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US 5,665,786 AGranted
Biodegradable polyester and natural polymer compositions and expanded articles therefrom
AssigneeBradley University
InventorsWayne Xu, William M. Doane
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Expanded articles have a compressible and resilient body including two biodegradable components. One component preferably is starch or a modified starch. Another component is a water insoluble, synthetic polymer, preferably a hydroxy-functional polyester. The article may be thermoformed, and has exterior surfaces with substantial resistance to moisture.
Claims4
An expanded article, comprising:
- a compressible, resilient body, the body including two biodegradable components, the first component being starch or a modified starch, the second component being a water insoluble synthetic polymer comprising a hydroxy-functional polyester, wherein the hydroxy-functional polyester has repeating units represented by Formula B:
- ##STR6## wherein each of R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 is individually a divalent organic moiety which is predominately hydrocarbon, each R.sup.3 is individually hydrogen or lower alkyl, y is a fraction from 0 to 0.5, and x is a fraction from about 0.05 to about 0.4, the body having an exterior surface and an interior cellular structure, the synthetic polymer predominating at the exterior surface, the starch component predominating in the interior cellular structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.