Expandable Thermoplastic Polymer Beads and Process for Their Production
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Europaisches Patentamt O 017 086 0») European Patent Office (1Î) Publication number: Office européen des brevets Bl (12 EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION (45) Date of publication of patent spécification: 24.08.83 ® Int. ci.3: C08J 9/20, B32B 27/08, B32 B 27/30, B 32 B 27/32 @ Application number: 80101440.8 (22) Date offiling: 19.03.80 (54) Expandable thermoplastic polymer beads and process for their production. (§) Priority: 19.03.79 JP 32680/79 (73) Proprietor: KANEGAFUCHI KAGAKU KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA 2-4 Nakanoshima 3-chome @ Date of publication of application: Kita-ku Osaka-shi (JP) 15.10.80 Bulletin 80/21 @ Inventor: Senda, Kenichi (45) Publication of the grant of the patent: 17-8095, 1-Ban, Miyanoue 24.08.83 Bulletin 83/34 Akashi-shi Hyogo-ken (JP) Inventor: Nishida, Tatehiko 269-14, Tai Aboshi-ku @ Design ated Contracting States: Himeji-shi Hyogo-ken (JP) BE DE FR GB Inventor: Nakagawa, Masao 442-21, Sone-cho Takasago-shi Hyogo-ken (JP) (56) Références cited: DE - A - 1 694 094 DE-A-2 755 005 (74) Représentative: Vossius-Vossius-Tauchner- DE-B-2525173 Heunemann-Rauh Patentanwalte US - A - 3 743 61 1 P.O.Box 860767 Siebertstrasse 4 D-8000 Munchen 86 (DE)' Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shaH not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1 ) European patent convention). Courier Press, Leamington Spa, England. The present invention relates to expandable small particles having a large surface area. thermoplastic polymer beads which hardly lose Therefore, easy evaporation of the foaming any of a foaming agent absorbed within their agent takes place in the beads according to expandable form and maintain satisfactory elas- US-A-3 743 611. ticity and rigidity; the novel polymer beads are Under these circumstances, the present useful for the production of foamed shaped inventors have investigated ways to eliminate articles, wherein the polymer beads are pre- the foregoing drawbacks in these types of liminarily foamed (prefoamed) with heat and the products by improving their foaming agent prefoamed beads are then packed into a retention capacity. As a result, the present suitable metal mould to give a product of the inventors have created the expandable thermo- desired shape upon further heating. The pre- plastic polymer beads of the invention, which sent invention further concerns the production can readily be prefoamed by the manufacturers of expandable thermoplastic polymer beads of foamed articles and which additionally have having a core composed of vinyl polymer grains satisfactory elasticity and strength, as well as and a skin of an olefin polymer covering the excellent mouldability. The invention was finally grains. made complete by the discovery that the ideal Up to the present day a few types of expand- product can be obtained if grains of a vinyl poly- able polymer beads have already been pro- mer are covered or coated with a polyolefin duced on a commercial scale by adding a resin (olefin polymer), thereby causing the styrene-based monomer to a polyethylene- coated vinyl polymer to retain a foaming agent based resin in an aqueous medium, polymeriz- and imparting the necessary elasticity through ing these together and then impregnating the the polyolefin outer layer (skin). This invention, product with a foaming agent. These modified therefore, relates to novel expandable thermo- beads certainly give expanded articles (popcorn plastic polymer beads consisting of composite plastics) superior in elasticity to comparable beads having a core and a skin and containing a conventional foamed polystyrene and show a foaming agent; the core being composed of a relatively high degree of expansion compared to polymer formed from one or more vinyl mono- the conventional foamed polyolefins. In other mers; the skin being composed of an olefin words, by comparison with pure polyethylene polymer containing some or all of said vinyl resin expandable polymer beads of these types monomers; and the foaming agent being a gas can easily absorb a foaming agent and give rise or a liquid at ordinary temperature and pres- to a relatively highly expanded pre-foam. How- sure and having a boiling point lower than the ever, being prone to lose foaming agent, the softening point of the core material. beads must first be pre-foamed within a short The vinyl polymer used in this invention time after absorbing foaming agent and then denotes a polymer composed chiefly of styrene dispatched to the manufacturers of foamed and/or methyl methacrylate units. These poly- articles. mers are superior in their capacity for retaining Thermofoamable thermoplastic beads a foaming agent, as well as in their foamability consisting of an aliphatic olefin polymer, a and further advantageous physical properties. foaming agent and an organic material for The vinyl polymer which constitutes the core of enhancing preservation of the foaming agent the expandable thermoplastic polymer beads within said beads are described in US-A- consists of a polymer or polymers made from 3743611. The said organic material may be monomers and containing from 60 to 100% by another thermoplastic resin having an affinity to weight of styrene and/or methyl methacrylate said foaming agent, a solvent for the resin and from 0 to 40% by weight of monomers above room temperature or a copolymerizable other than styrene and/or methyl methacrylate, vinyl monomer and mixtures thereof. such as acrylonitrile vinyl acetate or mixtures The thermoplastic beads according to US- thereof. When the content of styrene and/or A-3 743 611 1 contain the aliphatic olefin methyl methacrylate is less than 60% by polymer as basic component. The organic weight, the resulting polymer does not have a material for enhancing preservation of the sufficient foaming agent retention capacity or foaming agent (which may be a vinyl polymer) is the physical properties required in the expanded simply mixed with the olefin polymer without moulding. any specific form or distribution of one compo- The olefin polymer used in this invention is nent or the other. However, since the olefin preferably polyethylene, an ethylene-vinyl polymer (e.g. polyethylene) is little compatible acetate copolymer, an ethylene-methyl meth- with the vinyl polymer (e.g. polystyrene), phase acrylate copolymer, an ethylene-vinylchloride separation occurs easily in the microstructure. copolymer, 1,2-polybutadiene or similar; these The vinyl polymer which is to serve as foaming may be used either singly or in combination agent preserving medium is not comprised in with each other. the beads according to US-A-3 743 611 in The vinyl monomer contained in the olefin the form of one large grain but in the form of polymer, i.e. in the skin of the expandable thermoplastic polymer beads of this invention, used. By the use of the vinyl monomers other is limited to those vinyl monomers which can be than the primary one (styrene), however, the absorbed into the olefin polymer. Once it has stability of the suspension mixture will be been absorbed into the olefin polymer, the vinyl improved; moreover, inasmuch as these vinyl monomer serves not only to lower the melt monomers are well grafted on or blended with viscosity of the olefin polymer to make the coat- the vinyl polymer (polystyrene), they can help to ing of the vinyl polymer easy but also improve control the mechanical properties of the core the strength of the skin when properly incor- polymer. porated. The vinyl monomer content in the The grains of the core polymer used have a olefin polymer is 5 to 50% by weight, and pre- size of 300 to 5000 micron (p) in the case of ferably 10 to 30% by weight. When the vinyl polystyrene. This particle size can also be used monomer content is less than 5% by weight, the in the case of the other polymers. effect and functioning are inferior; conversely, Given that the symbol A is the weight of when the content is more than 50% by weight, grains of the vinyl polymer, B the weight of the the skin formed from the polyolefin becomes powdered olefin polymer, and C the weight of too hard and brittle. one or a mixture of more than one type of vinyl The vinyl polymer formed from the monomer monomer, the weight ratio of (A+B) to C is in absorbed into the polyolefin is preferably the range of from 90:10 to 30:70. When the composed chiefly of polystyrene; however, a ratio of (A+B):C is greater than 90:10, the poly- small amount of polymethyl methacrylate poly- olefin coat on the vinyl polymer becomes inade- acrylonitrile, polyvinyl acetate or similar may be quate. Conversely, when the ratio is smaller mixed with the polystyrene. than 30:70, the suspension of the solution It is necessary that the weight ratio of the mixture becomes unstable. Moreover, the core to the skin be in the range of from 95:5 to proportion of A to B must be so determined that 30:70. When the weight ratio of core to skin the proportion of the core to the skin lies in the exceeds 95:5, the polyolefin can no longer be range of from 95:5 to 30:70 in weight. expected to have the desired effect. In view of the fact that the exact distribution By contrast, when the weight ratio is below of the vinyl monomers (their weight is C) 30:70, the foaming capacity to produce satis- between the vinyl polymer (its weight is A) and factory expansion becomes too low to allow the olefin polymer (its weight is B) cannot be practical application of the beads.