.5 g Glycerol (Aldrich Chemicals, St. Louis, Mo.) [0126] 7.5 g Adipic Acid (Aldrich Chemicals, St. Louis, Mo.)

[0127] The starch and the glycerol are mixed for about 3 minutes at about 60 rpm at a temperature of about 160° C. The balance of components are added and mixed for an additional 7 minutes at about 60 rpm. The contents are removed and allowed to cool to room temperature. The mixture is then chopped using a knife into pieces approximately 50 mm in diameter.

[0128] After 24 hours, films of starch composition are made by melting the material between Teflon sheets in a Carver™ Press (Fred S. Carver Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) at 165° C. Pressure on the sheets are adjusted to produce films of approximately 0.25 mm thick. The films are then identical...

example 2

Comparative Example

[0130] This example demonstrates a conventional process for melt mixing and creating films which are not water stable. The following materials are mixed in the described Haake Rheocord 90 melt mixer: [0131] 30 g Ethylex™ 2015 starch (Tate and Lyle, Decatur, Ill.) [0132] 12.5 g Glycerol (Aldrich Chemicals, St. Louis, Mo.)

[0133] The starch and the glycerol are mixed for about 3 minutes at about 60 rpm at a temperature of about 160° C. The balance of components are added and mixed for an additional 7 minutes at about 60 rpm. The contents are removed and allowed to cool to room temperature. The mixture is then chopped using a knife into pieces approximately 50 mm in diameter.

[0134] After 24 hours, films of starch composition are made by melting the material between Teflon sheets in a Carver™ Press (Fred S. Carver Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) at 165° C. Pressure on the sheets are adjusted to produce films of approximately 0.25 mm thick. The films are then identicall...

example 3

Single Layer Film

[0136] This example demonstrates additional blending of TPS with water stability. The following materials are used: [0137] 6000 g Ethylex™ 2035 (Tate & Lyle, Decatur, Ill.) [0138] 2500 g Glycerol (Aldrich Chemicals, St. Louis, Mo.) [0139] 350 g Adipic acid (Solutia Chemicals, St. Louis, Mo.) [0140] 500 g Polypropylene Profax™ PH835(Basell, Elkton, Md.) [0141] 500 g Maleated polypropylene G3003 (Eastman Chemicals, Kingsport, Tenn.) [0142] 50 g Magnesium stearate (Aldrich Chemicals, St. Louis, Mo.)

[0143] The starch, adipic acid, polypropylene, maleated polypropylene and magnesium stearate (employed as a process aid) are dry mixed in a Henschel Raw Material Mixer (Green Bay, Wis.) for 4 minutes at 1000 rpm. The mixture is then fed into a B & P Process System Twin Screw Extrusion Compounding System (Saginaw, Mich.) with 40 mm co-rotating screws. Glycerol is fed through a liquid feed port at a rate that maintains the desired composition stated above. The screw speed is...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

PUM

PropertyMeasurementUnit
mol %aaaaaaaaaa
temperatureaaaaaaaaaa
temperatureaaaaaaaaaa
Login to view more

Abstract

Thermoplastic polymer compositions comprising starch and articles made therefrom are water stable or may be rendered so. One method of making water stable thermoplastic compositions comprises the steps of mixing destructured starch with polyhydric alcohol and acid, and forming an ester condensation reaction product from at least a portion of the polyhydric alcohol and acid. In some embodiments, a pre-polymer formed from the ester condensation reaction may be provided as a pre-polymer that is mixed with the starch.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 725,424, filed 11 Oct. 2005.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to thermoplastic polymer compositions comprising starch and articles made therefrom. The compositions and articles are water stable, or may be rendered so. The invention also relates to methods of making the water stable thermoplastic polymer compositions and articles. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Thermoplastic polymers find use in a variety of plastic articles including, but not limited to films, sheets, adhesives, binders, laminates, coatings, fibers, foams, molded articles, and the like. Often, the plastic articles have a short use cycle, as in the areas of packaging, agriculture, household goods, and personal care products. For example, in the packaging of food, plastic articles often play the role of a protective agent and are quickly disposed of after the food is co...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to view more
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): D21H19/54D04H1/42D04H1/54D04H1/70D04H3/16
CPCA61L15/28Y10T428/2931C08L3/08C08L23/12C08L91/00C08L2205/02D01F1/10D01F6/46D01F6/90D01F6/92D01F8/06D01F8/14D01F8/18D01F9/00D01F11/00D04H1/42D04H1/54D04H1/70D04H3/16D21H13/14D21H13/30D21H15/10D21H17/13D21H17/15D21H17/28D21H17/38D21H17/47D21H17/53D21H27/10C08L3/02Y10T428/2929C08L2666/02C08L3/04D04H1/4266D04H1/435Y10T442/642Y10T442/696Y10T442/641Y10T442/637Y10T442/638D04H1/43828
Inventor NODA, ISAOSATKOWSKI, MICHAEL M.ALLEN, WILLIAM M. JR.KNAPMEYER, JAMES T.
Owner THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap