National Starch and Chemical Investment Holding Corporation

Timothy C Koubek

Joseph Wieczorek, Jr

Paul P Puletti

Chung-Wai Chiu

Daniel B Solarek

Michael Timothy Philbin

David J Thomas

Manish B Shah

Eleanor Schiermeyer

Russell J Nesiewicz

Thermally-inhibited starches and flours are used in conventional water-based adhesives such as corrugating, cigarette, remoistenable, kraft adhesives. The starches or flours are thermally-inhibited by dehydrating the starch to anhydrous or substantially anhydrous and then heat-treating the starch or flour for a time and at a temperature sufficient to inhibit the starch and improve its viscosity stability. The starch or flour may be thermally or non-thermally dehydrated (e.g., by alcohol extraction or freeze-drying). Preferably, the pH of the starch is adjusted to at least a neutral pH prior to the dehydration.

Water-based adhesives containing thermally-inhibited starches

A specific class of water-borne, water redispersible laminating adhesives is disclosed which is desirable for bonding nonwoven substrates to themselves or to other substrates. The adhesives provide improved bond strength and improved water redispersibility when compared to laminating adhesives currently used for the same purpose. Furthermore, the novel adhesives are much less sensitive to the presence of significant levels of plasticizer than are laminating adhesives currently used, which exhibit reduced water redispersibility when such plasticizers are present in significant amounts. The novel laminating adhesives contain an aqueous styrene/acrylic polymer dispersion prepared by radical-initiated emulsion polymerization of unsaturated monomers in the presence of starch degradation products having a weight average molecular weight range of from about 2500 to 25000 and which are obtainable by hydrolysis in the aqueous phase. The adhesives may contain only the starch-modified, styrene/acrylic polymer dispersion, or may further include other components, such as plasticizers and/or rheology modifiers, when required. The novel adhesives are particularly useful in disposable articles wherein a nonwoven substrate is bonded to a second substrate via a water-borne, laminating adhesive. The disposable articles may include an absorbent core portion disposed between and proximate the nonwoven and second substrate.

Water-borne, water redispersible, laminating adhesives for nonwoven

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Clinton, NJ, United States of America

Timothy C Koubek