COMPOSITION AND METHOD OF USE

Abstract

An article for contact with a liquid fuel, comprising a composition comprising a polyester reacted with a carboxy-reactive material, the product of said reaction having increased solvent resistance relative to the initial polyester. The article can be in the form of a container or fibers.

Description

Claims

1. An article, comprising a composition comprising the reaction product of a polyester and a carboxy-reactive material, wherein the composition has increased resistance to a component of a liquid fuel relative to the same composition without the reaction product.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel is gasoline, diesel, ethanol, methanol, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing fuels.

3. The article of claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel comprises an alcohol as a component.

4. The article of claim 1, wherein the alcohol is a C1-C6 alcohol.

5. The article of claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel comprises 10 to 99 volume % of gasoline and 1 to 99 volume % of a C1-C6 alcohol.

6. The article of claim 5, wherein the C1-C6 alcohol is methanol, ethanol, or a combination comprising methanol and ethanol.

7. The article of claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel comprises 10 to 90 volume % of regular gasoline and 10 to 90 volume % of a C1-C6 alcohol.

8. The article of claim 1, wherein the article is in the form of an injection molded, article.

9. The article of claim 6, wherein the article is in the form of a container for a liquid fuel.

10. The article of claim 4, wherein the liquid fuel is gasoline or diesel, and further comprises a C1-C6 alcohol.

11. The article of claim 1, wherein the article is in the form of a fiber.

12. The article of claim 11, wherein the fibers is a component of a nonwoven mat.

13. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product retains at least 75% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a liquid fuel at 70° C. for 14 days.

14. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product retains at least 80% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a liquid fuel at 70° C. for 14 days.

15. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product retains at least 90% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a liquid fuel at 70° C. for 14 days.

16. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product, in the form of fibers having a diameter of 1 to 50 micrometers, retains at least 80% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 85 volume % ethanol and 15 volume % regular gasoline for 7 days at 70° C.

17. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product, in the form of fibers having a diameter of 1 to 50 micrometers, retains at least 70% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 85 volume % ethanol and 15 volume % regular gasoline for 14 days at 70° C.

18. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product, in the form of fibers having a diameter of 1 to 50 micrometers, retains at least 70% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 85 volume % ethanol and 15 volume % regular gasoline for 28 days at 70° C.

19. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product in the form of an injection molded article retains at least 70% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 45 volume % toluene, 45 volume % isooctane, and 10 volume % ethanol for 7 days at 70° C.

20. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester reaction product in the form of an injection molded article, retains at least 90% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 45 volume % toluene, 45 volume % isooctane, and 10 volume % ethanol for 7 days at 70° C.

21. The article of claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises an impact modifier, and wherein the polyester reaction product of the impact-modified composition in the form of an injection molded article retains at least 90% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 45 volume % toluene, 45 volume % isooctane, and 10 volume % ethanol for 7 days at 70° C.

22. The article of claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises an impact modifier, and wherein the polyester reaction product of the impact-modified composition in the form of an injection molded article retains at least 85% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 45 volume % toluene, 45 volume % isooctane, and 10 volume % ethanol for 14 days at 70° C.

23. The article of claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises an impact modifier, and wherein the polyester reaction product of the impact-modified composition in the form of an injection molded article retains at least 80% of its initial molecular weight after immersion in a mixture of 45 volume % toluene, 45 volume % isooctane, and 10 volume % ethanol for 21 days at 70° C.

24. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester is polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, a combination of polyethylene naphthalate and polybutylene naphthalate, polytrimethylene terephthalate, polycyclohexane dimethanol terephthalate, polycyclohexane dimethanol terephthalate copolymers with ethylene glycol, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing polyesters.

25. The article of claim 1, wherein the polyester is polybutylene terephthalate.

26. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive compound is an epoxy, a carbodiimide, an orthoester, an oxazoline, an oxirane, an aziridine, an anhydride, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing epoxy-reactive compounds.

27. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is a compound comprising an epoxy group, a compound comprising an epoxy group and a silane group, a copolymer comprising units derived from the reaction of an ethylenically unsaturated compound and glycidyl(meth)acrylate, a terpolymer comprising units derived from the reaction of two different ethylenically unsaturated compounds and glycidyl(meth)acrylate, a styrene-(meth)acrylic copolymer containing a glycidyl group incorporated as a side chain, an oligomer containing a glycidyl group incorporated as a side chain, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing carboxy-reactive compounds.

28. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive compound comprises an epoxy group, and the amount of epoxy in the polyester composition is 5 to 320 milliequivalent epoxy group per 1.0 kg of the polyester.

29. The article of claim 1, wherein carboxy-reactive compound is an epoxy silane comprising a terminal epoxy group and a terminal silane group.

30. The article of claim 29, wherein the epoxy silane is beta-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyl triethoxysilane.

31. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is an epoxy silane, and the amount of epoxy silane reacted with the polyester is 0.1 to 2.0 wt.% of the polyester.

32. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is an epoxy compound having at least two terminal epoxy groups.

33. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is a dicycloaliphatic diepoxy compound.

34. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3,4-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate.

35. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is an epoxy-functional polymer.

36. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is a poly(ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate-co-methacrylate).

37. The article of claim 1, wherein the carboxy-reactive material is a poly(ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate-co-methacrylate) and a dicycloaliphatic diepoxy compound.

38. The article of claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises a catalyst for the reaction between the polyester and the carboxy-reactive compound.

39. The article of claim 38, wherein the catalyst is a hydroxide, hydride, amide, carbonate, borate, phosphate, C2-18 enolate, C2-36 dicarboxylate, or C2-36 carboxylate of a metal; a Lewis acid catalyst; a C1-36 tetraalkyl ammonium hydroxide or acetate; a C1-36 tetraalkyl phosphonium hydroxide or acetate; an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a negatively charged polymer; or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing catalysts.

40. The article of claim 38, wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, lithium, cesium, calcium, magnesium, barium salt, and mixtures thereof.

41. The article of claim 38, wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting of sodium stearate, zinc stearate, sodium carbonate, sodium acetate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium benzoate, sodium caproate, potassium oleate, and a mixture comprising at least one of the foregoing salts.

42. The article of claim 38, wherein the catalyst is a boron compound.

43. The article of claim 1, wherein the composition comprising the reaction product further comprises an impact modifier.

44. The article of claim 43, wherein the impact modifier is a natural rubber, a low-density polyethylene, a high-density polyethylene, a polypropylene, a polystyrene, a polybutadiene, a styrene-butadiene copolymer, an ethylene-propylene copolymer, an ethylene-methyl acrylate copolymer, an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, an ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymer, a polyethylene terephthalate-poly(tetramethyleneoxide)glycol block copolymer, a polyethylene terephthalate/isophthalate-poly(tetramethyleneoxide)glycol block copolymer, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing impact modifiers.

45. The article of claim 43, wherein the impact modifier is a core-shell polymer.

46. The article of claim 43, wherein the impact modifier is present in an amount of 2 to 30 weight % of the total weight of the composition comprising the reaction product.

47. An article, comprising a composition comprising the reaction product of a polybutylene terephthalate ester and an epoxy silane, a dicycloaliphatic diepoxy compound, or a polymeric epoxy compound in the presence of an alkali metal stearate or a boron catalyst, wherein the composition has increased resistance to components of a liquid fuel relative to the same composition without the reaction product.