Use of polyacetals for preparing compostable moldings, as coatin

Details Use of polyacetals for preparing compostable moldings, as coatin Use of polyacetals for preparing compostable moldings, as coatin

1995-10-12

1996-07-30

Acquah, Samuel A.

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or...

525472, 604366, A61F 1315

Patent

active

055406637

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
This application is a 371 of PCT/EP94/01200 filed Apr. 18, 1994.
The present invention relates to the use of polyacetals containing acetaldehyde acetal units, and of mixtures of these polyacetals with fillers, for preparing compostable moldings, as coating and as adhesive, and to diapers with an outer layer comprising polyacetals containing acetaldehyde acetal units in the form of a compostable film or a compostable coating..
Thermoplastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene, which are customarily used for manufacturing packaging, are not biodegradable. The used packaging materials are disposed of by recycling, incineration with energy recovery, or landfilling. Because of the increasing amounts of refuse, however, the composting of refuse is becoming more and more important. Yet the plastics mentioned above are not compostable. For instance, diapers with a polyethylene film as outer layer are not readily compostable. First the film has to be separated from the other constituents of the diaper in an additional operation, or the diaper has to be mechanically comminuted. But mechanical comminution leaves comparatively large pieces of film which are undesirable in biowaste and later also in the soil.
Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Letters Edition 18, (1980), 293-297, discloses the preparation of polyacetals by acid-catalyzed addition of polyols to divinyl ethers. For instance, polyaddition of trans-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol to butanediol divinyl ether under the catalytic action of p-toluenesulfonic acid produces a polyacetal having a molecular weight of 200,000. The polyacetals described are used in medicine for the controlled release of active compounds.
German Patent Application P 4142130.2, unpublished at the priority date of the present invention, discloses the use of polyacetals which are obtainable by cationically initiated polyaddition of divinyl ethers and dihydroxy compounds and also, optionally, monohydroxy compounds in low-phosphate and phosphate-free detergents and cleaners. It also discloses polyacetals which are obtainable by cationically initiated polyaddition of divinyl ethers and dihydroxy compounds and subsequent addition of monohydroxy compounds to 5-95% of the vinyl ether groups in the polyacetal, so that the polyacetals formed have vinyl ether groups.
It is an object of the present invention to provide materials for preparing compostable or rottable moldings, coatings or adhesions and also diapers which can be composted.
We have found that this object is achieved according to the present invention by the use of polyacetals containing acetaldehyde acetal units, and of mixtures of these polyacetals with fillers, for preparing compostable moldings, as coating and as adhesive.
The present invention also provides diapers with an outer layer comprising polyacetals containing acetaldehyde acetal units in the form of a compostable film or a compostable coating.
Preferred acetaldehyde acetal polyacetals are obtainable by cationically initiated polyaddition of monovinyl ethers of dihydric alcohols or by cationically initiated polyaddition of of other alcohols, and divinyl ethers mentioned may be optionally replaced by up to 50 mol % of other vinyl ethers.
For example, polyaddition of diols and divinyl ethers gives rise to polyacetals in which the underlying diols are linked together as repeat units via acetaldehyde acetal units. The acetaldehyde acetal units in such polymers act as predetermined breaking points, at which the polymers can be cleaved, enzymatically or hydrolytically, with molecular weight reduction, into readily biodegradable polymer fragments or diols. The enzymatic attack on these polyacetals comes from microorganisms, for example bacteria or fungi. Hydrolytic degradation is obtained on lowering the pH of the medium surrounding the polyacetals. If the pH is reduced to below 7, for example owing to biological processes in the compost or in the soil or due to addition of acids, the polyacetals can be composted, or rot. Even the acidity of the carbon dio

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Acc. Chem. Res. 1993, 26, 105-110, Directions for Environmentally Biodegradable Polymer Research, Swift.

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