Water dispersible formulations and materials and methods for influencing their water dispersibility
First Claim
1. A water-dispersible formulation for use in manufacturing water dispersible materials consisting essentially of about 1% to about 90% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder;
- about 10% to about 98.99% by weight cellulose fibers and about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of a gas releasing agent, said cellulose fibers being randomly dispersed throughout said cellulose ether binder.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to unexpected or surprising discoveries in the field of biodegradable, water-dispersible formulations and materials and methods for influencing their rate of dispersibility in water. In particular, the present invention relates to the unexpected discovery that the inclusion of effective amounts of short length cellulose fibers dispersed throughout a water soluble cellulose ether binder will result in a retardation or slowing of the water dispersibility of the formulation relative to a formulation containing long or long and short cellulose fibers in a cellulose ether binder. In an additional aspect, the present invention relates to the discovery that the inclusion of effective amounts of long length cellulose fibers dispersed throughout a water soluble cellulose ether binder will result in an enhancement or hastening of the water dispersibility of the formulation relative to a formulation containing a cellulose ether binder which does not contain long cellulose fibers. In still a further aspect, the present invention relates to the discovery that the inclusion of effective amounts of a gas-releasing agent increases the rate of water-dispersibility relative to formulations containing only a cellulose ether binder.
98 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A water-dispersible formulation for use in manufacturing water dispersible materials consisting essentially of about 1% to about 90% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder;
- about 10% to about 98.99% by weight cellulose fibers and about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of a gas releasing agent, said cellulose fibers being randomly dispersed throughout said cellulose ether binder.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A water-dispersible formulation for use in manufacturing containers consisting essentially of about 1% to about 90% by weight of a water soluble cellulose ether binder;
- about 10% to about 98.99% by weight cellulose fibers and about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of a gas releasing agent, said cellulose fibers comprising a mixture of short and long cellulose fibers, said cellulose fibers being randomly dispersed throughout said cellulose ether binder, said long fibers being more than about 300 microns in length and said short fibers being less than about 300 microns in length.
- View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
- 20. A water-dispersible formulation for use in manufacturing water dispersible materials consisting essentially of about 70% to about 99.99% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder and about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of a gas releasing agent.
- 25. A method of increasing the water dispersibility of a formulation used in the manufacture of water dispersible materials, said formulation consisting essentially of about 1% to about 90% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder and about 10% to about 99% by weight of cellulose fibers comprising a mixture of long and short cellulose fibers, said long fibers being more than about 300 microns in length and said short fibers being less than about 300 microns in length, said cellulose fibers being randomly dispersed throughout said cellulose ether binder, said method comprising adding effective amounts of additional long cellulose fibers to said formulation to increase water dispersibility.
- 28. A method of decreasing the water dispersibility of a formulation used in the manufacture of water dispersible materials, said formulation consisting essentially of about 1% to about 90% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder and about 10% to about 99% by weight of a mixture of long and short cellulose fibers, said long fibers being more than about 300 microns in length and said short fibers being less than about 300 microns in length, said cellulose fibers being randomly dispersed throughout said cellulose ether binder, said method comprising adding effective amounts of additional short cellulose fibers in said mixture of cellulose fibers of said formulation to decrease water dispersibility.
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31. A method of increasing the water dispersibility of a formulation used in the manufacture of water dispersible materials, said formulation comprising about 1% to about 90% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder and about 10% to about 98.98% by weight cellulose fibers comprising a mixture of long and short cellulose fibers, said long fibers being more than about 300 microns in length and said short fibers being less than about 300 microns in length, and at least about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of a gas releasing agent, said cellulose fibers being randomly dispersed throughout said cellulose ether binder, said method comprising adding effective amounts of additional long cellulose fibers to said formulation to increase water dispersibility.
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32. A method of increasing the water dispersibility of a formulation used in the manufacture of water dispersible materials, said formulation comprising about 1% to about 90% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder, about 10% to about 98.99% by weight cellulose fibers said cellulose fibers being selected from the group consisting of long cellulose fibers, short cellulose fibers and mixtures thereof, and an amount of water effective to thoroughly mix said cellulose ether and said cellulose fibers into a dough, said cellulose fibers being randomly dispersed throughout said cellulose ether binder, said method comprising adding about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of a gas releasing agent to said formulation and thereafter subjected said formulation to a mixing action or to heat at a temperature below about 140°
- C. to produce a foaming action before drying said formulation to remove said water.
- View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method of increasing the water dispersibility of a formulation used in the manufacture of water dispersible materials, said formulation consisting essentially of about 70% to about 99.99% by weight of a water dispersible cellulose ether binder, about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of a gas releasing agent and an amount of water effective to thoroughly mix said cellulose ether binder and said gas releasing agent, said method comprising subjecting said formulation to a mixing action or to heat at a temperature below about 140°
- C. to induce said gas releasing agent to release gas before drying said formulation to remove said water.
Specification