Transesterification of polylactic acid with natural oils
AssigneeHenkel IP & Holding GmbH
InventorsGrant B. Kenion, Alexander P. Mgaya, Balasubramaniam Ramalingam, Zhengmian Chang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a transesterified polylactic acid product which has been transesterified with a diol and at least one natural oil. The transesterified polylactic acid product has surprisingly improved properties compared to unmodified polylactic acid including: a liquid state at room temperature, a reduced melting temperature and increased solubility in a variety of solvents. Also disclosed is a method for producing the transesterified polylactic acid product. The transesterified polylactic acid product is economical to produce and includes a high content of renewable resources. In addition, the product is biodegradable.
Claims19
A transesterified polylactic acid resulting from the reaction of a reaction mixture comprising:
- a) polylactic acid present in an amount of from 50 to 85 weight percent based on a total weight of a reaction mixture;
- b) at least one natural oil present in an amount of from 13 to 30 weight percent based on said total weight of said reaction mixture;
- c) a diol present in an amount of from 2 to 36 weight percent based on said total weight of said reaction mixture;
- and
- d) optionally, a transesterification catalyst.
A method of transesterifying polylactic acid comprising the steps of:
- a) combining a diol, a polylactic acid and, optionally, a transesterification catalyst together to form a reaction mixture and heating it to a first temperature to form a molten reaction mixture;
- b) adding to the molten reaction mixture at least one natural oil and heating to a second temperature greater than the first temperature and maintaining the second temperature for a time;
- c) heating to a third temperature greater than the second temperature and maintaining the third temperature for a time;
- d) heating to a fourth temperature greater than the third and maintaining the fourth temperature for a time;
- and
- e) cooling the reaction mixture and collecting the transesterified polylactic acid reaction product.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.