Patent ID: 7563398

Claim:
A method of manufacturing polymer-based pellets useful in extrusion and melt spin manufacturing processes to form plastic articles, comprising the steps of: providing at least one water-based phase change material; providing a low molecular weight polymer having an affinity for the phase change material; providing a high molecular weight polymer having an affinity for the low molecular weight polymer and having physical characteristics compatible with an intended use of the plastic articles; melting the low molecular weight polymer to form a first melt; uniformly blending the phase change material into the first melt to form a first blend; cooling the first blend to form a first solid; processing the first solid to form granules; melting the high molecular weight polymer to form a second melt; uniformly blending the granules into the second melt to form a second blend; cooling the second blend to form a second solid; and processing the second solid to form the polymer-based pellets.