Plant-Based Coatings via Epoxide-Carboxylic Acid Crosslinking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The leather industry faces environmental pollution and animal cruelty concerns, with synthetic vegan leathers made from petroleum-based PVC and PU being non-biodegradable and difficult to produce 100% plant-based, lacking the mechanical properties and haptics of animal hide leathers.
Innovation Solution
A composition of naturally derived epoxies and polyfunctional carboxylic acids is used to create a plant-based coating with at least 90% plant-derived carbon content, combining epoxidized plant-based oils and polyfunctional carboxylic acids to achieve supple and durable topcoats with high tensile elongation, suitable for synthetic leather constructs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If epoxidized vegetable oil is reacted with naturally-occurring polyfunctional carboxylic acid to create plant-based elastomeric coating, then the coating is environmentally sustainable and biodegradable, but the high epoxy functionality and high carboxylic acid functionality result in very high crosslinking density which causes the coating to lack elongation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the reactants by using epoxidized oils with lower epoxy functionality (avoiding fully epoxidized oils) and reacting them with polyfunctional carboxylic acids to achieve optimal crosslinking density that balances environmental sustainability with mechanical flexibility and elongation properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite coating system by combining epoxidized plant-based oils with polyfunctional carboxylic acids in specific ratios and formulations, resulting in a material that integrates both environmental benefits and mechanical performance characteristics similar to animal hide leathers
2Reliability
If 100% plant-based epoxies and polyfunctional carboxylic acids are used to achieve high plant-derived carbon content, then the coating is fully biodegradable and sustainable, but it is difficult to obtain 100% plant-based PVC and PU chemistry with comparable mechanical properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the molecular weight parameters and functionality of the plant-based epoxies and carboxylic acids to achieve a balance between biodegradability and mechanical strength, creating a coating that is fully plant-based while maintaining durability and flexibility comparable to traditional materials
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different plant-based epoxy formulations with varying molecular weights and epoxy functionalities to different regions or aspects of the coating formulation, allowing optimization of both biodegradability and mechanical properties in different phases of the coating system
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in plant-based coatings with enhanced mechanical properties and haptics, achieving high tensile elongation strains and providing a sustainable alternative to traditional synthetic vegan leathers while minimizing environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
reacting an epoxidized vegetable oil with a naturally-occurring polyfunctional carboxylic acid
Implementation Method 2
due to the high epoxy functionality of epoxidized soybean oil and high carboxylic acid functionality of citric acid, and their relatively small molecular weights, such cured coating tends to have very high crosslinking density
Data Source
AI summary
Plant-based supple and durable topcoats are achieved by reacting naturally derived epoxides with naturally derived polyfunctional carboxylic acids. The topcoats are coated to various types of substrates including weaved or knitted or nonwoven fabrics, and can show significant advantages of replacing both animal hide leathers and petroleum-based PU leathers by reducing the carbon footprints, and improving environmental sustainability.