COMPOSITION CONTAINING POLYPROPYLENE AND/OR A PROPYLENE COPOLYMER OBTAINED FROM RENEWABLE MATERIALS, AND USES THEREOF

• US 20140255713A1
• Filed: 05/21/2014
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Arkema France (Arkema)
• Original Assignee: Arkema France (Arkema)
• Inventors: DEVISME, Samuel, DUBOIS, Jean-Luc, CHOPINEZ, Fabrice, PRADEL, Jean-Laurent, LE, Guillaume, ROUSSEL, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US14/284,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20140255713A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/474.4
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/08 of synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 255/02 on to polymers of olefins having two or three carbon atoms
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 255/04 on to ethene-propene copolymers C08F255/023 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/02 Organic macromolecular compounds, natural resins, waxes or and bituminous materials
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 51/06 grafted on to homopolymers or copolymers of aliphatic hydrocarbons containing only one carbon-to-carbon double bond
• CPC Class Codes: C09J 151/06 grafted on to homopolymers or copolymers of aliphatic hydrocarbons containing only one carbon-to-carbon double bond
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2804 Next to metal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2891 including addition polymer from alpha-beta unsaturated carboxylic acid [e.g., acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, etc.] Or derivative thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31511 Of epoxy ether
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31522 Next to metal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31678 Of metal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31725 Of polyamide
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31855 Of addition polymer from unsaturated monomers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31859 Next to an aldehyde or ketone condensation product

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a propylene polymer, including: a) fermenting and optionally purifying first renewable materials to produce an alcohol or an alcohol mixture, the alcohol or alcohol mixture including at least isopropanol and/or at least a mixture of ethanol and 1-butanol; b) dehydrating the resulting alcohol or the alcohol mixture to produce an alkene or alkene mixture in a first series of reactors, the alkene or alkene mixture containing at least propylene; c) polymerizing the propylene in a second reactor, optionally in the presence of a comonomer, so as to produce a propylene polymer; d) isolating the propylene polymer obtained in step c); and e) grafting the propylene polymer obtained from step d). A grafted propylene polymer capable of being obtained by the method, to the compositions containing the polymer, as well as to the uses of the polymer.

Claims

1. A process for manufacturing a grafted propylene polymer, the propylene polymer grafted by at least one grafting monomer selected from the group consisting of unsaturated carboxylic acids, functional derivatives of unsaturated carboxylic acids, unsaturated dicarboxylic acids having 4 to 10 carbon atoms, functional derivatives of unsaturated dicarboxylic acids having 4 to 10 carbon atoms, C₁-C₈ alkyl esters of unsaturated carboxylic acids, glycidyl ester derivatives of unsaturated carboxylic acids, metal salts of unsaturated carboxylic acids, and mixtures thereof, wherein the propylene polymer comprises an amount of carbon resulting from renewable raw materials of greater than 20% by weight relative to the total weight of carbon of the propylene polymer, the amount of carbon resulting from renewable raw materials being measured according to the standard ASTM D 6866-06,

the process comprising the following steps:

a) fermenting renewable raw materials, and optionally purifying, in order to produce an alcohol or a mixture of alcohols;

b) dehydrating the alcohol or the mixture of alcohols obtained to produce, in at least one first reactor, an alkene or a mixture of alkenes, said alkene or mixture of alkenes comprising at least propylene and, optionally purifying the mixture of alkenes in order to obtain propylene;

c) polymerizing, in at least one second reactor, the propylene, optionally in the presence of a comonomer, in order to produce a propylene polymer;

d) isolating the propylene polymer obtained at the end of step c); and

e) grafting the propylene polymer obtained at the end of step d),

wherein the fermentation step a) and the dehydrating step b) are carried out at a temperature below 500°

C.

2. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fermentation step a) and the dehydrating step b) are carried out at a temperature below 400°

C.

3. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is no gasification reaction in the process.

4. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the renewable raw materials are plant materials selected from the group consisting of sugar cane, sugar beet, maple, date palm, sugar palm, sorghum, American agave, corn, wheat, barley, soft wheat, rice, potato, cassava, sweet potato, and materials comprising cellulose or hemicellulose.

5. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 4, wherein the renewable raw materials comprise cellulose or hemicellulose.

6. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a purification step is carried out during step a) or during step b).

7. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein step a) is carried out using a microorganism chosen from Clostridium beijerinckii, Clostridium aurantibutyricum, Clostridium butylicum or a mutant thereof.

8. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amount of grafting monomer represents at most 10% by weight relative to the total weight of the polymer.

9. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the propylene polymer is grafted with an unsaturated carboxylic acid or a functional derivative of this acid.

10. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the propylene polymer is grafted with maleic anhydride optionally comprising carbon atoms of renewable origin.

11. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the propylene polymer comprises an amount of carbon resulting from renewable raw materials of greater than 50% by weight relative to the total weight of carbon of the propylene polymer.

12. The process for manufacturing a propylene polymer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the propylene polymer comprises at least about 0.24×

10<sup>−

10</sup> wt % ¹⁴C.

13. A grafted propylene polymer produced according to the process as claimed in claim 1.

14. A composition comprising a grafted propylene polymer as claimed in claim 13.

15. The composition as claimed in claim 14, wherein the grafted propylene polymer is selected from the group consisting of a grafted propylene homopolymer, a grafted copolymer comprising propylene, and a mixture of these polymers, the composition also comprising an ungrafted polymer selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, a copolymer comprising propylene, and a mixture of these polymers.

16. A method comprising using the composition as claimed in claim 14 as an adhesive composition in coextrusion, in extrusion coating or in extrusion laminating.

17. A method comprising using the composition as claimed in claim 14 as an adhesive composition on a support selected from the group consisting of metals and polymers.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the polymers are selected from the group consisting of polyesters, polyamides, epoxy resins, polyolefins, and mixtures thereof.

19. A multilayer structure comprising a layer of a composition as claimed in claim 14 between a layer of ungrafted polypropylene and a layer made of a material selected from the group consisting of copolymers of ethylene and saponified vinyl acetate, aluminum, polyamides, and epoxy resins.

20. The multilayer structure as claimed in claim 19, wherein the multilayer structure comprises a layer of an adhesive composition between a layer of ungrafted polypropylene and an epoxy resin/metal layer.

21. A method comprising manufacturing packaging with the multilayer structure as claimed in claim 19.

22. A method comprising using the grafted propylene polymer as claimed in claim 13 as a coupling agent for compounds in a polymer matrix, for manufacturing masterbatches, as a compatibilizer of polymers in order to manufacture blends, or for the manufacture of electrical cables.