Colorant dispersion in polymer materials using solid-state shear pulverization

A method preparing a uniform colorant-polymer dispersion, said method comprising:

• providing a polymer component and colorant pellet mixture, providing said polymer component and colorant pellet are not post-consumer or post-industrial plastic materials;
• applying a mechanical energy to said mixture through solid-state shear pulverization in the presence of cooling at least partially sufficient to maintain said polymer in a solid state during said pulverization;
• and
• melt-processing said colorant pellet-polymer component mixture, to provide a colored molded part without phase separation and with at least reduced colorant swirling,
• said colorant pellet prepared by providing a polymeric resin and a colorant component and applying a mechanical energy to said polymeric resin and said colorant component through solid-state shear pulverization in the presence of cooling at least partially sufficient to maintain said polymeric resin in a solid state during said pulverization, said pulverization at least partially sufficient to disperse said colorant component within said polymeric resin.

A method of rotationally molding a colored polymeric product, said method comprising:

• providing a polymer component and a colorant pellet mixture, providing said polymer component and colorant pellet are not post-consumer or post-industrial plastic materials;
• applying a mechanical energy to said mixture through solid-state shear pulverization in the presence of cooling at least partially sufficient to maintain said polymer component in a solid-state during said pulverization, said pulverization sufficient to provide a powdered mixture;
• and
• introducing said shear-pulverized powder mixture into a rotational molding apparatus, to produce a rotationally-molded product, said colorant pellet embedded in said polymer component and said product absent observed colorant plate-out,
• said colorant pellet prepared by providing a polymeric resin and a colorant component and applying a mechanical energy to said polymeric resin and said colorant component through solid-state shear pulverization in the presence of cooling at least partially sufficient to maintain said polymeric resin in a solid state during said pulverization, said pulverization at least partially sufficient to disperse said colorant component within said polymeric resin.

A method of preparing a polymer and colorant mixture, said method comprising:

• providing a polymer component and a carbon black pellet colorant mixture, providing said polymer component is not a post-consumer plastic or a post-industrial material;
• and
• applying a mechanical energy to said mixture through solid-state shear pulverization in the presence of cooling at least partially sufficient to maintain said polymer component in a solid state during said pulverization, said pulverization at least partially sufficient to disperse said carbon black colorant pellet within said polymer component,
• said carbon black pellet colorant prepared by providing a polymeric resin and a carbon black colorant component and applying a mechanical energy to said polymeric resin and said colorant component through solid-state shear pulverization in the presence of cooling at least partially sufficient to maintain said polymeric resin in a solid state during said pulverization, said pulverization at least partially sufficient to disperse said colorant component within said polymeric resin.