Low aromatic content bio-mass fillers for free radical and ionic cure thermoset polymers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10125260-B2
Application number	US-201515119013-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2015
Priority date	Feb 19, 2014
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A filled polymer compositions and methods of preparing filled polymer that include a plant biomass filler a plant biomass with a low aromatic carbon content, and (a thermoset polymer. The plant biomass filler may have a low lignin content or no lignin at all. The filler may also be heat treated to a temperature that provides a plant biomass filler with less than 49% aromatic content.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A filled polymer composition comprising:
(i) about 15% to about 50% by weight of the filled polymer composition is a plant biomass filler comprising a plant biomass with less than 49% by weight aromatic carbon content, wherein the plant biomass filler is selected from soy and miscanthus , wherein the plant biomass is prepared by heat treating plant matter in its natural state, optionally reduced in size by cutting or grinding, where the heat treating is performed at a temperature from about 150° C. to about 375° C.; and
(ii) about 85% to about 50% by weight of the filled polymer composition is a chain-polymerized thermoset polymer.

2. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where the plant biomass filler comprises a plant biomass with less than 40% by weight aromatic carbon content.

3. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where the plant biomass filler comprises a plant biomass with less than 36% by weight aromatic carbon content.

4. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where the plant biomass filler consists of a plant biomass with less than 49% by weight aromatic carbon content.

5. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where the filled polymer composition includes about 20% to about 50% by weight of a plant biomass filler.

6. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where the plant biomass has less than 8% by weight lignin content.

7. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where the chain-polymerized thermoset polymer is selected from free-radical cured and ionically cured systems.

8. A composite material comprising
a fiber, particulate filler, or combination thereof, and
the filed polymer composition of claim 1 .

9. The composite material of claim 8 , where the composite material further includes an inhibitor, accelerator, catalyst, pigment, dye, mold release agent, thixotrope, rheology modifier, compatibilizing agents, or combination thereof.

10. A method of preparing a filled polymer composition comprising:
(i) preparing a plant biomass filler by heat treating plant matter in its natural state, optionally reduced in size by cutting or grinding, at a temperature from about 150° C. to about 375° C., wherein the plant biomass filler is selected from soy and miscanthus;
(ii) preparing the a resin blend by mixing the plant biomass filler, and a chain-polymerizable thermoset polymer precursor, where the plant biomass filler is from about 15% to about 50% by weight of the resin blend and the chain-polymerizable thermoset polymer precursor is from about 85% to about 50% by weight of the resin blend;
(iii) polymerizing the chain-polymerizable thermoset polymer precursor via a chain-growth polymerization.

11. The method of claim 10 , where the plant biomass has been processed to reduce the lignin aromatic carbon content by removal of lignin.

12. The method of claim 10 , where the plant biomass has less than 8% by weight lignin content.

13. A filled polymer composition comprising:
(i) a filler where the total filler content consists of a plant biomass with less than 49% by weight aromatic carbon content, wherein the plant biomass filler is selected from soy and miscanthus , wherein the plant biomass is prepared by heat treating plant matter in its natural state, optionally reduced in size by cutting or grinding, where the heat treating is performed at a temperature from about 150° C. to about 375° C.; and
(ii) a chain-polymerized thermoset polymer.

14. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where plant biomass has average particle size from about 0.5μ to about 50,000μ.

15. The method of claim 10 , where plant biomass has average particle size from about 0.5μ to about 50,000μ.

16. The filled polymer composition of claim 13 , where plant biomass has average particle size from about 0.5μ to about 50,000μ.

17. The filled polymer composition of claim 1 , where plant biomass is prepared by heat treating plant matter in its natural state that has been ground into a flour.

Assignees

• Pugh Coleen
• Watt Paula
• Mehta Brinda
• Univ Akron

Inventors

• Pugh Coleen
• Watt Paula
• Mehta Brinda

Classifications

• C08L79/085

  Unsaturated polyimide precursors · CPC title

• C08L97/02 Primary

  Lignocellulosic material, e.g. wood, straw or bagasse {(manufacture of articles made from lignocellulosic material by dry processes B27N)} · CPC title

• C08L63/00

  Compositions of epoxy resins; Compositions of derivatives of epoxy resins · CPC title

• C08L67/06

  Unsaturated polyesters · CPC title

• C08L101/00

  Compositions of unspecified macromolecular compounds · CPC title