Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Coated or structually defined flake – particle – cell – strand,... – Rod – strand – filament or fiber
Patent
1997-08-12
2000-04-04
Morris, Terrel
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand,...
Rod, strand, filament or fiber
428370, 428375, 428389, 442352, 442364, 442409, 156181, 1563082, D02G 336, D01G 534
Patent
active
060459085
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a single component fiber and a composite fiber made of a biodegradable polymer, as well as to a non-woven fabric, a knitted fabric, and a molded article made of these fibers.
BACKGROUND ART
Heretofore, there have been known biodegradable fibers consisting of natural materials, such as rayon, cupra (cuprammonium rayon), chitin, chitosan, and collagen, and more recently, there have been known fibers produced from biodegradable polymers consisting of aliphatic polyesters such as poly-.epsilon.-caprolactone. Although by definition these biodegradable fibers decay when placed in the natural environment, it takes a long time until the form of fibers disappears completely. Therefore, they may create the same environmental problems as those created by fibers such as polyamides, polyesters, and polypropylene which are little decayed.
In order to solve such problems, it is necessary to degrade and decompose fibers more quickly.
As a known example of fibers containing starch, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 4-100913 discloses a biodegradable fiber consisting of a polyvinyl alcohol-based polymer and starch. However, this fiber is slightly biodegradable, and complete decomposition takes a long time.
It is an object of the present invention to solve such problems, and to provide a biodegradable, adhesive composite fiber, a non-woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a fiber composition, and the like.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The inventors of the present invention conducted repeated examinations for solving the above problems, and found that the above object was achieved by a fiber formed by melt-spinning a certain biodegradable polymer composition. The present invention has the constitution described below.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a biodegradable fiber comprising a melt-spun biodegradable polymer composition consisting of the following components (A), (B), (C), and (D): monomer containing no functional groups, and an aliphatic polyester (30-70 percent by weight in total)
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a biodegradable fiber according to the first aspect, wherein the component (B) of said biodegradable polymer composition consists of a partially hydrolyzed copolymer of vinyl acetate and an unsaturated monomer containing no functional groups (30-70 percent by weight of the fiber), and an aliphatic polyester (0-40 percent by weight).
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a biodegradable fiber according to the first or second aspect, wherein the biodegradable polymer composition consists of a starch-based polymer, and a partially hydrolyzed copolymer of vinyl acetate and an unsaturated monomer containing no functional groups.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a biodegradable fiber according to the first or second aspect, wherein the unsaturated monomer containing no functional groups is at least one selected from a group consisting of ethylene, propylene, isobutylene, and styrene; the saponification degree of said partially hydrolyzed copolymer is 78-98 percent, and the content of the partially hydrolyzed copolymer in the fiber is 30-70 percent by weight.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a biodegradable fiber according to the first or second aspect, wherein the aliphatic polyester is at least one selected from a group of biodegradable thermoplastic polymers consisting of poly-.epsilon.-caprolactone, polylactic acid, polyglycolide, and hydroxyalkanoate.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a biodegradable fiber according to the first or second aspect, wherein the decomposition accelerating agent is at least one selected from a group consisting of organic peroxides, inorganic peroxides, photo sensitizers, and photo-decomposable polymer compounds.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-woven fab
REFERENCES:
patent: 5349028 (1994-09-01), Takahashi et al.
Nakajima Yuji
Taniguchi Masahiko
Chisso Corporation
Juska Cheryl
Morris Terrel
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