Patent Application
20220403591
The present disclosure relates generally to compositions based on plant mucilage and, more particularly, to a system and method for producing a composition for artificial leather based on plant mucilage.
The leather manufacturing industry is associated with numerous negative effects, such as creating waste runoff containing toxic and hazardous chemicals that are harmful to the environment and unethical sourcing of the animals used for production. Turning animal hides into leather requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals, including mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, and various oils, dyes, and finishes, some of them cyanide-based.
Raising the animals whose hide eventually becomes leather requires vast quantities of water and wide tracts of pastureland, which must be cleared of trees. Runoff from feedlots and farms also creates a major source of water pollution. Leather has the greatest impact on eutrophication, a serious ecological problem in which runoff waste creates an overgrowth of plant life in water systems, suffocating animals by depleting oxygen levels in the water and is the leading cause of hypoxic zones, also known as “dead zones.” Further, large amounts of fossil fuels are consumed in livestock production as well, and cow-derived leather has almost three times the negative environmental impact as its synthetic counterparts, including polyurethane (PU) leather.
There is a need for improved leather compositions and manufacturing processes.
These drawings illustrate certain aspects of some of the embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be used to limit or define the claims.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted, such embodiments do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation should be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.
The present disclosure provides for systems and methods for producing a composition for artificial leather based on plant mucilage. In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure provides compositions of and methods of manufacturing artificial or synthetic leather from polyurethane and the mucilage derived from plants. In embodiments, the plants are classified as belonging to the Cactaceae family. In other embodiments, the mucilage may be derived from plants belonging to any suitable classification family. In embodiments, the mucilage may be derived from Opuntia ficus-indica and/or similar plants. In other embodiments, the mucilage may be extracted from other high-mucilage containing plants, such as flaxseeds.
The mucilage and/or other plant material may be combined into a mixture of a polymer to be coupled with a textile for support. Without limitations, such textiles may include polyester, cotton, blends thereof, plastics, polymers such as polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, and/or polypropylene, and any combinations thereof. Any suitable material and polymer may be used as the textile support and/or as the polymer. A plasticizer may be included in the compositions to provide flexible attributes to the composition. In embodiments, a volume of specimens of plants, such as Opuntia ficus-indica or related plants, may be harvested or collected. The volume of specimens may be processed to produce the derived mucilage from the volume of specimens. Any suitable manufacturing process may be used for harvesting and/or processing the volume of specimens, such as cleaving, shredding, using a thresher and/or hopper, using a cutter, using an extractor, pressing, rolling, crushing, grinding, filtering, cleaning, sorting, heating, drying, and any combinations thereof.
In embodiments, the mucilage and/or plant material may be combined with the textile support. The mucilage may be directly applied to the textile support and/or indirectly applied through applying polyvinyl chloride and/or polyurethane to the textile support, wherein the mucilage may be disposed within and mixed with the polyvinyl chloride and/or polyurethane. Pressure may be applied throughout the previous steps to the combination of the textile support, mucilage, polyvinyl chloride, and/or polyurethane. The resulting composition may undergo a heating process. A secondary process may be applied to alter the texture and physical appearance of the produced composition. Such processes may include pressing, rolling, etching, and the like to the surface of the composition. In embodiments, the composition may undergo a process to improve the porosity and breathability of the composition. A wax and/or dye may be applied to the composition for treatment. Alternatively, the wax and/or dye may be applied instead of the polyvinyl chloride and/or polyurethane. In embodiments, any suitable additives may be included in the composition.
In one or more embodiments, the mixture of the primary layer 102 may further comprise any suitable additives, such as a plasticizer, a stabilizer, a surfactant, a blowing agent, a riser/rising agent, one or more pigments. The primary layer 102 may comprise any suitable weight percentage of PU. Without limitations, the primary layer 102 may comprise at least about 10 wt % of PU, 20 wt % of PU, 30 wt % of PU, 40 wt % of PU, 50 wt % of PU, 60 wt % of PU, 70 wt % of PU, 80 wt % of PU, or about 90 wt % of PU. The primary layer 102 may comprise any suitable weight percentage of mucilage derived from Opuntia ficus-indica. Without limitations, the primary layer 102 may comprise at least about 10 wt % of mucilage, 20 wt % of mucilage, 30 wt % of mucilage, 40 wt % of mucilage, 50 wt % of mucilage, 60 wt % of mucilage, 70 wt % of mucilage, 80 wt % of mucilage, or about 90 wt % of mucilage.
As illustrated, the textile support 104 may be disposed underneath the primary layer 102. In embodiments, the textile support 104 may be coupled to the primary layer 102 through any suitable means. For example, the mixture of the primary layer 102 may be applied directly onto the textile support 104 as a liquid, wherein the combination of the mixture and textile support 104 may be heated to cure the mixture and bond particles of the mixture to at least a portion of the textile support 104. In this example, at least a portion of the textile support 104 is saturated by the mixture of the primary layer 102. Without limitations, the textile support 104 may comprise cotton, polyester, blends thereof, or a combination thereof. The textile support 104 may have a rough and/or porous surface to facilitate bonding with the primary layer 102.
The surface layer 106 may be disposed on top of the primary layer 102. The surface layer 106 may be coupled to the primary layer 102 through any suitable means, such as through curing through a heating process. In embodiments, the surface layer 106 may be a coating applied to the primary layer 102. In other embodiments, the surface layer 106 may be a composition similar to the primary layer 102 (i.e., comprising mucilage and a polymer). The surface layer 106 may comprise a textured pattern for the plant-based composition 100. For example, once the surface layer 106 is disposed on the primary layer 102, the plant-based composition 100 may pass through textured rollers to produce a textured pattern on the surface layer 106.
At step 204, the mucilage and a volume of polymer may be introduced into a mixer. In embodiments, the mucilage may be introduced as a liquid extract, as a powder, or as a combination thereof. A base fluid, such as water, may be added into the mixer. One or more additives may be introduced into the mixer during step 204. Without limitations, a plasticizer, a stabilizer, a surfactant, a blowing agent, a rising agent, one or more pigments, and any combination thereof may be introduced into the mixer. The mixer may be operable to receive one or more components and actuate to produce a mixture. The mixer may be actuated to stir the components for a predetermined period of time to produce a homogenous mixture. Once the mixture is produced, the mixture may be disposed onto a backing support for further processing.
At step 206, the mixture may be discharged onto a backing support. In embodiments, the backing support may have a non-stick surface and may be operable to support the mixture as the mixture cures. For example, the backing support may be a paper or textile covered in silicon, wherein the silicon prevents the discharged mixture disposed thereon to bond with the backing support. Further during method 200, the cured mixture may be separated from the backing support. The discharged mixture on the backing support may pass through one or more rollers to evenly distribute the mixture and to produce a uniform thickness. The discharged mixture on the backing support may undergo a heat-treatment to solidify and/or cure as the primary layer 102 (referring to
At step 208, the textile support 104 (referring to
As illustrated in both
An embodiment of the present disclosure is a plant-based composition, comprising: a mixture comprising mucilage derived from Opuntia ficus-indica and polyurethane, wherein the mixture comprises at least about 50 wt % of polyurethane; and a textile support coupled to the mixture, wherein at least a portion of the textile support is saturated by the mixture.
In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the mixture further comprises a plasticizer. In one or more embodiments described above, wherein the textile support comprises polyester, cotton, or a combination thereof. In one or more embodiments described above, further comprising a surface layer disposed on top of the mixture.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a method of producing a plant-based composition, comprising: introducing mucilage of Opuntia ficus-indica into a mixer; introducing a volume of polyurethane into the mixer; actuating the mixer to produce a mixture comprising the mucilage and polyurethane; applying the mixture onto a backing support; applying heat to the mixture; disposing a textile support onto the mixture; heating the textile support and the mixture to bond the textile support to the mixture; and passing the mixture and the textile support through a set of textured rollers to produce a pattern on a surface of the mixture.
In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the mucilage is in the form of a powder of dehydrated Opuntia ficus-indica. In one or more embodiments described above, wherein the mucilage is in the form of a liquid extract. In one or more embodiments described above, further comprising introducing a volume of plasticizer and a volume of stabilizer into the mixer. In one or more embodiments described above, further comprising removing the mixture and the textile support from the backing support. In one or more embodiments described above, receiving a plurality of cladodes of one or more Opuntia ficus-indica; reducing the plurality of cladodes into fragmented pieces; applying heat to the fragmented pieces to facilitate dehydration of the fragmented pieces; and grinding the dehydrated fragmented pieces into a powder. In one or more embodiments described above, cleaning the plurality of cladodes; and removing one or more spines extending from each one of the plurality of cladodes. In one or more embodiments described above, an article of manufacture comprises a first plant-based composition prepared by the method of one or more previous embodiments; a second plant-based composition prepared by the method of one or more previous embodiments; and threading configured to couple the first plant-based composition to the second plant-based composition. In one or more embodiments described above, wherein at least one of the first plant-based composition and the second plant-based composition has a thickness less than about 1.4 mm. In one or more embodiments described above, wherein each of the first plant-based composition and the second plant-based composition comprises a surface layer. In one or more embodiments described above, wherein the surface layer is less than about 50 μm. In one or more embodiments described above, wherein the first plant-based composition and the second plant-based composition form an opening configured to receive an appendage of a user. In one or more embodiments described above, an article of manufacture comprises a first plant-based composition prepared by the method of one or more previous embodiments; a second plant-based composition prepared by the method of one or more previous embodiments; and a zipper configured to couple the first plant-based composition to the second plant-based composition, the zipper comprising a first track of teeth and a second track of teeth, the first track of teeth coupled to a side of the first plant-based composition, and the second track of teeth coupled to a side of the second plant-based composition.
A further embodiment of the present disclosure is a plant-based composition, comprising: a mixture comprising mucilage derived from Opuntia ficus-indica and polyurethane, wherein the mucilage is prepared by a process comprising the steps of: reducing a plurality of cladodes into fragmented pieces; applying heat to the fragmented pieces to facilitate dehydration of the fragmented pieces; and grinding the dehydrated fragmented pieces into a powder; a textile support coupled to the mixture; and a surface layer disposed on top of the mixture, the mixture disposed between the surface layer and the textile support. In an aforementioned embodiment, wherein the mixture comprises at least about 50 wt % of polyurethane.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as molecular weight, reaction conditions, and so forth used in the present specification and associated claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the embodiments of the present disclosure. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claim, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments and modifications, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, although the present disclosure has been described herein in the context of a particular implementation in a particular environment for a particular purpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure as described herein.
The present application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/212,648 filed Jun. 19, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63212648 | Jun 2021 | US |
