# US 12,110,396 B2 · Gel compositions

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- Number: US 12,110,396 B2
- Document ID: US12110396B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/378,510
- Filed: 2021-07-16
- Published: 2022-01-20
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2020-07-17
- Assignees: Unigel IP Limited
- Applicants: Unigel IP Limited; Unigel Limited
- Inventors: Scott Allen; Adrian Chisholm; Mukhtiar Singh Sohal; Ivan Tory
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12110396B2

## CPC

- G02B 6/44384: {the means comprising water blocking or hydrophobic materials (G02B6/4439, G02B6/4479 take precedence)}
- C08J 3/091: {characterised by the chemical constitution of the organic liquid}
- C08J 3/11: from solid polymers
- C08L 91/00: Compositions of oils, fats or waxes; Compositions of derivatives thereof
- C08L 2201/08: Stabilised against heat, light or radiation or oxydation
- C08L 2201/56: Non-aqueous solutions or dispersions
- C08L 2205/03: containing three or more polymers in a blend
- C08L 2205/20: Hollow spheres
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- C08J: WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H (working, e.g. shaping, of plastics B29)
- C08L: COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS (compositions based on polymerisable monomers C08F, C08G; artificial filaments or fibres D01F; textile treating compositions D06)

## Abstract

This invention relates to gel compositions for filling cables, such as communication cables, in particular to gel compositions containing microspheres, to cables comprising said gels, and to methods of preparing such gel.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A composition for use as a cable filler, comprising a dispersion of compressible hollow microspheres in a gel, the gel comprising: a base oil comprising a minimum of 80% bio-based oil; and an organic polymeric gelling agent comprising a styrene block copolymer, wherein the composition comprises from 50-99 wt % base oil and from 1 to 10 wt % of the organic polymeric gelling agent.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the base oil comprises sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, castor oil, canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, or a mixture thereof.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the composition comprises from 80-99 wt % base oil.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the compressible hollow microspheres are expanded.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the compressible hollow microspheres are expanded with an average diameter in the range of 15 to 55 μm.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the compressible hollow microspheres each have a shell formed from a copolymer.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the organic polymeric gelling agent comprises a styrene block copolymer selected from styrene-ethylene/butylene styrene tri-block copolymer (SEBS), styrene-ethylene/propylene di-block copolymer (SEP), styrene-butadiene-styrene tri-block copolymer (SBS) and styrene-isoprene-styrene tri-block copolymer (SIS); or mixtures thereof.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, comprising from 3 to 8 wt % of the organic polymeric gelling agent.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, the composition additionally comprising an anti-oxidant.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, the composition additionally comprising an anti-oxidant selected from pentaerythritol tetrakis(β-laurylthiopropionate) (CAS No. 29598-76-3), phenolic anti-oxidants, tetrakismethylene (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamate) methane, thiodiethylene bis[3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate], octylated phenyl-alpha-naphthylamine, octylated/butylated diphenylamine, a high weight phenolic anti-oxidant containing a thioether group, a high weight phenolic anti-oxidant, Benzenamine, N-phenyl- (CAS number 68411-46-1), and a mixture of aminic and high molecular weight phenolic antioxidants, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the composition comprises from 0.1 to 1 wt % anti-oxidant.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

A cable comprising a composition as defined in claim 1.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

A cable comprising a conducting core surrounded by a sheath, a composition, as defined in claim 1, being disposed between the conducting core and the sheath, wherein the sheath comprises polypropylene.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

A process for making a cable comprising a conducting core and a sheath, the process comprising the step of extruding the cable sheath onto the conducting core and interposing a composition, as defined in claim 1, between the conducting core and sheath during the extrusion step.

### Claim 15 (depends on 6)

A composition as defined in claim 6, wherein the copolymer is a copolymer of acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile (CAS number 38742-70-0).

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

A composition as defined in claim 1, wherein the composition comprises from 80-99 wt % base oil and from 3 to 8 wt % of the organic polymeric gelling agent.