Patent Description:
One type of these formaldehyde-free binder compositions rely on esterification reactions between carboxylic acid groups in polycarboxy polymers and hydroxyl groups in alcohols. Water is the main byproduct of these covalently crosslinked esters, which makes these binders more environmentally benign, as compared to traditional formaldehyde-based binders. However, these formaldehyde-free binder compositions also make extensive use of non-renewable, petroleum-based ingredients. Thus, there is a need for formaldehyde-free binder compositions that rely less on petroleum-based ingredients.

As an abundant and renewable material, protein has great potential to be an alternative to petroleum-based binders. Proteins are already used extensively as a component of adhesives for various substrates. However, many types of protein-containing adhesives have poor gluing strength and water resistance. Thus, there is a need to improve the bonding strength and water resistance of protein-containing binder compositions to levels that are similar to or better than those of conventional, petroleum-based binder compositions. These and other issues are addressed in the present Application.

One-part binder compositions as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM> are described that include one or more proteins as defined in claim <NUM> that actively crosslink with other binder constituents to provide a rigid thermoset binder. The binder compositions are formaldehyde-free, and incorporate renewable ammonia-modified soy flour that reduce or even eliminate the need for petroleum-based binder ingredients. The components of the binder compositions may be selected to increase the pot life and reusability of pre-cured binder solutions without compromising on the quality of the cured binder product.

The binder compositions may include one-part compositions that can be cured without the addition of another compound. However, additional compounds such as a cure catalyst may optionally be added to accelerate the rate of curing or some other function. In addition, changes in temperature and/or other external conditions may be effected to cure the binder composition and produce a final product containing the cured binder.

Exemplary binder compositions as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM> include at least three components that are all capable of forming covalent bonds with each other. These components include at least ammonia-modified soy flour and a crosslinking combination of two or more crosslinking compounds as further defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The crosslinking compounds include a polymer compound as first crosslinking compound and a crosslinking agent as second crosslinking compound that are individually crosslinkable with each other and with the protein. For example the binder composition includes ammonia-modified soy flour, polymer compound and crosslinking agent that all have functional groups capable of forming covalent bonds with each other. The protein may include hydroxyl and carboxyl groups that can form covalent bonds with complementary carboxyl and hydroxyl groups on the polymer compound and crosslinking agent. Similarly, the polymer compound and crosslinking agent are selected with complementary functional groups to form covalent bonds with each other (e.g., a polycarboxy polymer and hydroxyl-group containing crosslinking agent such as an amino alcohol). When all three groups are capable of forming covalent bonds with each other, the covalent bonding density in the cured binder may be higher than in binders where only two components form such bonds.

The increased covalent bond density in a binder system with three or more covalently bonding compounds may also allow the selection of more stable compounds for a one-part binder composition. For example, ammonia-modified soy flour, polymer compounds, and/or crosslinking agents may be selected that undergo covalent crosslinking reactions at a slower rate (e.g., a reaction rate that is about zero) under ambient conditions (e.g., room temperature), thereby extending the pot life (a. shelf life) of the one-part binder composition. The stability of the individual compounds may be selected to give the one-part binder composition a pot life about <NUM> month or more.

Embodiments of the invention include one-part thermoset binder compositions as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM> that include a protein and a crosslinking combination of two or more crosslinking compounds as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The crosslinking combination include a first crosslinking compound and a second crosslinking compound, where the first and second crosslinking compounds are individually crosslinkable with each other and with the protein. One specific, non-limiting example of the present binder compositions includes a polymer compound; a crosslinking agent crosslinkable with the polymer compound; and ammonia-modified soy flour that is crosslinkable with both the polymer compound
and the crosslinking agent. The protein may include soy protein which may, for example, be sourced from soy flour.

Embodiments of the invention may further include fiber products as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The fiber products may include inorganic or organic fibers (or both) and a cured thermoset binder prepared from a one-part binder solution as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The binder solution include a protein and a crosslinking combination of two or more crosslinking compounds, where the protein and crosslinking compounds are all crosslinkable with each other.

Embodiments of the invention may still further include methods of making a fiber product as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The methods include the steps of providing fibers that may be organic fibers or inorganic fibers, and applying a one-part binder solution as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM> to the fibers. The one-part binder solution include a protein and a crosslinking combination of two or more crosslinking compounds, where the protein and crosslinking compounds are all crosslinkable with each other. The methods may further include reusing an unused portion of the one-part binder solution in a subsequent application of the one-part binder solution to the same fibers or a different group of fibers.

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the several drawings to refer to similar components. In some instances, a sublabel is associated with a reference numeral and follows a hyphen to denote one of multiple similar components. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specification to an existing sublabel, it is intended to refer to all such multiple similar components.

<FIG> is a graph of dogbone composite tensile tests for a selection of binder compositions described in the Examples below.

One-part binder compositions are described in claims <NUM> to <NUM> that include renewable materials such as proteins in combination with two or more other binder components. The one-part binder compositions made from at least one protein and a crosslinking combination of two or more crosslinking compounds, where the protein and crosslinking compounds are all crosslinkable with each other are defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The term "crosslinkable" refers to the ability of two compounds to form covalent bonds with each other, although other type of bonds may also be formed between the compounds. The one-part binder composition may optionally include additional components such as cure catalysts.

Binder solutions made from the present binder compositions may be applied to a substrate such as inorganic and/or organic fibers and cured to make a composite of the thermoset binder and substrate such as a building material (e.g., fiberglass insulation). These materials do not off-gas formaldehyde during their production and use, or decompose to contaminate factories, buildings, homes, and other areas with formaldehyde. Furthermore, the binder compositions may at least partially substitute renewable compounds (e.g., proteins) for non-renewable compounds such as petroleum-based compounds.

Exemplary binder compositions include compositions containing at least ammonia-modified soy flour and a crosslinking combination of two or more crosslinking compounds, where the protein and crosslinking compounds are all crosslinkable with each other.

The protein used in the invention is soy protein in the form of a soy flour. Soy flour may be produced by grinding soybeans into a powder. Soy flour may retain the natural oils and other compounds from the soybeans, or may be defatted to produce flour with higher protein content (e.g., about <NUM> wt% protein or more). Soy protein concentrate contains about <NUM> wt% soy protein and is made by removing water soluble carbohydrates from defatted soy flour. Soy protein isolate is a highly refined, purified form of soy protein with the protein content of about <NUM> wt. The isolates may be made from defatted soy flour that has most non-protein soybean components removed (e.g., fats, carbohydrates, etc.). Soy polymers may include soy proteins that have been chemically modified to impart a variety of functionalities to protein molecules.

The soy protein may be denatured/modified to unfold protein molecules in the dispersion. Upon unfolding, the functionalities of protein molecules (e.g., carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amine) are exposed and may actively react with other binder ingredients to form crosslinking bonds. Examples of protein denaturation and modification methods include, but not limited to, heat treatment, treatment with chaotropic agents (e.g., urea, guanidinium chloride, and lithium perchlorate), acids, bases, metal salts, alcohols, detergents, thiols, sulfites, and mixtures thereof.

The soy protein may also be modified to reduce the viscosity of soy protein dispersion, therefore reducing the viscosity of protein-based thermoset binder compositions. Examples of methods of reducing the viscosity of soy protein dispersion include, but not limited to, hydrolyzing protein using enzymes or alkalis, cleaving disulfide bonds in protein by thiols or sulfites. For example, the viscosity of soy protein dispersion may be reduced by the treatment with sodium bisulfite.

The relative amount of protein to add can vary depending on other binder components used, the processing conditions, and the type of end product being made, among other considerations. Embodiments have the concentration of the protein (as a percentage weight of the binder composition) ranging from about <NUM>% to about <NUM>%; about <NUM>% to about <NUM>%; about <NUM>% to about <NUM>%; about <NUM>% to about <NUM>%; about <NUM>% to about <NUM>%; about <NUM>% to about <NUM>%; etc..

Soy protein such as soy flour may be dispersed or dissolved in water. Other binder ingredients, such as the crosslinking compounds (e.g., monomer and polymer compounds, crosslinking agents, etc.), are mixed with the aqueous soy protein dispersion or solution to form the final binder composition that is applied to the fibrous products.

The crosslinkable combination of crosslinking compounds may include monomeric compounds and/or polymer compounds, among other classes of crosslinking compounds. These crosslinking compounds may be selected to have complementary functional groups that can react to form covalent bonds. One crosslinking compound is a carboxyl-containing polycarboxy polymer, while a second crosslinking compound may be crosslinking agent that includes hydroxyl groups that react to form covalent bonds with the carboxyl groups. Similarly, the polymer compound may have reactive hydroxyl groups and the crosslinking agent may have reactive carboxyl groups that react to form covalent bonds.

Examples of carboxyl-containing polymer compounds include polycarboxy homopolymers and/or copolymers prepared from ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids including, but not limited to, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, butenedioic acid (i.e., maleic acid and/or fumaric acid), methyl maleic acid, itaconic acid, and crotonic acid, among other carboxylic acids. The polycarboxy polymer may also be prepared from ethylenically unsaturated acid anhydrides including, but not limited to, maleic anhydride, acrylic anhydride, methacrylic anhydride, itaconic anhydride, among other acid anhydrides. Additionally, the polycarboxy polymer of the present invention may be a copolymer of one or more of the aforementioned unsaturated carboxylic acids or acid anhydrides and one or more vinyl compounds including, but not limited to, styrenes, acrylates, methacrylates, acrylonitriles, methacrylonitriles, among other compounds. More specific examples of the polycarboxy polymer may include copolymers of styrene and maleic anhydride, and its derivatives including its reaction products with ammonia and/or amines. For example, the polycarboxy polymer may be the polyamic acid formed by the reaction between the copolymer of styrene and maleic anhydride and ammonia.

The polymer compound may be a solution polymer that helps make a rigid thermoplastic binder when cured. In contrast, when the polymer compound is an emulsion polymer, the final binder compositions are usually less rigid (i.e., more flexible) at room temperature.

Crosslinking agents may include compounds containing at least two reactive functional groups including, but not limited to, hydroxyl, carboxyl, amine, aldehydes, isocynate, and epoxide, among other functional groups. Examples of crosslinking agents may include polyols, alkanol amines, polycarboxylic acids, polyamines, and other types of compounds with at least two functional groups that can undergo crosslinking of with other binder ingredients, such as proteins and polymer compounds.

Specific examples of polyols may include glycerol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and triethylene glycol, among other polyols. Specific examples of alkanol amines may include ethanolamine, diethanolamine, and triethanolamine, among other alkanol amines. Specific examples of polycarboxylic acids may include malonic acid, succinic acid, glutaric aicd, citric acid, propane-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-tricarboxylic acid, butane-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-tetracarboxylic acid, among other polycarboxylic acids. Specific examples of polyamines may include ethylene diamine, hexane diamine, and triethylene diamine, among other polyamines. Specific examples of epoxies may include bisphenol-A based epoxies, aliphatic epoxies, epoxidized oils, among other epoxy compounds.

The crosslinking agent may react with both the polymer compound and the protein. For example, when the polymer compound is a polycarboxy polymer the crosslinking agent may be a polyol that is capable of reacting with not only the protein (e.g., soy protein) but also the polycarboxy polymer.

As noted above, the binder compositions may include three components binders made from a single protein and a two-compound crosslinking combination. In addition, binder compositions may include a plurality of proteins and compounds that make up the crosslinking combination (e.g., a plurality of polymer compounds, and/or crosslinking agents). For example, two or more types of one component may be combined with a single species of each of the other components. In addition, two or more type of two of the components may be combined with a single species of a third component. Also, two or more types of all three components may be present in the binder composition.

The binder compositions may also optionally include a cure catalyst. Examples of cure catalysts may include phosphorous-containing compounds such as phosphorous oxyacids and their salts. For example, the cure catalyst may be an alkali metal hypophosphite salt like sodium hypophosphite (SHP). The cure catalyst may be added to expedite curing of the binder composition.

The binder compositions may also optionally include extenders. Examples of extenders may include starch, lignin, rosin, among other extenders.

The binder compositions may also optionally contain pH adjustment agents. For example, the present binder compositions and solution may include one or more bases that maintain the pH at about <NUM> or more, about <NUM> or more, about <NUM> or more, about <NUM> or more, about <NUM> or more, about <NUM> or more, etc..

The protein in the binder composition may be actively crosslinkable with the members of the crosslinking combination. The protein may be treated to expose the reactive moieties on polypeptide chains of the proteins (e.g., hydroxyl groups, carboxyl groups, amino groups, thiol groups) for crosslinking reactions. For example, the hydroxylcontaining amino acid moiety on protein chains (e.g., serine, tyrosine, threonine) may react in an esterification reaction with a carboxyl group on the polycarboxy polymer. Similarly, a carboxyl-containing amino acid moiety (e.g., aspartic acid, glutamic acid) may react with a hydroxyl on the crosslinking agent to actively crosslink the protein in the binder composition.

While not wishing to be bound by a particular theory, it is thought that the reactions between reactive moieties on the protein, and the compounds of the crosslinking combination provide crosslinking between these compounds to create a rigid thermoset binder when cured.

The present binder compositions may also exclude materials that have deleterious effects on the cured binder. For example, the binder compositions may have decreased levels of reducing sugars (or no reducing sugars at all) to reduce or eliminate Maillard browning that results from the reaction of these sugars at elevated temperatures. Some binder compositions made from renewable materials can contain substantial levels of reducing sugars and other carbohydrates that produce a brown or black color in the cured binder. As a result, products made with these binder compositions are difficult or impossible to dye.

Examples of the present binder compositions include compositions where the concentration of reducing sugars is decreased to a point where discoloration effects from Maillard browning are negligible. The fully cured binders may have a white or off-white appearance that allows them to be easily dyed during or after the curing process.

The present binder compositions may be used in methods of making fiber products as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The methods include applying a solution of the binder composition to fibers and curing the binder composition on the fibers to form the fiber product. The binder solution may be spray coated, spin coated, curtain coated, knife coated, or dip coated onto fibers. Once the liquid binder composition is applied, the binder and substrate may be heated to cure the binder composition and form a composite of cured binder and fibers that make up the fiber product.

The binder solution may be formed to have a viscosity in range that permits the efficient application of the solution to the fibers. For example, the viscosity may be about <NUM> centipoises to about <NUM> centipoises when the binder solution is at room temperature.

If the viscosity of the liquid binder applied to the substrate is too high, it may slow down the application process both at the release point for the binder as well as the rate of mixing and coverage of the binder on the substrate. Solutions and dispersions of many types of protein, including some types of soy protein in aqueous solutions, have generally high viscosities. Thus, the present protein-containing binder compositions may include proteins with a relatively low viscosity when dissolved/dispersed in the liquid binder. These may include soy proteins that are modified to lower the viscosity of soy protein dispersion.

After application of the liquid binder composition on the substrate, the amalgam of liquid binder and substrate undergoes curing. In the curing process the protein, polymer compound, and crosslinking agent may form covalently crosslinked bonds among each other to convert the amalgam into a thermoset composite. When a thermal curing process is used, the amalgam may be subjected to an elevated temperature (e.g., up to <NUM>) to facilitate crosslinking in the binder. The peak curing temperature may depend on the specific formulation of the protein-containing binder composition, the substrate, and whether a cure catalyst is used. The cured material typically includes about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt% thermoset binder composition (e.g., about <NUM> wt. % to about <NUM> wt. %) with the substrate representing most of the remaining weight.

The binder composition may be a stable one-part composition that can be recycled during the application to the fibers and/or between applications on fibers. Thus, an unused portion of the binder solution that, for example, passes through the fibers may be captured and sent back to the supply of binder solution applied to the fibers. In some embodiments, the unused portion of the binder solution may be purified or otherwise treated before returning to the supply.

The reuse of the binder solution may not only reduce the amount of solution used, it may also reduce the amount of waste materials that must be treated and discarded. However, recycling unused binder solution requires that the solution remain stable for two or more application cycles. In many instances, two-part binder compositions that mix separated and highly reactive components immediately before their application will cure too rapidly to be recycled. One-part binder compositions may also be unsuitable if they don't have a sufficient pot life to remain relatively unreacted prior to use and during recycling. The present binder compositions include one-part binder compositions that are stable enough to be appropriate for binder solution recycling.

The present binder compositions as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM> may be added to fibers to produce composite fiber products as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM>. The fibers include organic fibers and/or inorganic fibers. For examples of the fibers may include polymer fibers and/or glass fibers, among other types of fibers. The fibers may be arranged as an insulation batt, woven mat, non-woven mat, or spunbond product, among other types of fiber substrate.

The present binder compositions as defined in claims <NUM> to <NUM> may be used in fiber products to make insulation and fiber-reinforced composites, among other products. The products may include fibers (e.g., organic and/or inorganic fibers) contained in a cured thermoset binder prepared from a one-part binder solution of a polymer compound, crosslinking agent that is crosslinkable with the polymer compound, and protein crosslinkable with both the polymer compound and crosslinking agent. The fibers may include glass fibers, carbon fibers, and organic polymer fibers, among other types of fibers. For example, the combination of the binder composition and glass fibers may be used to make fiberglass insulation products. Alternatively, when the fiberglass is a microglass-based substrate, the binder may be applied and cured to form printed circuit boards, battery separators, filter stock, and reinforcement scrim, among other articles.

The binder compositions may be formulated to impart a particular color to the fiber product when cured. For example, the concentration of reducing sugars in the binder compositions may be lowered to give the fiber product a white or off-white color when cured. Alternatively, a dye may be added to binder composition before, during, or after the curing stage to impart a particular color to the final fiber product (e.g., red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, among may other colors).

The following Examples are presented to provide specific representative embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific details as set forth in these Examples.

<NUM> grams of defatted soy flour (Prolia <NUM>/<NUM>, Cargill) is dispersed in <NUM> of DI water at room temperature. <NUM> grams of sodium bisulfite is then added to the soy flour dispersion. The viscosity of the soy flour dispersion drops shortly after the addition of the sodium bisulfite. The final soy flour dispersion has a solids concentration of <NUM>% by oven method (drying at <NUM> for <NUM> hours).

<NUM> grams of defatted soy flour (Prolia <NUM>/<NUM>, Cargill) is dispersed in <NUM> of DI water at room temperature. <NUM> grams of sodium bisulfite is then added to the soy flour dispersion. After the viscosity of the soy flour dispersion is decreased to a stable region, the pH of the dispersion is adjusted to <NUM> using an ammonium hydroxide solution (<NUM>-<NUM>%). The final soy flour dispersion has a solids concentration of <NUM>% by oven method.

To a flask equipped with a reflux condenser is added <NUM>,<NUM> grams of water and <NUM> grams of <NUM>% by weight aqueous solution of ammonia. To this solution is added <NUM> grams of a copolymer of styrene and maleic anhydride (SMA) having a molecular weight of approximately <NUM>,<NUM> and an acid number of <NUM>. The mixture is then heated to <NUM> and maintained at <NUM> under constant stirring until a clear solution of polyamic acid is obtained. To the obtained polyamic acid solution is added <NUM> grams of triethanolamine. The final polyamic acid resin, hereinafter referred to as SMAc-TEA, has a solids of <NUM>% and a pH of <NUM>.

To <NUM> grams of the soy flour dispersion of Example <NUM> is added with stirring <NUM> grams of the polyamic acid resin of Example <NUM>, and <NUM> grams of water to achieve a total solids of <NUM>% and a weight ratio between soy flour and SMAc-TEA of <NUM>/<NUM>. The final binder composition is then used for dogbone composite tensile test as described below in Example <NUM>.

To <NUM> grams of the soy flour dispersion of Example <NUM> is added with stirring <NUM> grams of polyamic acid resin of Example <NUM> and <NUM> grams of water to achieve a total solids of <NUM>% and a weight ratio between soy flour and SMAc-TEA of <NUM>/<NUM>. The final binder composition is then used for dogbone composite tensile test as described below in Example <NUM>.

To <NUM> grams of the soy flour dispersion of Example <NUM> is added with stirring <NUM> grams of polyamic acid resin of Example <NUM> and <NUM> grams of water to achieve a total solids of <NUM>% and a weight ratio between soy flour and SMAc-TEA of <NUM>/<NUM>. The final binder composition was then used for dogbone composite tensile test as described below in Example <NUM>.

To <NUM> grams of the soy flour dispersion of Example <NUM> is added with stirring <NUM> grams of polyamic acid resin of Example <NUM> and <NUM> grams of water to achieve a total solids of <NUM>% and a weight ratio between soy flour and SMAc-TEA of <NUM>/<NUM>. The final binder composition is then used for dogbone composite tensile test, which is described below in Example <NUM>.

The four soy flour-containing binder compositions of Examples <NUM>-<NUM> and SMAc-TEA resin of Example <NUM> are evaluated via a dogbone tensile test method. Binder solutions are prepared from the five binder compositions by adding <NUM>%, by weight, of sodium hypophosphite monohydrate and <NUM>%, by weight, of aminosilane (Silquest A-<NUM>). The binder solutions are mixed with glass beads to achieve a binder content of <NUM>% for each composite of binder and glass beads. The composites are then pressed in molds of dogbone shape to form test samples. The molded samples are then dried and cured in an oven at <NUM> for <NUM> minutes.

Tensile tests are conducted on the dogbone composite samples before and after humid aging. The aging process involves exposing the dogbone samples containing the cured binder to air at a temperature of <NUM> °F, with <NUM>% relative humidity for <NUM> hours. <FIG> shows the tensile strength results for the five binder compositions described in Examples <NUM>-<NUM> before and after humid aging. In <FIG>, "SF" stands for "soy flour". The data shown in <FIG> represent the average of nine dogbone specimens for each sample and the error represents the standard deviation.

The tensile tests show that the binder compositions with soy flour that is not ammonia-modified yield a lower tensile strength, as compared to the binder composition without soy flour (e.g., SMAc-TEA). Significant increase in tensile strength was observed when soy flour was ammonia-modified. As shown in <FIG>, all binder compositions containing ammonia-modified soy flour show higher tensile strength than the binder composition without soy flour (e.g., SMAc-TEA). The humid-aging retention of tensile strength of all the binder compositions containing ammonia-modified soy flour is very high (><NUM>%), indicating the high moisture resistance of the protein-based binder compositions of the present invention.

Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Each smaller range between any stated value or intervening value in a stated range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in the range, and each range where either, neither or both limits are included in the smaller ranges is also encompassed within the invention, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a process" includes a plurality of such processes and reference to "the protein" includes reference to one or more proteins and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth.

Claim 1:
A one-part binder composition comprising:
(i) a protein; and
(ii) a crosslinking combination comprising at least a first crosslinking compound and a second crosslinking compound, wherein the first and second crosslinking compounds are individually crosslinkable with each other and with the protein and wherein the first crosslinking compound comprises a polymer compound, and the second crosslinking compound comprises a crosslinking agent, the polymer compound comprises polycarboxy homopolymers or polycarboxy copolymers that are prepared from at least one of ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids or ethylenically unsaturated acid anhydrides, and the protein comprises <NUM>% to <NUM>% by weight of the binder composition, the protein comprises ammonia-modified soy flour.