Articles of manufacture comprising nanocellulose elements
AssigneeSoane Materials LLC
InventorsDavid S. Soane, Allison Hope Greene, Juan Sebastian Colmenares
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Abstract
The present invention provides formulations comprising a suspension of nanocellulose (NC) elements and a drying/dispersal additive selected from the group consisting of temperature-responsive polymers, small molecule additives in volatile systems, and blocking agents and methods of preparing such formulations, and further provides NC-containing materials, composite materials and useful articles of manufacture made therefrom.
Claims11
A method of producing an article of manufacture comprising a redispersible, dried nanocellulose (NC)-containing matrix comprising nanocellulose elements (NCEs),
- wherein an active agent is supported by, embedded in, attached to, or otherwise associated with the NC-containing matrix, and
- wherein the active agent is selected from the group consisting of soaps, hair hold products, emollients, and cosmetics;
- the method comprising:
- drying a liquid formulation to form the redispersible, dried NC-containing matrix,
- wherein the liquid formulation comprises a suspension of the nanocellulose elements (NCEs) in a liquid medium, a drying/dispersal additive, and the active agent;
- wherein the drying/dispersal additive is a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) polymer;
- wherein the drying comprises heating the liquid formulation to a temperature above the transition temperature of the LCST polymer, and wherein the LCST polymer disrupts hydrogen bonding between the NCEs after the heating.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.