Polylactide fibers
AssigneeNatureWorks LLC
InventorsChad Henry Kamann, Robert A. Green
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Polylactide fibers are made from a blend of polylactides. One of the polylactides has a ratio of R-lactic and S-lactic units from 8:92 to 92:8. The second polylactide has a ratio of the R-lactic and S-lactic units of ≥97:3 or ≤3:97. The ratio of the R-lactic units to S-lactic units in the blend is from 7:93 to 25:75 or from 75:25 to 93:7. The polylactide fiber contains at least 5 Joules of polylactide crystallites per gram of polylactide resin in the fiber.
Claims10
A polylactide fiber that contains at least 75% by weight polylactide resin, wherein
- (a) the polylactide resin is a blend formed by melt blending, solution blending or both melt blending and solution blending (1) 20 to 90% by weight of a first polylactide in which the ratio of the R-lactic and S-lactic units is from 50:50 to 10:90 and (2) from 80 to 10% by weight of a second polylactide in which the ratio of the R-lactic and S-lactic units is ≤3:97, and wherein the R-lactic units and S-lactic units combined constitute at least 90% of the weight of the second polylactide
- (b) the ratio of the R-lactic units to S-lactic units in the blend is from 8:92 to 20:80;
- and
- (c) the polylactide fiber contains at least 5 up to 30 Joules of polylactide crystallites having a melting temperature of 140° C. to 190° C. per gram of polylactide resin in the fiber and no more than 5 J/g of other crystallites that melt in the temperature range of 20° C. to 250° C.
A blend of polylactide resins formed by melt blending, solution blending or both melt blending and solution blending (1) 20 to 90% by weight of a first polylactide in which the ratio of the R-lactic and S-lactic units is from 50:50 to 10:90 and (2) from 80 to 10% by weight of a second polylactide in which the ratio of the R-lactic and S-lactic units is ≤3:97, and wherein the R-lactic units and S-lactic units combined constitute at least 90% of the weight of the second polylactide, wherein the ratio of the R-lactic units to S-lactic units in the blend is from 8:92 to 20:80.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.