The Dow Chemical Company

Eovations, LLC

Bruce A Malone

Kyung W Suh

Creston D Shmidt

Ken Franklin

Daniel D Imeokparia

Bharat Indu Chaudhary

Chung P Park

Kevin Louis Nichols

Brett M Birchmeier

Steven W Mork

Peter C Yao

Claude Brown, Jr

Daniel D Imeopkaria

A building product and method for manufacturing a building product made from an oriented polymer composition which can be split to provide a surface of the building product with a plurality of visible fibrils to form an aesthetic representative of split wood.

Building product and method of manufacture and use

The invention comprises a fully continuous process for shaping a high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) with a polymerizable continuous phase into dry foam, comprising 1) providing a high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) comprising (a) at least 70 percent by volume of an eternal phase comprising one or more polymerizable monomer; (b) a surfactant in an amount effective to produce a high internal phase emulsion; and (c) an internal phase; 20 depositing the emulsion onto a lower moving support substrate; 3) leveling the emulsion to a desired thickness above the support substrate; 4) polymerizing the monomers by running the emulsion and the lower moving support substrate through a heating zone for a time sufficient to polymerize at least 75% of the monomer in the HIPE by the end of the heating zone; and 5) drying the polymerized HIPE in a drying zone for a time sufficient to produce a foam having greater than 50% of the internal phase removed.

Continuous process for polymerizing, curing and drying high internal phase emulsions

Disclosed is a compressed, evacuated, open-cell polymer foam, the foam having an open cell content of about 70 percent or more prior to compression, the foam having a thickness of about 40 to about 90 percent of the initial thickness of the foam prior to compression, the foam having an absolute cell gas pressure of about 10 torr or less in its open cells, the foam having a density of about 16 to about 250 kilograms per cubic meter. Further disclosed is an evacuated insulation panel employing the foam.

Compressed, extruded, evacuated open-cell polymer foams and evacuated

Disclosed is a method of enhancing open cell formation in making extruded alkenyl aromatic polymer foams of about 30 percent or more open cell content. Open cell formation is enhanced by incorporating into the foam an ethylene copolymer having a Vicat softening point of about 85.degree. C. or less. The ethylene copolymer is incorporated at from about 0.1 to about 7 percent based upon the weight of the alkenyl aromatic polymer material comprising the foam.

Method of enhancing open cell formation in alkenyl aromatic polymer foams

Disclosed is an extruded, open-cell microcellular alkenyl aromatic polymer foam useful in insulating applications. The foam has an open cell content of about 70 percent or more. The foam has an average cell size of about 70 micrometers or less. The foam is particularly useful in evacuated or vacuum insulation panels. Further disclosed is a process for making the open-cell foam. Further disclosed is a fabricated foam article.

Extruded, open-cell microcellular alkenyl aromatic polymer forms,

Extruded, open-cell microcellular alkenyl aromatic polymer foams,

There is an evacuated insulation panel comprising a corestock of an open-cell alkenyl aromatic polymer foam and a deformable receptacle. The foam has an open cell content of about 70 percent or more. The foam is situated within the receptacle. The receptacle is hermetically sealed. The open-cells of the foam and the interior of the receptacle are evacuated to an absolute pressure of about 10 torr or less. The foam has indentations therein which extend in two dimensions across a surface of the foam. The receptacle substantially conforms to the shape of the foam, including the indentations within. The panel has one or more surfaces which are substantially non-wrinkled. Further disclosed is a method for making the panel.

Evacuated insulation panel having non-wrinkled surfaces

A closed-cell polypropylene foam, with at least eighty percent closed cells and a foamability characteristic of less than about 1.8 is disclosed. Also disclosed are several methods for making such closed-cell polypropylene foams.

Extruded closed-cell polypropylene foam

Disclosed is a closed-cell, non-crosslinked foam structure of a ratio of minor dimension to major dimension of about 1/8 or less comprising a plurality of coalesced extruded strands or profiles of a foamed polyolefin composition having an average cell size of from 0.02 to 0.5 millimeters. The cross-sectional geometry of the foam structure substantially corresponds to the overall arrangement of the orifices of the die from which the foamed polyolefin composition was extruded. Further disclosed is a process for making the above foam structure comprising extruding a foamable polyolefin composition through the multiorifice die to form the structure.

Nondistorted polyethylene foam structures and process for making

A method of providing closed-cell polyolefin foam having reduced blowing agent content to an end user including (a) extruding the polyolefin to form the essentially continuous foam structure defining a multiplicity of channels extending generally longitudinally therethrough; (b) intermittently crimping the essentially continuous foam structure such that the channels extending therethrough are intermittently substantially closed off; (c) intermittently severing the essentially continuous, intermittently crimped foam structure at the crimps therein to form discrete foam structure portions having crimped end portions; (d) cooling the crimped, discrete foam structure portions to an extent sufficient to prevent substantial shrinkage of the crimped, discrete foam structure portions upon initiation of release of the flammable blowing agent from the foam; (e) excising the crimped end portions from the remainder of the crimped, discrete foam structure portions to initiate release of the flammable blowing agent and form uncrimped, discrete foam structure portions; and (f) providing the uncrimped, discrete foam structure portions to the end user.

Method of providing closed-cell polyolefin foam having reduced blowing

Polyolefin foams and films having improved electrostatic properties are provided by incorporating into the polyolefin foam or film a novel antistatic additive composition comprising 0.1 to 10 parts per hundred based on the weight of the olefin polymer of a quaternary ammonium salt and 0.1 to 10 parts per hundred based on the weight of the olefin polymer of a partial ester of a long-chain acid with a polyol. A method of making the foam containing the novel antistatic additive composition is also disclosed.

Antistatic polyolefin foams and films and method of making the foam and

Polyolefin foams and films having improved electrostatic properties are provided by incorporating into the polyolefin foam or film a novel antistatic additive composition comprising 0.1 to 10 parts per hundred based on the weight of the olefin polymer of a quaternary ammonium salt and 0.1 to 10 parts per hundred based on the weight of the olefin polymer of a partial ester of a long-chain fatty acid with a polyol. A method of making the foam containing the novel antistatic additive composition is also disclosed.

Substantially closed-cell thermoplastic foams having a fragrance incorporated into the foam during extrusion are found to provide fragrant and long lasting release characteristics provided the foam is at least 70 percent closed cells. Generally the amount of fragrance is about 0.001 to about 5 weight percent of the total thermoplastic foam weight.

Growing community of inventors

Granville, OH, United States of America

Bruce A Malone