Natural Composite Interleaving Powder for Glass Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plastic interleaving powders used in the flat glass industry are environmentally hazardous and face restrictions, necessitating the development of sustainable alternatives that can effectively space glass sheets during stacking without using organotin compounds.
Innovation Solution
Employing a composition of natural composite materials based on cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, specifically fruit kernel flour, cellulose-based powder, or lignin-based powder, with optional additives like pyrogenic silica, to create an interleaving powder that provides effective spacing and corrosion protection for glass sheets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If plastic interleaving powders are used to space glass sheets during stacking, then effective spacing and separation are achieved, but environmental hazards and regulatory restrictions occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material composition parameters from synthetic plastic materials to natural composite materials (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin), transforming the chemical properties while maintaining the physical spacing function. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by eliminating environmental hazards while preserving spacing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials consisting of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in specific proportions (cellulose 30-70%, hemicellulose 10-40%, lignin 10-30%) to create an interleaving powder that combines the spacing functionality of plastics with the environmental benefits of natural materials, thereby resolving the contradiction between effectiveness and environmental safety.
2Reliability
If organotin compounds are added to prevent glass corrosion, then corrosion protection is improved, but environmental safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes organotin compounds from the interleaving powder composition entirely, eliminating the harmful substance while maintaining corrosion protection through alternative natural materials. This extraction resolves the contradiction by eliminating the harmful factor while preserving the protective function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces persistent organotin compounds with biodegradable natural materials that provide temporary corrosion protection during storage and transport but decompose afterward, eliminating long-term environmental hazards while maintaining short-term protective functionality.
3Ease of operation
If fine plastic powder is used for interleaving, then easy separation is achieved, but marine compartment hazards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the particle size parameters and material composition to create fine powder (50-200 μm) from natural materials instead of plastic, maintaining the flowability and separation properties while eliminating marine pollution hazards associated with microplastics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses naturally biodegradable materials that create a benign environmental profile, effectively replacing the harmful plastic particles with inert-from-an-environmental-harm perspective natural particles that do not persist in marine compartments.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If natural composite materials are used as interleaving powder, then environmental friendliness is improved, but mechanical impact resistance may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite material system combining cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in optimized proportions, where the synergistic interaction between these natural polymers provides mechanical strength comparable to plastics while maintaining environmental benefits. The composite structure resolves the contradiction by achieving both durability and eco-friendliness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the local properties of the interleaving powder by controlling particle morphology, size distribution, and surface characteristics of the natural composite materials, ensuring adequate mechanical impact resistance at the particle level while maintaining overall environmental compatibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein is a method for spacing glass sheets from one another during stacking of the glass sheets, where the method includes:applying an interleaving powder material between adjacent glass sheets, where a composition including a powdered support material is employed, which is selected from a natural composite material based on cellulose, hemicellulose and/or lignin as the interleaving powder material between the adjacent glass sheets.