Sealing material
AssigneeFlexitallic Investments, Inc.
InventorsStephen Peter Bond, Richard Rodgers, Stephen Woolfenden, Neal Skipper
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A water resistant sealing material suitable as a gasket or valve seal is described. The sealing material comprises modified chemically exfoliated vermiculite (CEV) in a proportion of 30-70% w/w sealing material and a filler in a proportion of 70-30% w/w sealing material, and optionally other additives in a proportion of 0-10% w/w sealing material. The modified CEV comprises water resistance enhancing monovalent cations. The sealing material is particularly useful to provide improved water resistance in gaskets and valve seals.
Claims21
A water resistant sealing material comprising modified chemically exfoliated vermiculite (CEV) in a proportion of 30-70% w/w sealing material and a filler in a proportion of 30-70% w/w sealing material, wherein the modified CEV comprises water resistance enhancing monovalent cations comprising sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, francium, ammonium, or a quaternary ammonium compound of formula R4N+wherein R is selected from methyl, ethyl or a combination thereof.
A process of production of a sealing material comprising the steps of:
- a) mixing chemically exfoliated vermiculite (CEV) with a filler to form an intimate mixture thereof;
- and
- d) contacting the mixture of CEV and filler with a solution of a water resistance enhancing monovalent cation.
An apparatus comprising a sealing material, wherein the sealing material comprises modified chemically exfoliated vermiculite (CEV) in a proportion of 30-70% w/w sealing material, and filler in a proportion of 30-70% w/w sealing material, and wherein the modified CEV comprises water resistance enhancing monovalent cations at cation exchange sites, wherein the water resistance enhancing monovalent cations comprise sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, francium, ammonium, or a quaternary ammonium compound of formula R4N+wherein R is selected from methyl, ethyl or a combination thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.