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US 9,856,608 B1Granted
Method for manufacturing fiber-based produced containers
AssigneeFootprint International, LLC
InventorsYoke Dou Chung, Brandon Michael Moore, Yiyun Zhang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for manufacturing vacuum forming a produce container using a fiber-based slurry. The slurry includes a moisture barrier comprising alkylketene dimer in the range of about 4% by weight, and a cationic liquid starch component in the range of 1%-7% by weight.
Claims15
A method of manufacturing a fiber-based produce container, comprising:
- providing a slurry mixture comprising:
- i) a fiber base of at least one of old corrugated containers (OCC) and newsprint (NP);
- ii) an alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) based moisture barrier component in the range of 1%-10% by weight;
- iii) a coloring agent comprising one of a cationic dye and a fiber reactive dye;
- iv) a dye absorption agent comprising one of salt and soda ash;
- and v) a cationic liquid starch component in the range of 1%-7% by weight;
- providing a mesh mold corresponding to the produce container wherein the mesh mold defines a horizontally extending shelf disposed in the range of about 30-50% below a top of a container side wall;
- immersing the mesh in the slurry mixture;
- drawing a vacuum across the mesh mold to cause fiber particles to accumulate at the mesh surface to thereby form the produce container;
- and
- thereafter removing the produce container from the slurry mixture and drying the produce container by placing the produce container in an oven.
8 more elements
A method of recycling paper products into a produce container using a vacuum molding process, the method comprising:
- mixing water, a starch component, a moisture barrier component which is different from the starch component, and at least one of old corrugated containers (OCC) and newsprint (NP) to produce a slurry;
- immersing a mesh mold in the shape of the produce container into the slurry;
- drawing a vacuum across the mold to thereby form the produce container;
- and
- removing the produce container from the slurry and drying the produce container in an oven.
2 more elements
A method of vacuum forming a produce container using a slurry made from recycled paper products, comprising the steps of:
- providing a slurry comprised of:
- i) old corrugated containers (OCC);
- ii) newsprint (NP);
- iii) a moisture barrier component;
- iv) a coloring agent comprising one of a cationic dye and a fiber reactive dye;
- v) a dye absorption agent comprising one of salt and soda ash;
- and vi) a cationic liquid starch component;
- providing a mesh mold corresponding to the shape of the produce container, the mesh mold defining a horizontally extending shelf disposed in the range of about 30%-50% below a top of a container side wall;
- immersing the mold into the slurry;
- drawing a vacuum across the mold to thereby form the produce container;
- and
- removing the produce container from the slurry and drying the produce container;
- wherein the moisture barrier component comprises alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) in the range of 1%-10% of the slurry weight.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.