Polymeric fiber webs with binder comprising salt of inorganic acid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9574114-B2
Application number	US-201514678443-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 3, 2015
Priority date	Aug 19, 2009
Publication date	Feb 21, 2017
Grant date	Feb 21, 2017

Abstract

A curable formaldehyde-free binding composition for use with fiberglass is provided. Such curable composition comprises an aldehyde or ketone and an amine salt of an inorganic acid. The composition when applied to fiberglass is cured to form a water-insoluble binder which exhibits good adhesion to glass. In a preferred embodiment the fiberglass is in the form of building insulation. In other embodiments the product is a microglass-based substrate for use in a printed circuit board, battery separator, filter stock, or reinforcement scrim.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for binding polymeric fibers comprising:
forming an intermediate comprising an amine salt of an inorganic acid;
adding an aldehyde or ketone to the intermediate;
forming a binder including the aldehyde or ketone and the intermediate;
applying the binder to fibers of a non-woven web of polymeric fibers; and
curing the binder while present on the fibers.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the cured binder is insoluble in water.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the cured binder is hydrophobic.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process does not include the addition of a pH modifier to the binder.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the amine is a diamine having at least one primary amine group.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein the amine is selected from the group consisting of 1,2-diethylamine, 1,3-propanediamine, 1,4-butanediamine, 1,5-pentanediamine, 1,6-hexanediamine, a, a′-diaminoxylene, diethylenetriamine, triethylentetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, and mixtures of these.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic acid is phosphoric acid.

8. The process of claim 1 , further comprising drying the applied binder prior to the curing operation.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein forming the intermediate comprises adding the acid to an aqueous amine solution.

10. The process of claim 9 , wherein the acid is an oxygenated acid selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, pyrophosphoric acid, phosphorus acid, sulfuric acid, sulfurous acid, nitric acid, boric acid, hypochloric acid, and chlorate acid or a non-oxygenated acid as the inorganic acid selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric acid, hydrogen sulfide, and phosphine.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde or ketone comprises a sugar.

12. The process of claim 11 , wherein the sugar comprises a monosaccharide, disaccharide, or polysaccharide.

13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde or ketone is added with a mass of water.

14. The process of claim 13 , wherein the mass of water is equal to that of the aldehyde or ketone.

15. A process for binding polymeric fibers comprising:
forming an intermediate comprising an amine salt of an inorganic acid;
adding an aldehyde or ketone to the intermediate to form a solution;
mixing the solution at a first temperature for a first period of time to form a binder;
applying the binder to fibers of a non-woven web of polymeric fibers;
drying the binder at a second temperature for a second period of time; and
curing the binder at a third temperature for a third period of time.

16. The process of claim 15 , wherein the curing operation is performed at a temperature below the melting point of the polymeric fibers.

17. The process of claim 15 , wherein the applying operation comprises:
diluting the binder; and
performing a dip-and-squeeze coating to the non-woven web of polymeric fibers.

18. The process of claim 15 , further comprising incorporating ammonium sulfate to the solution.

19. The process of claim 15 , wherein the intermediate comprises molar equivalents of the amine salt and inorganic acid.

20. The process of claim 16 , wherein the intermediate comprises about twice as much inorganic acid as amine salt.

Assignees

• Johns Manville

Inventors

• Alavi Kiarash
• Hamilton James Patrick
• Asrar Jawed

Classifications

• Y10T442/2861

  Coated or impregnated synthetic organic fiber fabric · CPC title

• B01D39/08

  Filter cloth, i.e. woven, knitted or interlaced material (metallic B01D39/10) · CPC title

• D04H3/12

  with filaments or yarns secured together by chemical or thermo-activatable bonding agents, e.g. adhesives, applied or incorporated in liquid or solid form · CPC title

• Y10T442/60

  Nonwoven fabric [i.e., nonwoven strand or fiber material] · CPC title

• Y10T442/2926

  Coated or impregnated inorganic fiber fabric · CPC title