Owens Corning Intellectual Capital, LLC

Mark E Polasky

Roland R Loh

Yadollah Delaviz

Raymond Marshall Breindel

Bharat B Patel

Mitchell Zane Weekley

Joseph P Rynd

Klin Aloysius Rodrigues

Xia Cao

L James Lee

Xiangmin Han

Kurt W Koelling

James L Lee

Jiong Shen

Yadolah Delaviz

Rigid foam insulating products and processes for making such insulation products are disclosed. The foam products are formed from a polymer, a blowing agent, and nano-graphite. The nano-graphite has a size in at least one dimension less than about 100 nm and, in exemplary embodiments may be an intercalated, expanded nano-graphite. In addition, the nano-graphite may include a plurality of nanosheets having a thickness between about 10 to about 100 nanometers. The nano-graphite acts as a process additive to improve the physical properties of the foam product, such as thermal insulation and compressive strength. In addition, the nano-graphite in the foam controls cell morphology and acts as a nucleating agent in the foaming process. Further, the nano-graphite exhibits overall compound effects on foam properties including improved insulating value (increased R-value) for a given thickness and density and improved ultraviolet (UV) stability.

Thermoplastic foams and method of forming them using nano-graphite

Disclosed is a method for making polystyrene foam which utilizes one or more atmospheric gases, particularly CO, as the blowing agent in combination with a polymer processing aid (PPA), typically an ester that is relatively non-volatile at the extrusion temperature range. The blowing agent and the PPA may both be introduced into the molten thermoplastic polystyrene resin or the PPA may be incorporated in the solid source polystyrene resins. The resulting foam will be substantially free of residual blowing agent and dimensionally stable at ambient temperatures.

Method of manufacturing polystyrene foam with polymer processing additives

Polymer extruded or expanded foams that contain modifier-free nanoclays are provided. The addition of modifier-free nano-clays to extruded or expanded foam products improves the thermal properties, mechanical properties, and fire performance properties. Water or a water-containing compound is used as a carrier for the modifier-free nanoclays. The final foamed products may be utilized in building application such as foamed insulation products and in underground applications such as highway insulation. A preferred modifier-free nanoclay is NaMMT. Modifier-free nanoclay particles may be injected into a polymer during an extrusion foaming process. In another embodiment of the invention, polymer beads containing water/nanoclay particles are formed using inverse emulsion/suspension polymerizations and expanded or extruded into a foamed product. In a further embodiment, a modifier-free nanoclay particle is encapsulated in a super-absorbent material, which may be used in an expanding or extruding process.

Polystyrene foam containing a modifier-free nanoclay and having improved fire protection performance

Provided are methods for producing a high strength, but easily deformed, polystyrene foam board that can endure repeated deformations from its original configuration into more complex curved shapes without damaging the board integrity or substantially reducing its structural strength. Also provided are rigid polystyrene foam boards produced by this method that exhibit improved bending and impact resistance while substantially retaining or improving other properties, for example, the thermal dimensional stability and fire resistance, exhibited by corresponding conventional XPS foam boards. The foamable compositions may incorporate one or more of a variety of polymer processing aids for the purpose of altering the performance of the final foam products, thereby allowing the properties of the final foam product to be customized to some degree.

Deformable, rigid polystyrene foam board

Provided are methods for producing a high strength, but easily deformed, polystyrene foam board that can endure repeatedly deformations from its original configuration into more complex curved shapes without damaging the board integrity or substantially reducing its structural strength. Also provided are rigid polystyrene foam boards produced by this method that exhibit improved bending and impact resistance while substantially retaining or improving other properties, for example, the thermal dimensional stability and fire resistance, exhibited by corresponding conventional XPS foam boards. The foamable compositions may incorporate one or more of a variety of polymer processing aids for the purpose of altering the performance of the final foam products, thereby allowing the properties of the final foam product to be customized to some degree.

Disclosed is a method for making polystyrene foam which utilizes one or more atmospheric gases, particularly combinations of HFCs and CO, as the blowing system in combination with a polymer processing aid (PPA), typically an ester that is relatively non-volatile at the extrusion temperature range. The blowing system and the PPA may both be introduced into the molten thermoplastic polystyrene resin or the PPA may be incorporated in the solid source polystyrene resins. The resulting foams will typically exhibit improved dimensional stability at ambient temperatures.

This invention relates to foam insulating products, particularly extruded polystyrene foam, containing multi-layered nano-graphite as a process additive for improving the physical properties of foam products.

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Mogadore, OH, United States of America

Mark E Polasky