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OwnerZhi-Wei Liang, Wen-Xi Lianginventors
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The invention relates to an oxidative thermochemical drying process for changing the hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics of organic substances, in particular naturally occurring organic substances, to prepare a new class of hydrophobic oleophilic products, and a new class of hydrophilic oleophilic ones. The process comprises moistening and heating the raw materials in a thermochemical convection apparatus or kiln equipped with a gas flow system, in an oxidizing medium for a predetermined period of time. The efficiency of the treatment can be improved by pretreatments of the raw materials, such as by boiling in water, by soaking in acidic or alkaline solution, by mechanically expanding; by adding volatile reagents and by freezing. One unique pretreatment with carbonate or bicarbonate of the raw materials results in hydrophilic oleophilic bi-functional products. The series of the hydrophobic oleophilic and hydrophilic oleophilic products made from different natural substances under various oxidative thermochemical drying processes have different characteristics and are low-cost, efficient, biodegradable, environmentally harmless and widely useful.
A method of increasing the hydrophobicity of a natural organic substance, comprising the steps of:
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said time period is in the range of 1 hour to 10 hours.
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said time period is greater than 20 minutes.
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said oxidizing medium comprises air.
A method according to and preceding claim wherein said heating step is carried out in the presence of a catalyst that catalyzes oxidation of said organic substance.
A method according to any preceding claim further including the step of treating said organic substance to increase the reactivity of oxidation and porosity thereof and to expose reacting groups therein to said oxidizing medium, prior to said heating step.
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said organic substance is a substance containing a polysaccharide, heteropolysaccharide, lignin, polyphenol, protein, or humus, and combinations thereof.
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said organic substance is selected from the group comprising wood, barks, leaves, straws, stalks, husks, shells, roots, flowers, seeds, beans, grasses, piths, flours, seaweed, sponge, bagasse, sugar sorghum, sugar beet, rice, wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats, millet, bast, linen, ramie, peanut, oil palm, tobacco, tea, cotton, cloth, papers, carton boxes, pulps, composted municipal wastes, yard wastes, mushroom culture residues, feathers, wool, hairs, algae, fungi, bacteria, peat moss, lignite, charcoal, crab shells and shrimp shells, and mixtures thereof.
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said natural organic substance is a mixture of two or more different natural organic substances.
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said natural organic substances contain toxic substances and said method detoxifies said toxic substances.
A method according to any preceding claim wherein said method introduces chemical functional groups into said natural organic substance.
A method of increasing the hydrophilicity of a natural organic substance, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.