Method for compounding polymer pellets with functional additives
OwnerDebra Tindallinventor
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Abstract
New methods of forming compounded cellulose esters are provided. The methods comprise mixing a cellulose ester, functional additive, and a swelling agent and subsequently removing at least a portion of the swelling agent. The swelling agent is one that assists in causing the functional additive to penetrate into the cellulose ester, while not acting significantly as a solvent for the cellulose ester. Preferred cellulose esters include, but are not limited to, cellulose acetates, cellulose triacetates, cellulose acetate phthalates, and cellulose acetate butyrates. The functional additive can be a plasticizer, stabilizer, or other additive selected to modify a particular property of the cellulose.
Claims28
A method of forming a compounded cellulose ester, said method comprising:
- combining a cellulose ester, an initial quantity of an additive, and a swelling agent to yield an admixture;
- and
- removing at least a portion of said swelling agent from said admixture so as to form a compounded cellulose ester, wherein said compounded cellulose ester comprises at least 92% by weight of said initial quantity of said additive.
A method of forming a compounded cellulose ester, said method comprising:
- combining a cellulose ester, an initial quantity of an additive, and a swelling agent to yield an admixture, wherein said swelling agent comprises less than about 10% by weight of ingredients selected from the group consisting of water, benzene, sulfonated castor oil, benzene, xylene, toluene, monopol oil, pine oil, sulfonated pine oil, cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone, diacetin, and tetralin, said percentage by weight based upon the total weight of the swelling agent taken as 100% by weight;
- and
- removing at least a portion of said swelling agent from said admixture so as to form a compounded cellulose ester.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.