Renewable and cost-effective fillers for polymeric materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9902842-B2
Application number	US-201113275977-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2011
Priority date	Oct 18, 2011
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

Abstract

Polymer composites are provided, and more particularly, polymer composites of ground date pits disposed in a polymer matrix. The composites can be formed by a process of preparing reinforced polymer composites having a fibril melt fracture surface, including blending a mixture of date pit particulate with a thermoplastic polymer; melting the mixture; and forcing the melt through a die to produce the polymer composite having a fibril containing surface.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A process of preparing a reinforced polymer composite having a fibril melt fracture surface, comprising:
blending a mixture of date pit particulate having an average size of between about 0.25 mm and 1.0 mm with a thermoplastic polymer;
melting the mixture;
blending coupling agent of di-phenylmethane with the melted mixture; and
forcing the melted mixture through a melt extruder to produce the reinforced polymer composite having a fibril melt fracture surface, wherein
the polymer composite demonstrates tensile strength varying no more than about 10% from that of the uncomposited polymer,
the date pit particulate comprises particulate from the fruit of Phoenix dactylifera L., variety khlaas or sekari, and
the thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and polyamide.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the date pit particulate is present in an amount of between about 1 and about 40 wt % based on the weight of the composite.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polymer composite comprises high density polyethylene and date pit particulate from the variety sekari.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is high density polyethylene.

5. The process of claim 4 , wherein the reinforced polymer composite having a fibril melt fracture surface comprises from 5 wt % to 30 wt % of date pit particulate from the variety sekari.

6. The process of claim 4 , wherein the reinforced polymer composite having a fibril melt fracture surface comprises from 10 wt % to 40 wt % of date pit particulate from the variety khlaas.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polystyrene.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the reinforced polymer composite having a fibril melt fracture surface comprises from 5 wt % to 30 wt % of date pit particulate from the variety sekari.

9. The process of claim 7 , wherein the reinforced polymer composite having a fibril melt fracture surface comprises from 10 wt % to 40 wt % of date pit particulate from the variety khlaas.

10. The process of claim 1 , further comprising blending a toughness modifier with the melted mixture of date pit particulate and thermoplastic polymer,
wherein the toughness modifier is ethylene/propylene grafted with maleic anhydride.

11. The process of claim 1 , further comprising blending a toughness modifier including maleated polyolefins elastomers with the melted mixture.

12. The process of claim 11 , wherein the toughness modifier further includes ethylene/propylene grafted with maleic anhydride, and
wherein, prior to the blending of the coupling agent and the toughness modifier, the melted mixture contains 30 wt % of the date pit particulate from the variety khlaas and 70 wt % of polystyrene.

13. The process of claim 1 , further comprising blending a toughness modifier with the melted mixture, and
wherein, prior to the blending of the coupling agent and the toughness modifier, the melted mixture contains 30 wt % of the date pit particulate from the variety khlaas and 70 wt % of polystyrene.

Assignees

• Alsewailem Fares D
• Binkheder Yazeed A
• King Abdulaziz City Sci & Tech

Inventors

• Alsewailem Fares D
• Binkheder Yazeed A

Classifications

• C08J5/045 Primary

  with vegetable or animal fibrous material · CPC title

• C08L27/06

  Homopolymers or copolymers of vinyl chloride · CPC title

• C08J2323/06

  Polyethene · CPC title

• C08L23/06

  Polyethylene · CPC title

• C08K5/0008

  Organic ingredients according to more than one of the "one dot" groups of C08K5/01 - C08K5/59 · CPC title