ENVIRONMENTALLY DISINTEGRATABLE PLASTIC COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING COPOLYMERS OF ETHYLENE AND CARBON MONOXIDE AND A DEGRADATION ACCELERATOR
First Claim
2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 6-12 percent.
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Accused Products
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.
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Citations
14 Claims
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2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 6-12 percent.
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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.
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4. The composition of claim 1 wherein the organometallic compound is ferricine.
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5. The composition of claim 1 wherein the organometallic compound is cobalt acetyl acetonate.
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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.
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7. The composition of claim 1 wherein the sAlt is a salt of iron.
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8. The composition of claim 1 wherein the salt is a salt of copper.
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9. The composition of claim 1 wherein the salt is a salt of manganese.
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10. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 0.5 percent.
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11. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 1 percent.
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12. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 6 percent.
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13. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 8 percent.
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14. The composition of claim 1 wherein the amount of carbon monoxide is about 12 percent.
Specification