ENVIRONMENTALLY DISINTEGRATABLE PLASTIC COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING COPOLYMERS OF ETHYLENE AND CARBON MONOXIDE AND A DEGRADATION ACCELERATOR

• US 3,676,401 A
• Filed: 10/30/1970
• Issued: 07/11/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1964
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: James William Henry
• Original Assignee: James William Henry
• Inventors: Henry, James William
• Primary Examiner(s): Short, William H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, L. L.
• Application Number:
  US05/085,784
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 260/63CO,94.9R,94.9B,23R
• US Class Current: 524/176
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 65/466 Bio- or photodegradable packaging materials
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 81/30 by excluding light or other outside radiation wrappers B65D65/16
• CPC Class Codes: C08G 67/02 Copolymers of carbon monoxide and aliphatic unsaturated compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 5/0033 Additives activating the degradation of the macromolecular compound
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 5/098 Metal salts of carboxylic acids
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 5/56 Organo-metallic compounds, i.e. organic compounds containing a metal-to-carbon bond
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/02 not modified by chemical after-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/08 Copolymers of ethene C08L23/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 23/0846 Copolymers of ethene with unsaturated hydrocarbons containing other atoms than carbon or hydrogen atoms
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 73/00 Compositions of macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions forming a linkage containing oxygen or oxygen and carbon in the main chain, not provided for in groups C08L59/00 - C08L71/00; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 220/30 Biodegradable
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 260/43 Promoting degradability of polymers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/913 Material designed to be responsive to temperature, light, moisture

Abstract

Compositions comprising (1) a copolymer of ethylene and 0.1 percent to 18 percent by weight of carbon monoxide, said percentage range being the proportion of carbon monoxide in the copolymer, and (2) an ultraviolet light degradable amount of an organometallic compound or salt of a common metal, e.g., ferricine, cobalt acetyl acetonate, etc., whereby film, articles of manufacture and especially packaging means, upon exposure to ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun are capable of accelerated deterioration thereby causing such materials including packaging means to decompose forming dust or flakes which may become embedded in the soil or carried away by rain water under those circumstances where they are thrown away out of doors so as to be exposed to natural environmental conditions.

Claims

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 6-12 percent.

3. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is sufficient whereby packaging means in the form of film or a molded article is capable of disintegration upon exposure to ultraviolet light emitted by the sun within a time period in the range between about 4 days and 2 weeks.

4. The composition of claim 1 wherein the organometallic compound is ferricine.

5. The composition of claim 1 wherein the organometallic compound is cobalt acetyl acetonate.

6. The composition of claim 2 containing about 1 percent by weight of cobalt acetyl acetonate and the amount of carbon monoxide is 8 percent based on the weight of the copolymer.

7. The composition of claim 1 wherein the sAlt is a salt of iron.

8. The composition of claim 1 wherein the salt is a salt of copper.

9. The composition of claim 1 wherein the salt is a salt of manganese.

10. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 0.5 percent.

11. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 1 percent.

12. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 6 percent.

13. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 8 percent.

14. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 12 percent.