Patent ID: 9555155
Date: 2017-01-31
CPC Classifications: A61L,B29C,B29K,B29L,D01D,D01F,D02G,D04C,D10B

Claim:
1. A multifilament yarn or monofilament fiber comprising a 4-hydroxybutyrate polymer or copolymer wherein the yarn has one or more properties selected from the group consisting of: a tenacity greater than 8.1 grams per denier but less than 12 grams per denier; an elongation to break of between 10% to 30%; and a denier per filament between 1.7 and 9.0, and wherein the monofilament fiber has one or more properties selected from the group consisting of: a tensile strength between 500 MPa and 1,500 MPa; a Young's Modulus of less than 2 GPa and an elongation to break of 15% to 120%, wherein the multifilament yarn or monofilament fiber is produced by a method comprising (a) spinning a multifilament yarn or monofilament fiber comprising a 4-hydroxybutyrate polymer or copolymer, and (b) cold drawing the multifilament yarn or monofilament fiber, wherein the multifilament yarn or monofilament fiber is hot drawn after cold drawing at a temperature above the melt temperature of the polymer or copolymer, wherein the monofilament fiber is cold drawn with an orientation ratio of 3 to 4, and then hot drawn in one or more subsequent draws; or, wherein the multifilament yarn or monofilament fiber is produced by a method comprising: (a) producing the polymer with a recombinant