Method of removing odors from fibrous materials used in forming biocomposite materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10472767-B2
Application number	US-201514755603-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2015
Priority date	Mar 19, 2014
Publication date	Nov 12, 2019
Grant date	Nov 12, 2019

Abstract

A method to treat fibrous materials for use in the formation of a biocomposite material that significantly reduces or eliminates the odors emitted from the fibrous materials is provided. In the method, the fibers or fibrous materials are initially treated to extract the raw fiber from the source plant material and the remove unwanted fractions of the fiber, such as the hemicellulose, lignin, and pectin, among others, leaving only the intact cellulose fibers. These cellulose fibers are then further processed in a second step to remove the odor from the cellulose fibers. The second step includes a combination of a second chemical treatment, dehumidification, and/or a cold plasma modification to render the cellulosic fibers odorless.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for reducing/eliminating odors in a biocomposite material, the method consisting essentially of the steps of:
a) separating a fibrous material from a raw fiber; and
b) treating the fibrous material with an odor elimination process prior to performing any step that subject the fibrous material to heat, the odor elimination process consisting of chemically modifying the fibrous material and at least one or more of the steps of: dehumidifying the fibrous material by heating the fibers to a temperature of between about 35° C. to about 50° C. and cold plasma modification of the fibrous material,
wherein the method does not include the addition of an oxidizing agent to the fibrous material in the chemical modification step,
wherein the step of chemically modifying the fibrous material comprises
i) performing a silane modification on the fibrous material; and
ii) performing an acrylic modification on the fibrous material, and

wherein the method further consists essentially of the step of washing the fibrous material after the acrylic modification step.

2. The method of claim 1 further consisting essentially of the step of washing the fibrous material after each modification step.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the raw fiber is selected from the group consisting of flax and hemp.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the odor elimination process does not affect the internal structure of the fibrous material.

Assignees

• Cnh Ind Canada Ltd

Inventors

• Henry James
• Panigrahi Satyanarayan
• Lal Kushwaha Radhey

Classifications

• D21C9/06 Primary

  in filters {; Washing of concentrated pulp, e.g. pulp mats, on filtering surfaces} · CPC title

• D21C9/007

  by mechanical or physical means · CPC title

• D10B2201/01

  Natural vegetable fibres · CPC title

• D21C7/14

  Means for circulating the lye · CPC title

• D21C9/02

  Washing {; Displacing cooking or pulp-treating liquors contained in the pulp by fluids, e.g. wash water or other pulp-treating agents} · CPC title