CA2887481C

CA2887481C - Building membrane with porous pressure sensitive adhesive

Info

Publication number: CA2887481C
Application number: CA2887481A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Daniel Bess; Robert Piecinski
Original assignee: Vaproshield Canada Ulc
Current assignee: Vaproshield Canada Ulc
Priority date: 2015-04-07
Filing date: 2015-04-07
Publication date: 2019-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 2035-04-07
Also published as: CA2887481A1

Abstract

A breathable multilayer spun bonded polypropylene membrane having a coated pressure sensitive adhesive capable of allowing air and moisture vapor to pass through it. The adhesive is formed of a copolymer comprising a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate which is mixed with a surfactant and emulsified to produce bubbles which form pores when the copolymer is set with about 80% to about 90% of the pore sizes ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns and a pore density in the cured pressure sensitive adhesive ranging from about 4200 per inch2 to about 4600 per inch 2, said pores being uniformly distributed to form a flow path through the adhesive.

Description

BUILDING MEMBRANE WITH
POROUS PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a utility patent application claiming priority and the benefits of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/958,161, filed July 22, 2013.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to air permeable and water vapor permeable building sheets which are fastened to the building by pressure sensitive adhesive which is coated on a surface of the building sheet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Architects and engineers agree that buildings must be able to breathe; however most commonly used building underlayments and membranes trap condensation and moisture in wall cavities which can lead to poor indoor air quality, energy deficiencies and costly building damage. The North American building industry spends around $9 billion dollars each year repairing and litigating building damages from water and moisture. New materials used in building construction over the last 20 years are energy efficient, but ventilation poor, resulting in toxic mold claims of over $3 billion dollars. Air leakage from such membranes can result in increased energy use of up to 30-40% in heating climates and 10-15% in cooling climates.
Proper building envelope design promotes continual drying by allowing vapor to escape.
Moisture can penetrate a building envelope through materials and rain/snow exposure during construction. General occupancy also adds to the moisture levels. Trapped moisture can cause wood rot, swelling and distortion of lumber, corrosion of metal and reduction of insulation thermal value. Any or all of these issues result in a high risk of mold, mildew, building deterioration, poor indoor air quality and health and safety risks to the occupant. In some states, new air tightness and energy saving requirements increase the possibility of trapped moisture, when low or non-permeable air barriers are utilized.
Current building construction uses barrier sheets or membranes to form an envelope around the construction to allow the transport of moisture into and out of a building and to control the movement of air through a wall or roof covered by the barrier sheet. Common commercial barrier sheets or membranes are sold under the TYVEK Commercial, TYPAR , and DOW WEATHERMATE PLUS brands. These and other commercial barrier sheets commonly use adhesive which is applied to the sheet so that the same can be secured to a wall or roof. Problems which occur in these commercial usages is that the adhesive used is not pressure sensitive or that it may not be porous to allow water vapor transmission.
It is well known to provide a planar carrier membrane with an adhesive application which is limited on the surface area or interrupted by adhesive free places. It is also well known to perforate the adhesive composition after placement on the planar carrier membrane with mechanical means or with the aid of air nozzles so that the entire surface of the planar carrier is perforated.
Medical dressings or sheets have used a porous adhesive coated over a substrate surface to allow air flow to reach the wound and allow moisture to be transmitted away from the wound.
Examples of such dressings having pores formed in the pressure sensitive adhesive are described in U.S. Patent Number 4,163,822 issued August 7, 1979 and U.S. Patent Number 5,709,651 issued January 20, 1998. A porous adhesive for corrugated cardboard is disclosed in U.S. Patent

2 Application Publication Number 2008/0268224 published October 30, 2008. These sheets perform in the same manner as construction barrier sheets, albeit in a smaller surface application area with different substrates. A large surface construction barrier sheet using a vapor permeable adhesive is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0018566 published on August 4, 2011. The corresponding United States equivalent is U.S. Patent Application Number 12/937,823 filed April 15, 2011.
Many construction barrier sheets currently in use are formulated to be weather resistant keeping out water and resisting wind pressure. These sheets are secured to studs and form an "envelope" underneath exterior cladding or roofing. Some commercial barrier sheets are both water vapor permeable and air permeable but have limited pressure sensitive adhesive applied to specific areas of their inner surface. Thus, there exists a need for a highly water vapor permeable and air permeable adhesive which can be applied to the entire inner surface of the barrier sheet allowing it to be easily mounted to studs or the like. The present membrane has uniform vapor permeable characteristics over the surface of the barrier sheet with pores in the adhesive uniformly distributed to form a flow path through the adhesive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect, there is provided an air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane comprising a plurality of permeable plastic sheets secured together, a coating of permeable pressure sensitive adhesive coated to an outer surface of one sheet of said membrane, said adhesive comprising a copolymer which is mixed with at least one surfactant and emulsified to produce bubbles which form pores within said copolymer when the copolymer is cured, with a

3 majority of said pores having a pore size ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns, said pores being uniformly distributed to form a water vapor flow path through the adhesive.
In at least one embodiment, the membrane with a pressure sensitive porous adhesive has a high vapor permeability greater than 50 Perms. In at least one embodiment, the pressure sensitive porous adhesive has a peel value using dynamic peel data from stainless steel of about 65 to about 15. In at least one embodiment, the pressure sensitive porous adhesive has a vapor permeability ranging from 50 to 70 Perms. In at least one embodiment, the adhesive copolymer has a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate. In at least one embodiment, the pressure sensitive adhesive has a density ranging between about 0.65 to about 0.75 after aeration.
In at least one embodiment, the adhesive has a pore density which ranges from about 4000 per in2 to about 4600 per in2. In at least one embodiment, the adhesive has a pore density of about 4400 per in2. In at least one embodiment, about 80% to about 90% of said formed pores have a pore size ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns.
In at least one embodiment, the adhesive contains a flame retardant material.
In at least one embodiment, the flame retardant material is Antimony Oxide. In at least one embodiment, the flame retardant material is taken from a group consisting of halogenated fire suppressants, hydrated inorganic compounds such as aluminum trihydratc, magnesium hydroxide, calcium borate and zinc borate, intumescent phosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, organic and inorganic phosphate compounds such as ammonium sulfate, sulfamate compounds and free radical scavenger materials such as antimony trioxide. In at least one embodiment, the flame retardant material is present in a range of about 0.5% by weight to about 3% by weight.
In at least one embodiment, the adhesive contains a flame retardant material of about 2% by weight to about 3%
by weight.
3a Another aspect of the present invention provides an air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane comprising a plurality of permeable spun bonded polypropylene sheets secured together, a coating of permeable pressure adhesive coated over an outer surface of one sheet of said membrane, said adhesive comprising a copolymer comprising a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate mixed with a surfactant and emulsified to produce bubbles in the adhesive which form pores when the copolymer is cured, said cured copolymer having about 80% to about 90% of the pore sizes ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns and a pore density in the cured pressure sensitive adhesive ranging from about 4200 per inch' to about 4600 per inch', said pores being uniformly distributed throughout said pressure sensitive adhesive to form a water vapor flow path through the adhesive. In at least one embodiment, the plastic sheets are spun polypropylene. In at least one embodiment, a release liner is placed on said adhesive material.
According to another aspect, there is provided a process for making an air permeable and vapor permeable membrane with a porous pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) backing comprising the steps of: a) adding water in an amount ranging from about 40% to about 50%
by weight to a copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive ranging from about 45% to about 50% by weight and mixing same to lower viscosity; b) adding at least one surfactant to the water copolymer mixture and mixing same for a suitable time to form bubbles throughout the copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive and surfactant mixture; c) pouring the bubble containing mixture of adhesive and surfactant into a coater; d) coating the bubble containing mixture onto a vapor permeable polyester membrane to cover a surface of said membrane with a coating having thickness ranging from about 3 mils to about 5 mils; e) heating the coated membrane at a suitable temperature for a suitable time to cure the bubbles in place in the bubble containing mixture to form pores in the coating; and 0 3b mounting a removable release cover to the coated porous membrane over the pressure sensitive adhesive.
In at least one embodiment, the coated membrane is cured at a temperature ranging from about 165 to about 265 F. In at least one embodiment, the mixing is accomplished by a high speed dispersion mixer rotated at about 5000 rpm. In at least one embodiment, about 80% to about 90%
of said formed bubbles are sized from about 200 to about 300 microns. In at least one embodiment, a fire retardant material is added to the copolymer surfactant mixture in the amount of about 2%
to about 3% by weight. In at least one embodiment, a fire retardant material is added to the copolymer surfactant mixture in the amount of about 0.5% by weight. In at least one embodiment, the coating of step d) is applied with a blade coater.
According to yet another aspect, there is provided a process for making an air permeable and vapor permeable membrane with a porous pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) copolymer backing comprising the steps of: a) adding water in an amount ranging from about 40% to about 50% by weight to a pressure sensitive adhesive copolymer ranging from about 45% to about 50%
by weight and mixing to lower viscosity; b) adding a surfactant to the mixture to produce emulsification and bubble size; c) adding a second surfactant to the mixture;
d) adding a thickener to said mixture and mixing same for a suitable time to form uniform bubbles throughout the mixture; e) pouring the bubble containing mixture into a coater feeder; f) coating the mixed adhesive onto a spun polypropylene membrane to cover the surface of said membrane at a thickness ranging from about 3 mils to about 5 mils; g) heating the coated membrane at a suitable temperature to accomplish curing for a suitable time to cure the bubble in place forming pores in the adhesive; and h) securing a removable cover to the coated membrane.
3c In at least one embodiment, the adhesive copolymer has a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-cthylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate. In at least one embodiment, a fire retardant material is added to the copolymer surfactant mixture.
A breathable multilayer spun bonded polypropylene membrane having a coated pressure sensitive adhesive capable of allowing air and moisture vapor to pass through it. The adhesive is formed of a copolymer comprising a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate which is mixed with a surfactant and emulsified in a foam mixer to produce a precisely homogenized mix of adhesive and air bubbles which form pores when the copolymer is set. About 80% to about 90% of the pore sizes in the foamed adhesive range from about 200 3d microns to about 300 microns and the cured pressure sensitive adhesive has a pore density ranging from about 4200 per inch2 to about 4600 per inch 2, with the pores being uniformly distributed and forming a flow path through the adhesive.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a membrane with a pressure sensitive adhesive which is porous with the pores being interconnected allowing vapor transmission through the adhesive.
It is another object of the invention to provide a membrane with a pressure sensitive adhesive covering the entire inner surface of the membrane which allows air and water vapor to be circulated through the adhesive.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a pressure sensitive porous adhesive which has fire retardant capabilities.
These and other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent when considered with the teachings contained in the detailed disclosure along with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a roll of the inventive construction membrane;
Figure 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the construction membrane shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a scanning electron microscopy photograph of the porous adhesive used with the construction membrane at 50x magnification; and Figure 4 is a scanning electron microscopy photograph of the porous adhesive used with the construction membrane at 200x magnification.

4 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The preferred embodiment and best mode of the invention is shown in Figures 1 -4.
A building construction envelope or laminate membrane 10 is constructed of multilayer sheets 12 of spun bonded porous polypropylene secured to a liner 13 having a layer of porous pressure sensitive adhesive 14 coated over the entire surface. The adhesive surface is covered by a removable film cover 15. When the film cover is removed, the membrane is mounted to a wall board 16 or roofing material. Cladding 18 in the form of one or more sheets of material is fastened over the outer surface of membrane 10 as shown in Figure 2. Air and vapor flow is shown by Arrows A.
Each sheet 12 is constructed of non-woven polypropylene fibers and the sheets are secured together to form a laminate. The membrane 10 is produced as a roll of sheet material 20, preferably 164 feet in length and with a width of 58-60 inches. The membrane 10 is water resistant with air permeability and has a water vapor transmission greater than 20 Perms, preferably ranging from 50 to 70 Perms. The produced membranes are inert and can be recycled into their original bed form for reuse.
The pressure sensitive porous adhesive 14 is coated onto the bottom layer or liner 13 of spun bonded polypropylene liner sheet which is secured as is well known in the art to another sheet or sheets of spun bonded polypropylene 12 to form a laminate membrane 10. The composite structure of the present invention has a high vapor permeability (50-70 Perms) and the adhesive breathes allowing vapor to escape and air to circulate while being water resistant.
A Penn is a unit of water vapor transmission defined as 1 grain of water vapor per square foot per hour per inch of mercury pressure difference (1 inch mercury = 0.49 psi). The metric unit of measure is ng/m2 s Pa. 1 perm = 55 ng/m2 s Pa. Permeability is the time rate of water vapor transmission through unit area of a material of unit thickness induced by unit vapor pressure difference between two specific surfaces, under specified temperature and humidity conditions. Membranes with a higher Pemi value greater than 20 reduce the risk of condensation and promote escape of moisture through the building envelope. Additionally, membranes with a high Penn value can help building materials dry-out during the construction phase.
The copolymer portion of the pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) has a backbone consisting of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate. The structure of the backbone is shown in Table I below as follows:
Table I: (Structure of PSA Polymer Backbone) n-Butylacr,ylate 2-Ethythexylacrylate Vimiacetate ( A B G I ) R
________________ CH2CH - ______ CH2 CH ____________ CH2-CH
6 c¨o c 6-ij 2 L s cH
r) 4:112 , I K
M CH2 ______________________________ CH CH2¨CH3 r a-42 NCH
F-13 0 cH2 PcH, The adhesive fully bonds to almost any substitute for air tightness and ease of installation and requires no primer_ The pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) is an acrylic solution. The polymeric portion of the PSA makes up at least 95% of the adhesive formulation and has a copolymer backbone of n-butyl acrylate (about 60% by weight), 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (about 32% by weight) and vinyl acetate (about 7% by weight) forming a copolymer solvent blend capable of accepting water.
Proper foaming of the adhesive is critical to good micropore formation. The aeration process includes high sheer mixing to entrain air in the mixed liquid solution. Once the proper foam level is produced, the adhesive needs to be coated on the liner and the micropores formed. The coating method used with the present invention was a blade coater. This is a non-contact coating method and it does not crush or destroy the foam during coating. It should be noted that other coating methods such as Meyer rod, comma coating and pattern bar coating were attempted but found to be detrimental to suitable micropore formation. After coating, the adhesive must be heated to lock-in the micropore formation. The adhesive in the present invention was reformulated by adding surfactants and water to the copolymer to control bubble size, bubble density, viscosity, and stability of the copolymer. The peel value of the adhesive is reduced by the introduction of voids (air bubbles) and the addition of surfactant such as long chain alcohols create a stable inverse emulsion. The peel value of the presently formulated adhesive during testing using dynamic peel data from stainless steel (Peel Adhesion ASTM D-3330) was about 25 oz. in at 1 minute; 27.5 oz. in at 10 minutes and 36.5 oz. in at 24 hours.
Microscopy of the modified adhesive surface was performed revealing a porous structure of the inventive adhesive having a bubble density (number of pores) ranging from about 4000 pores in 1.0 in2 to about 4600 pores in 1.0 in2, preferably about 4400 pores in 1.0 in2 with a majority of the pores, preferably about 80% to about 90% of the bubbles/pores having a size ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns. See Figures 3 and 4. The pores formed are generally round and oval in shape and form a vapor pathway through the adhesive layer. The majority of the pores 100 formed by the bubbles appear to be distributed evenly across the surface penetrating through the adhesive layer when the polymer mixture is heat treated to set the pores in the adhesive. The pore distribution is shown in Figure 4. Preferably, the density of the foamed adhesive should fall between about 0.65 and about 0.75 after aeration.
The reformatted PSA was manufactured as follows:
The adhesive copolymer as shown in Table I ranged from about 45% by weight to about 50% by weight, preferably about 48% to about 49% by weight. The copolymer was mixed with a first solvent-free, surfactant-based wetting agent, preferably ranging from about 4% by weight to about 6% by weight, and most preferably about 5% by weight to provide emulsification and bubble size; and a second surfactant such as a foaming agent ranging from about 1.5% by weight to about 2.0% by weight, and preferably about 1.7% by weight to provide foam formation. A
polymeric based water thickener was added to the mixture in a range from about 0.2% by weight to about 0.4% by weight, preferably about 0.30% by weight. The composition was added to water ranging from about 40% by weight to about 50% by weight, preferably about 43% by weight to about 45% by weight and mixed in a high speed dispersion mixer at 500 rpm to form uniform bubbles in the mixture and fed into a coater feeder as previously described. The foamed adhesive was coated onto a porous polypropylene liner sheet and heat cured to form an adhesive laminate with pores in place. The adhesive coated porous liner was then secured to a laminate constructed of spun polypropylene. The resultant foamed adhesive had average MVTR
(g/m2day-) of about 500 with a Peel adh @180 (measured stability) ranging from about 65 to 15, preferably about 40.
The pressure sensitive porous adhesive construction membrane is preferably made by adding a coating of adhesive to the bottom or liner sheet with the composition of the adhesive noted above. The porous adhesive is manufactured in the following steps:

A copolymer with a backbone of n-butyl acrylate (about 60% by weight), 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (about 32% by weight) and vinyl acetate (about 7% by weight) is added to a container;
Water is added in an amount ranging from about 40% by weight to about 50% by weight to the copolymer and mixed to lower viscosity;
A first surfactant ranging from about 4% to about 5% by weight is added to the copolymer/water mixture to provide emulsification;
A second surfactant ranging from about 0.15% to about 0.4% by weight is added to the mixture and mixed for about 20 minutes to provide thickening;
The final adhesive mixture is moved to a high speed dispersion mixer to aerate the adhesive mixture, mixed for about 10 to about 15 minutes at about 5000 rpm to provide emulsification forming the bubbles throughout the adhesive and poured into a coater feeder;
The aerated adhesive is coated onto a release liner using a blade coater which coats the liner between 3 and 5 mils thickness with the preferred thickness being about 4.0 mils;
The adhesive coated liner is dried and heat cured at temperatures ranging from about 165 F to about 265 F for a sufficient time to form a laminate and cure or set the bubbles (pores) in place; and Spun polypropylene laminate is then secured to a porous adhesive liner.
In a modified version, a flame retardant material Antimony Oxide was added to the adhesive mixture at about 2% by weight to about 3% by weight. Other flame retardant materials suitable for use with the adhesive may include halogenated fire suppressants, hydrated inorganic compounds such as aluminum trihydrate, magnesium hydroxide, calcium borate and zinc borate, intumescent phosphate, amrnonium polyphosphate, organic and inorganic phosphate compounds such as ammonium sulfate, sulfamate compounds and free radical scavenger materials such as antimony trioxide.
The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments which have been described above. Instead, the embodiments described here should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.
Variations and changes may be made by others without departing from the scope of the present inventions defined by the following claims.
1.0

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane comprising a plurality of permeable plastic sheets secured together, a coating of permeable pressure sensitive adhesive coated to an outer surface of one sheet of said membrane, said pressure sensitive adhesive comprising a copolymer with a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and vinyl acetate which is mixed with water and at least one surfactant and emulsified to produce air bubbles which form interconnected pores within said copolymer when the copolymer is cured, said pores being uniformly distributed within said pressure sensitive adhesive and distributed evenly across the surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive penetrating the surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive to form a water vapor flow path through the pressure sensitive adhesive ranging from about 20 Perms to about 50 Perms and a release liner covering said pressure sensitive adhesive coating.

2. The vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said membrane with a pressure sensitive porous adhesive has a high vapor permeability of about 50 Perms.

3. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2 wherein said pressure sensitive adhesive has a density ranging between about 0.65 to about 0.75 after aeration.

4. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said pressure sensitive adhesive has a pore density which ranges from about 4000 per in2 to about 4600 per in2 with about 80% to about 90% of said pores having a pore size ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns.

5. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 4 wherein said adhesive pore configuration is primarily round and oval.

6. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said pressure sensitive adhesive further contains a flame retardant material.

7. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 6 wherein said flame retardant material is Antimony Oxide.

8. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 6 wherein said flame retardant material is taken from a group consisting of halogenated fire suppressants, hydrated inorganic compounds, intumescent phosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, organic and inorganic phosphate compounds, ammonium sulfate, sulfamate compounds and free radical scavenger materials.

9. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 8, wherein the hydrated inorganic compounds are selected from aluminum trihydrate, magnesium hydroxide, calcium borate and zinc borate.

10. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 9 wherein said flame retardant material is present in a range of about 0.5% by weight to about 3% by weight.

11. An air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane comprising a backing including permeable spun bonded polypropylene sheets, a coating of permeable pressure sensitive adhesive coated at a thickness ranging from about 3 mils to about 5 mils over an outer surface of one sheet of said membrane, said permeable pressure sensitive adhesive comprising a solvent-free copolymer with a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate mixed with at least one surfactant, said adhesive being emulsified to produce air bubbles in the adhesive surfactant mixture which form pores when the copolymer mixture is cured, with a majority of the pore sizes ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns, said pores being connected and uniformly distributed throughout said pressure sensitive adhesive to form a water vapor flow path through the adhesive, said membrane and adhesive coating having a water vapor transmission greater than 20 Perms and a release liner covering said pressure sensitive adhesive coating.

12. The air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in claim 11 wherein said cured adhesive has a pore density ranging from about 4200 per inch2 to 4600 per inch2.

13. The air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in claim 12 wherein said adhesive pore density is about 4400 per in2.

14. The air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein said adhesive further contains a flame retardant material.

15. The air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in claim 14 wherein said flame retardant material is taken from a group consisting of halogenated fire suppressants. hydrated inorganic compounds, intumescent phosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, organic and inorganic phosphate compounds, ammonium sulfate, sulfamate compounds and free radical scavenger materials.

16. The air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in claim 15, wherein the hydrated inorganic compounds are selected from aluminum trihydrate, magnesium hyroxide, calcium borate and zinc borate.

17. The air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in claim 15, wherein the free radical scavenger materials are selected from antimony trioxide.

18. A process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane with a permeable pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) backing comprising the steps of:
a) adding water in an amount ranging from about 40% to about 50% by weight to an acrylic copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive ranging from about 45% to about 50% by weight and mixing same to form a lower viscosity solution, wherein the acrylic copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive comprises a copolymer having a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and vinyl acetate;

b) adding at least one solvent-free surfactant to the water copolymer solution and mixing same for a suitable time period to form air bubbles throughout the copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive and surfactant solution;
c) pouring the bubble containing solution of adhesive and surfactant into a coater;
d) coating the bubble containing solution of adhesive and surfactant onto a water resistant vapor permeable polyester membrane to cover a surface of said membrane with a coating having thickness ranging from about 3 mils to about 5 mils;
e) heating the coated membrane at a suitable temperature for a suitable time to cure the pressure sensitive adhesive solution with the entrained bubbles to form interconnected pores in the now permeable coating; and f) mounting a removable release cover to the coating over the cured pressure sensitive adhesive.

19. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 18 wherein said coated membrane is heated at a temperature ranging from about 165° to about 265° F.

20. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 18 wherein said mixing in step b) is accomplished by a high speed dispersion mixer rotated at about 5000 rpm.

21. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 20 wherein about 80% to about 90% of said air bubbles formed in step b) are sized from about 200 to about 300 microns.

22. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 21 wherein after step b) a fire retardant material is added to the copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive and surfactant solution in the amount of about 2% to about 3% by weight.

23. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 18 wherein the coating of step d) is applied with a blade coater.

24. A process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane with a porous pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) copolymer backing comprising the steps of:
a) adding water in an amount ranging from about 40% to about 50% by weight to a pressure sensitive adhesive copolymer having a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and vinyl acetate ranging from about 45% to about 50% by weight and mixing the water and pressure sensitive adhesive copolymer to form a lower viscosity solution;
b) adding a first solvent free surfactant to said solution to produce emulsification and bubble size;
c) adding a second surfactant to said solution to provide a foaming agent;
d) adding a thickener to said solution of step c) and mixing the solution at a high rate of speed for a suitable time to form and entrain air bubbles having a designated size range throughout the solution;
e) pouring the bubble containing solution into a coater feeder;

f) coating the adhesive surfactant thickener solution onto a water resistant vapor permeable spun polypropylene membrane to cover the surface of said membrane with said coating having a thickness ranging from about 3 mils to about 5 mils;
g) heating the coated membrane at a suitable temperature to accomplish curing of the adhesive surfactant thickener composite solution for a suitable time to cure the air bubbles in place forming interconnected pores in the cured pressure sensitive adhesive; and h) securing a removable release cover to the coated membrane pressure sensitive adhesive.

25. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 24 wherein a fire retardant material is added to the copolymer surfactant solution in step d).

26. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane with a porous pressure sensitive adhesive copolymer backing as claimed in claim 24 or 25 wherein in step b) about 80% to about 90% of said formed air bubbles are sized from about 200 to about 300 microns

27. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 24 to 26 wherein said coated membrane is cured in step g) at a temperature ranging from about 165° F to about 265° F.

28. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 24 to 27 wherein said first surfactant is a solvent-free wetting agent to provide emulsification and bubble size, said first surfactant ranging from about 4% by weight to about 6% by weight of said solution and said second surfactant is a foaming agent ranging from about 1.5% by weight to about 2.0% by weight of said solution.

29. A process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane with a porous pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) backing comprising the steps of:
a) adding water in an amount ranging from about 40% to about 50% by weight to a pressure sensitive adhesive having a copolymer backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate ranging from about 45% to about 50% by weight and mixing same to a lower viscosity uniform solution:
b) adding at least one surfactant to the water copolymer solution and mixing same to form a pressure sensitive adhesive solution;
c) mixing said pressure sensitive adhesive solution for a suitable time in a high sheer mixer forming air bubbles throughout the water, copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive and surfactant solution;
d) pouring the air bubble containing solution of water, copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive and surfactant into a coater assembly;
e) coating the bubble containing solution onto a water resistant vapor permeable polyester membrane to cover an outer surface of said membrane with a coating having a thickness which will entrain air bubbles ranging from about 200 microns to about 300 microns in size;

heating the coated membrane at a suitable temperature for a suitable time to cure the air bubbles in place in the bubble containing solution to form a cured pressure sensitive coating with interconnected pores positioned throughout the coating with some of said interconnected pores penetrating the surface of the coating to create a vapor permeable coating; and g) mounting a removable release cover over the cured pressure sensitive adhesive coating.

30. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 29 wherein said at least one surfactant are two surfactants, one surfactant to provide emulsion and air bubble size and a second surfactant being a foaming agent.

31. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 29 or 30 wherein in step c) said surfactant, water and copolymer pressure sensitive adhesive solution is mixed in a high sheer mixer to entrain air bubbles uniformly in said solution.

32. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 31 wherein said at least one surfactant includes a long chain alcohol which creates a stable emulsion.

33. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 32 wherein said coated membrane is cured in step f) at a temperature ranging from about 165° F to about 265° F.

34. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 33 wherein about 80% to about 90% of said air bubbles formed in step c) are sized ranging from about 200 to about 300 microns.

35. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 34 wherein said formed pores are generally round and oval in shape and are evenly distributed throughout the adhesive coating and across the coating surface to form a vapor pathway through the adhesive coating.

36. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 35 wherein said mixing in step c) is undertaken by a high speed dispersion mixer mixed at about 5000 RPM for about 10 minutes to about 15 minutes to provide emulsification forming the bubbles throughout the adhesive solution.

37. The process for making a water resistant air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 36 wherein said coater assembly is a blade coater.

38. An air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane comprising a plurality of permeable spun bonded polypropylene sheets secured to form a laminate backing member, a coating of permeable pressure sensitive adhesive without a tackifier coated over an outer surface of one sheet of said backing member, said adhesive comprising a copolymer with a backbone of n-butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate ranging from about 45% by weight to about 50% by weight mixed with at least two surfactants one of which is a solvent free surfactant based wetting agent ranging from about 4% by weight to about 6% by weight and water ranging from about 40% by weight to 50% by weight to provide a solvent free wetting agent, said mixture being emulsified to produce air bubbles in the adhesive which form pores when the copolymer is cured, said permeable pressure sensitive adhesive having a pore density which ranges from about 4000 per 1.0 inch2 to about 4600 per 1.0 inch2 with said pores being uniformly distributed throughout said permeable pressure sensitive adhesive to form a water vapor flow path through said pressure sensitive adhesive, said backing member and permeable pressure sensitive adhesive coating forming a building membrane having a vapor permeability of at least 50 Perms and a release liner covering said pressure sensitive adhesive coating.

39. The air permeable and vapor permeable building membrane as claimed in claim 38 wherein said membrane and pressure sensitive adhesive coating has a vapor permeability ranging from about 50 Perms to about 70 Perms.

40. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in claim 38 or 39 wherein said permeable pressure sensitive adhesive has a copolymer backbone comprising n-butyl acrylate about 60% by weight, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate about 32% by weight and vinyl acetate about 7% by weight forming a blend capable of accepting water and at least one surfactant.

41. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 38 to 40 wherein said adhesive contains a flame retardant material.

42. The air permeable and vapor permeable membrane as claimed in any one of claims 38 to 41 wherein said pressure sensitive adhesive has a density ranging between about 0.65 to about 0.75 after curing.