Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Coated or impregnated woven – knit – or nonwoven fabric which... – Coated or impregnated synthetic organic fiber fabric
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-25
2001-04-17
Morris, Terrel (Department: 1771)
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Coated or impregnated woven, knit, or nonwoven fabric which...
Coated or impregnated synthetic organic fiber fabric
C442S059000, C442S295000, C442S361000, C442S395000, C524S047000, C523S128000, C604S370000, C604S372000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06218321
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to textile products and packaging materials, the processes for their production and to diverse technical and non-technical uses of the textile products.
Textiles, textile composites, not only in the technical but also in the non-technical field of application, and also packaging materials and the like are fabricated not only from natural raw materials, but also from cellulosic and synthetic raw materials, for example synthetic polymers.
As well as the weighty concern of skin compatibility in connection with clothing textiles and hygiene articles, there is also increasing concern about biodegradability, in order that, especially, single-use or disposable articles may be disposed of safely. Examples of the articles in question are hygiene articles, interlinings, wadding, nets, webs and the like. These products are to some extent based on relatively costly cotton or cellulosic materials, such as wood pulp, viscose, etc., whereas synthetic materials are less in demand because of poor skin compatibility. In addition to the fact that the biodegradability of natural raw materials is normally sufficient, however, there is the negative fact that, in general, the mechanical properties of these materials are not exactly outstanding. The synthetic raw materials which have significantly better mechanical properties, however, do not constitute a solution to the stated problems because of poor skin compatibility and poor degradability.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide textile raw materials—for technical and nontechnical use and also for use as packaging materials—which possess good biodegradability, have good skin compatibility if necessary and have at least acceptable mechanical properties.
The prior art discloses for example the production of man-made fibers from which textile raw materials can be fabricated. In the production of these man-made fibers, these are spun directly from a melt or, via various intermediate steps, into threads and then drawn to enhance the strength. In the plastic industry it is further known to orient synthetic, thermoplastic materials. However, all these known synthetic polymer fibers contain significant portions which are not fully biodegradable, especially those constituents which are included to achieve certain properties, such as, especially, mechanical properties.
E-P-A 541 050 proposes producing starch fibers by the melt spinning process, the starch used including inter alia modified and/or unmodified starch. Modified starch is understood to be, destructured starch and also, on the other hand, chemically modified starch. These starch components are mixed with a number of further polymer components and processed into fibers. Fibers produced from destructured starch are unsuitable for the production of textile products, since they have poor mechanical properties, and chemically modified starch as fiber material generally results in inadequate biodegradability.
It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide raw materials - such as, in particular, threads, fibers, monofils and the like for the production of textile raw materials - which possess good biodegradability, have good skin compatibility if necessary and have at least acceptable mechanical properties.
This invention proposes textile products both for technical and non-technical use and also packaging materials as per the wording of claim
1
.
It further proposes a process for producing high strength threads, fibers and also monofils and the like as per the wording of claim
9
especially.
What is proposed is that textile products both for technical and non-technical use, packaging materials and also the necessary starting materials such as threads, fibers, monofils, webs, waddings, wovens, nets and the like contain at least one polymer blend containing thermoplastically processible starch.
WO90/05161 discloses producing thermoplastically processible starch, or thermoplastic starch for short, from native starch with the aid of a plastificating material. What is essential here is that the destructuring and plastification of the native starch take place very substantially in the absence of water; that is, that, in the production of thermoplastic starch, the water content be distinctly below 5% by weight, preferably below 1-2% by weight, based on the weight of the starch/plastificator mixture. Suitable plastificators are, especially, glycerol and sorbitol, but it is also possible to use other additives which have a solubility parameter which is within the range of the solubility parameter of starch. It is further proposed to admix the thermoplastic starch with gelatin, protein, polysaccharide, cellulose derivative, a synthetic polymer and/or gelatin phthalate as fillers. The thermoplastically processible starch is suitable, inter alia for producing fibers, films or networks.
Since the production of thermoplastic starch is extensively described in said cited WO90/05161, a repetition of this prior art will be dispensed with here.
However, to produce the textile products, packaging materials and their starting raw materials claimed according to the invention it is possible to use not only pure thermoplastic starch but also polymer blends which, as well as thermoplastic starch, contain at least one of the following components:
a polyolefin and also a block copolymer as compatibilizer,
a polyolefin and also an ethylene acrylate maleic anhydride copolymer,
a cellulose derivative, such as a cellulose ether, a cellulose ester or a cellulose acetate butyrate mixed ester,
a hydrophobic biodegradable polymer such as an aliphatic polyester, a hydrophobic protein or polyvinyl alcohol,
an aromatic polyester and/or a polyester copolymer produced from customary diols and from aromatic and aliphatic dicarboxylic acids,
a polyesteramide.
In connection with polymer blends directed to thermoplastic starch, polyolefins and a block copolymer as compatibilizer, reference is made to WO91/16375.
In connection with the polymer blend based on thermoplastic starch, a polyolefin and also an ethylene acrylate maleic anhydride copolymer, reference is made to WO92/20740.
Polymer blends consisting of thermoplastic starch and a cellulose derivative are extensively described in EP-A-542 155.
Polymer blends again based on thermoplastic starch and a biodegradable hydrophobic polymer are extensively described in EP-A-596 437.
The solution provided by the invention is based on the basic concept of producing raw materials, such as threads or high strength threads, fibers, monofils, staples and the like, from an extrudate of a thermoplastically processible starch and/or optionally a biodegradable polymer blend based on thermoplastic starch. The resulting raw material according to the invention is thus fully biodegradable.
The combination of thermoplastic starch with other preferably polymeric components has the purpose of further improving the relatively good inherent mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch and adapting them to the intended use, if necessary. Especially the combination of thermoplastic starch with the abovementioned other, preferably polymeric, blending partners has the purpose of further optimizing the inherently favorable properties of thermoplastic starch to the intended use. For instance, it is especially polymer blends consisting of thermoplastic starch and aliphatic and also aromatic polyesters, polyesterurethanes and the like which have been found to be particularly suitable. Occasionally, the blending partners will be polymers which do not biodegrade of themselves, for example aromatic polyesters, but which in combination with other blending partners, for example aliphatic polyesters and the thermoplastic starch, can be biodegraded none the less.
Especially polycaprolactone, polyhydroxybutyric acid, polylactic acid, polyhydroxybenzoic acid, polyhydroxybutyric acid/hydroxyvaleric acid copolymer and the like have been found to be particularly favorable blending partners for thermoplastic starch. A special mention must also go to aliphati
Lorcks Jurgen
Pommeranz Winfried
Schmidt Harald
Biotec Biologische Naturverpackungen GmbH
Guarriello John J.
Morris Terrel
Workman & Nydegger & Seeley
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