BIODEGRADABLE STRING TRIMMER LINE

Abstract

A biodegradable string trimmer line that is formed from a biodegradable aliphatic polyester produced primarily from diacid and diol monomers. The string trimmer line is produced by an extrusion process.

Claims

1. A biodegradable string trimmer line comprising at least one biodegradable aliphatic polyester produced from diacids selected from the group consisting of adipic acid and succinic acid and combinations thereof and diol monomers selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, propanediol, butanediol, and hexanediol wherein the polymer composition is soil biodegradable or water biodegradable.

2. The polymer composition of claim 1 further comprising at least one component selected from the group consisting of plasticizers, flow promoters, polymer processing aids, slip agents, viscosity modifiers, chain extenders, nanoparticles, colorants, anti-microbial agents and combinations thereof.

3. The polymer composition of claim 2, wherein the plasticizer is comprised of polyethylene glycol, sorbitol, glycerine, soybean oil, castor oil, TWEEN 20, TWEEN 40, TWEEN 60, TWEEN 80, TWEEN 85, sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan monopalmitate, sorbitan trioleate, sorbitan monostearate, PEG, derivatives of PEG, N,N-ethylene bis-stearamide, N,N-ethylene bis-oleamide, tributyl o- acetyl citrate, ester-based lubricants, and polycaprolactone, polymeric plasticizers such as poly(1,6-hexamethylene adipate), or combinations thereof.

4. The polymer composition of claim 3, wherein the total plasticizer composition is less than 40%.

5. The polymer composition of claim 3, wherein the total plasticizer composition is 5 to 30%.

6. The polymer composition of claim 3, wherein the total plasticizer composition is 10 to 25%.

7. A method for producing a soil or water biodegradable string trimmer line comprising: a Selecting a biodegradable aliphatic polyesters produced primarily from diacid and diol monomers; b drying the biodegradable aliphatic polyesters produced primarily from diacid and diol monomers; c extruding the biodegradable aliphatic polyesters produced primarily from diacid and diol monomers through an extruder line having a barrel and an extruder die with an extruder die opening with a cross-section; and d collecting the extruded biodegradable string trimmer line on a take up reel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the cross-section of the extruder die opening is selected from the group round, square, rectangular, triangular, and star-shaped.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the string trimmer line comprises spirals and multiple intertwined strands.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the barrel of the extruder line, the extruder die, and melt temperatures of the biodegradable aliphatic polyesters are maintain 150° C. - 175° C. and extruder line pressure is maintained from 5 MPa - 10 MPa.

11. The biodegradable aliphatic polyester of claim 7, wherein the diacid is selected from the group consisting of succinic acid or adipic acid.

12. The biodegradable aliphatic polyester of claim 7, wherein the diol monomer is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, propanediol, butanediol, and hexanediol.

13. The biodegradable aliphatic polyester of claim 7 further comprising at least one component selected from the group consisting of plasticizers, flow promoters, polymer processing aids, slip agents, viscosity modifiers, chain extenders, nanoparticles, colorants, anti-microbial agents and combinations thereof.

14. The biodegradable aliphatic polyester of claim 13, wherein the plasticizer is comprised of polyethylene glycol, sorbitol, glycerine, soybean oil, castor oil, TWEEN 20, TWEEN 40, TWEEN 60, TWEEN 80, TWEEN 85, sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan monopalmitate, sorbitan trioleate, sorbitan monostearate, PEG, derivatives of PEG, N,N-ethylene bis-stearamide, N,N-ethylene bis-oleamide, tributyl o- acetyl citrate, ester-based lubricants, and polycaprolactone, polymeric plasticizers such as poly(1,6-hexamethylene adipate), or combinations thereof.

15. The polymer composition of claim 13, wherein the total plasticizer composition is less than 40%.

16. The polymer composition of claim 13, wherein the total plasticizer composition is 5 to 30%.

17. The polymer composition of claim 13, wherein the total plasticizer composition is 10 to 25%.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0008] The material for the biodegradable string trimmer line is a biodegradable aliphatic polyester produced primarily from diacid and diol monomers and described in detail in U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2019/0375932, published Dec. 12, 2019, now Okamoto et al. U.S. Pat. No. 11,608,436, issued Mar. 21, 2023, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0009] The string trimmer line of the present invention is created by using a standard profile extrusion line with single- or double-strand die. The extrusion barrel, the extrusion die, and melt temperatures are typically 150° C. - 175° C. The cross-section of the die opening can be round, rectangular, triangular, star-shaped or any other cross-sectional shape. Before the polymer pellets are fed to the extruder screw, the pellets must be thoroughly dried at 65° C. - 75° C. for 4-8 hours or until moisture content is ideally less than 400 ppm. The extruder pressure is from 5 MPa - 10 MPa.

[0010] For a round string trimmer line produced by the manufacturing process described above, such string trimmer line has a diameter from 1.5 mm - 3.0 mm and a similar thickness for non-round line, e.g. spirals and multiple intertwined strands as well as those with square, rectangular, triangular, and star-shaped cross-sections.

[0011] In comparison testing of 2.38 mm diameter round conventional non-biodegradable string trimmer line, an existing commercial biodegradable string trimmer line produced from PHBH, and the inventive string trimmer line, the inventive string trimmer line demonstrates durability versus the commercial biodegradable line. The testing was done along 380 meters of lawn against a chain link fence with pole supports; 4.5 meters of line was wound onto a commercial string trimmer head with a round exit hole. The results are shown in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 Line Tested Initial Weight Final Weight Line Used # Breaks Traditional 22.7 g 18.4 g 4.3 g (19%) 0 Commerical Biodegradable Line 28.3 g 14.2 g 14.1 g (50%) 8 Inventive Biodegradable Line 28.3 g 22.7 g 5.6 g (20%) 0

[0012] The microplastic particles released from the string trimmer line are biodegradable in soil and in water. For soil, the material fully biodegrades in less than 90 days per ASTM D5988. For water, the material biodegrades to greater than 90% 451 days per ASTM D6691.

[0013] While this invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that variations and modifications can be affected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein and as described in the appended claims.