JP2010066491A - Resin for electrophotographic toner and the electrophotographic toner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a resin for electrophotographic toner and the electrophotographic toner capable of achieving satisfactory dispersibility of biodegradable resin used as a binding resin and attaining satisfactory fixing properties and durability. <P>SOLUTION: The resin for the electrophotographic toner is prepared, by hydrolyzing the biodegradable resin and reducing the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin, to a value which is not below 5,000. The electrophotographic toner contains the resin for the electrophotographic toner and a coloring agent. The biodegradable resin, water, and the coloring agent are melted and mixed to reduce the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin to a value which is not below 5,000 for the electrophotographic toner. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophotographic toner resin and an electrophotographic toner, and more particularly to an electrophotographic toner resin and an electrophotographic toner containing a biodegradable resin in a binder resin.

  Image formation by electrophotography is performed by developing and visualizing an electrostatic image with toner, transferring the obtained toner image onto a sheet, and then fixing it with heat and pressure. As the toner used for such image formation, a toner prepared by kneading a mixture of a binder resin and a colorant or a charge control agent, and adjusting the particle size distribution by pulverization is used.

  Conventionally, petroleum-derived resins such as styrene / acrylic resins and polyester resins have been used as binder resins for toners. However, in recent years, due to environmental considerations, a method has been proposed in which biodegradable resins that have a low environmental impact during disposal, especially biomass-derived biodegradable resins made from renewable resources, are used as binder resins for toners. ing.

  As one of them, there is a proposal to use a microbial aliphatic polyester having biodegradability as a binder resin (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a microbial aliphatic polyester is used as a toner resin. If used as it is, the grindability is poor and it is difficult to obtain the desired particle size distribution. In addition, since the softening temperature of the toner is high, there is a problem that the fixing temperature must be set high.

  In order to improve these problems, proposals have been made to lower the softening temperature by adding a large amount of plant-based wax to the biodegradable resin (see, for example, Patent Document 2). However, it is possible to lower the softening temperature of the toner by adding a large amount of wax. However, the toner easily aggregates due to the wax component. Deteriorating causes problems such as inferior toner transportability in the developing machine.

  In addition, in order to obtain low-temperature fixability and fixing stability, there is a proposal using a binder resin containing two types of resins having different softening points and a biodegradable resin (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4). According to these proposals, the low softening point resin serves as a bridge between the high softening point resin and the biodegradable resin, and the biodegradable resin is uniformly dispersed in the binder resin. However, in this proposal, the blending ratio of the biodegradable resin in the binder resin is reduced to about 20% by mass. The reason is considered that when the blending ratio of the biodegradable resin is further increased, the biodegradable resin is poorly dispersed, and the durability deteriorates due to a decrease in developability due to variations in charging performance.

  As described above, there are many problems in using biodegradable resin as the main resin component of toner binder resin, and even when part of binder resin is replaced with biodegradable resin, the amount of the compound is limited. Therefore, it is desired that more biodegradable resins and biomass plastics can be blended while maintaining the properties as a binder resin.

  Conventionally, a biodegradable resin is mixed with a colorant and other additives, melt kneaded, and the material is dispersed. Among biodegradable resins, for example, polylactic acid has a melting point of about 170 ° C., and the softening temperature is too high to be used alone for toners. When a low softening point substance is mixed in order to improve this problem, the viscosity difference between polylactic acid and the low softening point substance in melt-kneading is large, and uniform dispersion is difficult. As proposed in Patent Documents 3 and 4, even when the binder resin was added, the blending amount of the biodegradable resin was limited.

A method for improving the dispersibility of the raw material components by adding water during mixing of the toner raw materials has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 5), but this proposal uses a biodegradable resin. is not.
JP-A-4-179967 Japanese Patent No. 2597452 JP 2006-91278 A JP 2006-285150 A JP 2007-271820 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electrophotographic toner resin and an electrophotographic toner that include a biodegradable resin as a binder resin and can obtain good pulverizability and fixability. And

  In order to solve the above problems, the first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the biodegradable resin is hydrolyzed to reduce the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin to a value not less than 5,000. An electrophotographic toner resin is provided.

  The hydrolysis can be caused by melting and kneading the biodegradable resin and water.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic toner comprising the above resin for electrophotographic toner and a colorant.

  A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a biodegradable resin, water, and a colorant are melt-kneaded to reduce the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin to a value not less than 5,000. An electrophotographic toner is provided.

  In the above electrophotographic toner resin and electrophotographic toner, a polylactic acid resin can be used as the biodegradable resin.

  Moreover, the molecular weight of the reduced biodegradable resin can be set to 5,000-50,000.

  In addition, the resin for electrophotographic toner and the electrophotographic toner described above can further contain a hydrolysis inhibitor.

  According to the present invention, there are provided an electrophotographic toner resin and an electrophotographic toner capable of obtaining good pulverization property and fixing property even though a biodegradable resin is contained as a binder resin.

  Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  The electrophotographic toner resin according to the first embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the biodegradable resin is hydrolyzed to reduce the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin.

  Usable biodegradable resins include, for example, polyhydroxybutyrate, poly (hydroxybutyrate / hydroxyhexanoate) as a microorganism production system, esterified starch, cellulose acetate, chitosan, chemical synthesis as a natural product system Examples of the system include polylactic acid, polycouplertone, polybutylene succinate, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyglycolic acid. In particular, the raw material is preferably renewable biomass, and more preferably industrially manufacturable.

  Specifically, Nature Works sells polylactic acid resin commercially, and recently, Teles, a joint venture of Metabolic and ADM, has been producing polyhydroxyalkanoic acid-based biodegradable resins every year. A production plan for 10,000 tons has been announced. All of these are biomass plastics and are beginning to be used for applications utilizing biodegradability. Use of these biodegradable resins is advantageous in terms of cost.

  A polylactic acid resin which is a typical biodegradable resin is a resin having the following structural formula.

(OCH (CH ₃ ) CO) _n
Polylactic acid is a polymer in which lactic acid is bonded by an ester bond, and has recently attracted attention as an environmentally friendly biodegradable plastic. In other words, in nature, enzymes that cleave ester bonds (esterases) are widely distributed, so polylactic acid is gradually decomposed by such enzymes in the environment and converted into lactic acid, which is a monomer. And eventually carbon dioxide and water.

  The manufacturing method of biodegradable resin is not specifically limited, A conventionally well-known method can be used. Among known production methods, for example, in polylactic acid, fermenting starch such as corn as a raw material to obtain lactic acid, followed by dehydration condensation directly from lactic acid monomer, or cyclic dimer lactide from lactic acid There is a method of synthesis by ring-opening polymerization in the presence of a catalyst. There are optical isomers in lactic acid, and there are L-lactic acid and D-lactic acid, and either lactic acid alone or in a mixture may be used.

  In addition, commercially available polylactic acid is synthesized by a ring-opening polymerization method for obtaining a higher molecular weight in order to improve heat resistance, and the number-average molecular weight is mainly 100,000 or more. . Such a high molecular weight polylactic acid has a too high softening point and poor fixability, and also has poor grindability. Therefore, it is necessary to hydrolyze the resin and reduce the molecular weight.

  In the electrophotographic toner resin according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the biodegradable resin is hydrolyzed by heating the biodegradable resin to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature and reacting with moisture. Is called. Specific methods include a method of melt-kneading with water and a method of treating in a constant temperature and humidity chamber. A conventionally known kneader can be used as a kneader used when melt-kneading with water. For example, a biaxial kneader, a pressure kneader, an open roll, etc. are mentioned.

  The hydrolysis reaction in the melt-kneading can be performed by adding 0.1 to 100% by mass of water to the biodegradable resin. The water may be added by mixing the biodegradable resin and water in advance before melt kneading, or a certain amount of water may be added to the place where the biodegradable resin is melted. Moreover, when the water added at the time of melt-kneading evaporates and comes out of a system, the method of supplying water timely is preferable.

  The temperature condition in the melt kneading is not particularly limited as long as it is a temperature at which the biodegradable resin melts, and is one of the parameters for reducing the molecular weight. A biodegradable resin having a molecular weight reduced to a desired molecular weight can be obtained by appropriately adjusting the kneading temperature, the number of rotations, the kneading supply amount, the residence time, the addition amount of water, the addition method, and the like.

  Here, the specific number average molecular weight of the biodegradable resin having a reduced molecular weight is a value not less than 5,000, preferably 100,000 or less, more preferably 50,000 or less, and still more preferably 5, 000-30,000. If the molecular weight is too high, it will be difficult to sufficiently lower the softening point and improve the grindability. On the other hand, if the molecular weight is too small, there is a possibility of deteriorating the storage stability of the toner after becoming a product.

  As described above, the biodegradable resin having a reduced molecular weight has a softening point that is reduced, pulverization is improved, and optimal properties as a resin for toner.

  If the number average molecular weight of the biodegradable resin is less than 5,000, the resin is fused in the machine at the time of pulverization, and further pulverization becomes difficult, and toner cannot be formed.

  The electrophotographic toner according to the second embodiment of the present invention can be produced by a conventionally known method using the above-described resin for electrophotographic toner having a reduced molecular weight as the binder resin. For example, after mixing a biodegradable resin, a colorant, and other additives as necessary, the raw material mixture is kneaded with a kneader such as a biaxial kneader, a pressure kneader, or an open roll, and then the kneaded product is mixed. After cooling, the toner can be obtained by pulverizing with a pulverizer such as a jet mill and classifying with an air classifier.

  Since the obtained electrophotographic toner has a reduced molecular weight of the biodegradable resin as described above, the softening point is lowered, and the grindability and fixability are improved.

  In the electrophotographic toner according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin is reduced by adding water and other toner components to the biodegradable resin and melt kneading, and then the kneaded product. After being cooled, it is pulverized by a pulverizer such as a jet mill and classified by an air classifier or the like.

  Also in the electrophotographic toner obtained by such a method, the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin is reduced, so that the grindability and fixability are good.

  In the case of the toner obtained by any of the above methods, the particle diameter is not particularly limited, but is usually adjusted to 5 to 10 μm. An external additive can be added to the toner thus obtained in order to improve fluidity, adjust chargeability, and improve durability. As the external additive, inorganic fine particles are generally used, and examples thereof include silica, titania, alumina and the like. Of these, hydrophobized silica is preferable, and is commercially available from Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., CABOT Co., etc. The primary particle diameter is preferably 7 to 40 nm, and two or more kinds may be mixed for improving the function.

  Conventionally known colorants can be used as the colorant used in the toner according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention. For example, as a black colorant, carbon black and as a blue colorant, C.I. I. Pigment 15: 3, and red colorants include C.I. I. Pigment 57: 1, 122, 269, and yellow colorants include C.I. I. Pigment 74, 180, 185 and the like. In consideration of the influence on the environment which is one of the objects of the present invention, a single colorant having high safety is preferable. The content of these colorants is preferably 1 to 10% by mass with respect to the whole toner. The colorant may be in the form of a masterbatch in which a resin and a colorant are dispersed in high concentration in advance.

  Conventionally known release agents can be added to the toners according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention as necessary. Examples of such release agents include olefinic waxes such as polypropylene wax, polyethylene wax, and Fischer-Tropsch wax, natural waxes such as carnauba wax, rice wax, and scale insect wax, and synthetic ester waxes. In order to improve low-temperature fixability and high-speed printing performance, the release agent has a relatively low melting point of about 60 to 100 ° C., and specifically, carnauba wax and synthetic ester wax are preferred. In consideration of environmental impact, natural product carnauba wax is more preferable. The addition amount of the release agent is preferably 1 to 10% by mass with respect to the whole toner.

  Conventionally known charge control agents can be added to the toners according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention as necessary. For example, a quaternary ammonium salt, a resin containing an amino group, etc. as a positive charge control agent, a metal complex salt of salicylic acid, a metal complex salt of benzyl acid, a calixarene type phenolic condensate, a carboxyl as a negative charge control agent There are resins containing groups. The blending amount of the charge control agent is preferably 0.1 to 5% by mass with respect to the whole toner.

  Conventionally known toner resins can be added to the toners according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention as necessary. Conventionally known toner resins include styrene / acrylic resins, polyester resins, and the like. From the viewpoint of pigment dispersibility and low-temperature fixability, polyester resins developed for toners are preferred. The toner resin may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Considering the influence on the environment, which is one of the objects of the present invention, the toner resin is preferably 0 to 50% by mass with respect to the whole toner.

  As other materials, a low molecular weight resin can be added to improve grindability, fixability and the like. Here, as low molecular weight resin, there are rosin and rosin derivatives, polyterpene resin, terpene phenol resin, petroleum resin, and the like, which are resins in the oligomer region with molecular weight of several hundred to several thousand and are commercially available as tackifiers.

  A conventionally known hydrolysis inhibitor can be added to the toner according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention as necessary. Examples of the hydrolysis inhibitor include carbodiimide compounds, isocyanate compounds, and oxazoline compounds. By such a hydrolysis inhibitor, the residual monomer and the hydroxyl group and carboxyl terminal produced by decomposition can be blocked, and the hydrolysis chain reaction can be suppressed. In the embodiment of the present invention, by adding a hydrolysis inhibitor, the original hydrolysis resistance is improved, and an effect is also obtained for adjusting the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin.

  As a specific hydrolysis inhibitor, “Carbodilite LA-1” manufactured by Nisshinbo Co., Ltd., which is a polycarbodiimide compound, is commercially available. It is preferable that the addition amount of a hydrolysis inhibitor is 0.01-10 mass% with respect to biodegradable resin, and 0.05-5 mass% is more preferable. When the amount is too large, the transparency is deteriorated and the color of the toner tends to be deteriorated.

Examples Examples and comparative examples of the present invention will be described below, and the present invention will be described more specifically.

  1. The measuring method of each physical-property value of the component used in the Example and the comparative example.

(Measurement of softening point)
Apparatus: Flow tester (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation, CFT-500D)
Sample: 1g
Temperature increase rate: 6 ° C / min Load: 20kg Nozzle: 1mm in diameter, 1mm in length
1/2 method: The temperature at which half of the sample flowed out was taken as the softening point.

(Measurement of toner particle size)
Equipment: Multisizer II (manufactured by Coulter, Inc.)
Sample: A small amount of sample, purified water, and a surfactant were placed in a beaker and dispersed with an ultrasonic cleaner.

  Measurement: The aperture was 100 μm, the count was 50,000, and the volume average particle size was obtained.

(Measurement of molecular weight)
Equipment: GPC (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation), detector RI
The molecular weight Mn is a number average molecular weight measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography) using a calibration curve prepared with a polystyrene sample having a known molecular weight as a standard.

2. Production of biodegradable resin fine 1 used in Examples and Comparative Examples 100 parts by mass of polylactic acid (manufactured by Kaisho Biochemical Co., Ltd .: REVODE 101, molecular weight Mn = 1115,000) and 5 parts by mass of distilled water are pressurized The kneader was charged and melt kneaded at a kneading temperature of 200 ° C. for 30 minutes. During kneading, distilled water was added as needed while watching the evaporation of water. The kneaded product was stretched and cooled, and then roughly crushed to obtain a roughly crushed product. The obtained crude product had a molecular weight of 50,000.

Kneading was performed in the same manner as described above, and various biodegradable resins having different molecular weights were prepared by changing the kneading time, kneading temperature, water addition amount, and presence / absence of a hydrolysis inhibitor as an additive as shown in Table 1 below. .

Example 1
Each component of the following blending amount was put into a Henschel mixer (standard feather mounted, manufactured by Mitsui Mining Co., Ltd.) and mixed.

Biodegradable resin 1 with reduced molecular weight (molecular weight: 50,000) 90 parts by weight Colorant: Carbon black (MOGUL L manufactured by CABOT Co., Ltd.) 4 parts by weight Release agent: Carnauba wax No. 1 powder (Nippon Wax Co., Ltd. 5 parts by mass Charge control agent: E-84 (manufactured by Orient Chemical Co., Ltd.) 1 part by mass After the obtained mixed powder was melt-kneaded with a pressure kneader, the melt was taken out, stretched, cooled, The mixture was roughly crushed with a rotoplex (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation, 2 mm screen). Thereafter, the mixture was pulverized and classified by an impact pulverizer / air classifier so that the average particle diameter of the toner became 9.0 μm, thereby obtaining fine particles.

  As an external additive, 2 parts by mass of “RY200” (manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd .: hydrophobic silica, primary particle size of 12 nm) is added to 100 parts by mass of the obtained fine particles, and a Henschel mixer (with stirring reinforcing wings, Mitsui) is added. (Mine Co., Ltd.) for 3 minutes with stirring to obtain a toner.

Example 2
An electrophotographic toner was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the biodegradable resin 2 (molecular weight: 20,000) having a reduced molecular weight was used instead of the biodegradable resin 1 (molecular weight: 50,000) having a reduced molecular weight. Produced.

Example 3
An electrophotographic toner was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that biodegradable resin 3 (molecular weight: 10,000) having a reduced molecular weight was used instead of biodegradable resin 1 (molecular weight: 50,000) having a reduced molecular weight. Produced.

Example 4
Example 1 was used except that biodegradable resin 4 (molecular weight: 20,000 including a hydrolysis inhibitor) was used instead of biodegradable resin 1 (molecular weight: 50,000) having a reduced molecular weight. Similarly, an electrophotographic toner was produced.

Example 5
A commercially available polylactic acid (REVODE101, molecular weight: 115,000) was used in place of the biodegradable resin 1 (molecular weight: 50,000) with a reduced molecular weight, except that 10 parts by weight of distilled water was added to the above components and kneaded. In the same manner as in Example 1, an electrophotographic toner was produced.

Example 6
Electrophotography in the same manner as in Example 1 except that biodegradable resin 5 (molecular weight: 5,000) with reduced molecular weight was used instead of biodegradable resin 1 (molecular weight: 50,000) with reduced molecular weight. A toner was prepared.

Example 7
An electrophotographic toner was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 1 part of a hydrolysis inhibitor (carbodilite LA-1) was added as a toner material.

Comparative Example 1
An electrophotographic toner was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that commercially available polylactic acid (REVODE101, molecular weight: 115,000) was used instead of the biodegradable resin 1 (molecular weight: 50,000) having a reduced molecular weight.

Comparative Example 2
An electrophotographic toner was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that biodegradable resin 6 (molecular weight: 3,000) having a reduced molecular weight was used instead of biodegradable resin 1 (molecular weight: 50,000) having a reduced molecular weight. Produced.

  The fog, density stability, durability, fixability, and color developability of the toners of Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 obtained as described above were tested and evaluated by the following test methods.

Test 1-fogging Non-magnetic one-component developing device “Casio Page Presto N-5” (manufactured by Casio Computer Co., Ltd .: 29 color printers per minute, process speed 129 mm / sec) mounted with toner in a normal environment (25 After printing 10,000 sheets of 5% print images continuously using plain paper (XEROX-P paper A4 size) at 50 ° C (50 ° C, 50% RH), perform blank paper printing and open the front door while printing. Thus, printing was forcibly terminated, and the fog toner on the OPC drum at that time was copied onto a mending tape and pasted on a blank sheet, and compared with a tape from which fog toner was not collected. In the measurement, the maximum value of the difference before and after fogging was determined as the fog value from the XYZ value obtained using a spectroscopic color difference meter “SE-2000” manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Co., Ltd., and evaluated according to the following criteria.

A: The fog value is less than 2 and good. B: The fog value is 2 or more and less than 5. Δ: The fog value is 5 or more and less than 10. Level at which there is no practical problem ×: Poor fog value of 10 or more Test 2—Concentration stability Using the same equipment as in Test 1, in the normal environment (25 ° C., 50% RH), 14,000 5% printed images Continuous printing. In the middle, an A4 solid image is printed every 2,000 sheets, and the image density is measured at the four corners and the center five points to obtain the average density. (At that time, the image defect portion due to white streaks or the like is not measured.) Among the average densities obtained at each sampling point, the density stability is obtained from the maximum value and the minimum value according to the following formula and evaluated according to the following criteria.

Concentration stability (%) = Minimum average density / Maximum average density × 100
◎: Concentration stability is 95% or more, good ◯: Concentration stability is 85% or more, △: Concentration stability is 75% or more, and there is no practical problem ×: Concentration stability is less than 75%, bad Test 3 -Durability Using the same apparatus as in Test 1, 16,000 sheets of 5% print images were continuously printed in a normal environment (25 ° C, 50% RH). In the middle, solid images and halftone images were printed every 2,000 sheets, and the number of white stripes generated by blade fusion was evaluated.

◎: Not generated up to 16,000 sheets ○: Generated after 14,000 sheets (practically acceptable level)
Δ: Generated after 12,000 sheets x: Generated when less than 12,000 sheets Test 4-Fixability Modified to be able to vary the temperature of the fixing part of the same device as in Test 1 and used as a fixing tester. After obtaining an unfixed image with this apparatus, the fixing temperature of the upper roll was varied in a range of 100 to 200 ° C. every 10 ° C., and the unfixed image was passed through a fixing device. At that time, the lower roll was set at a temperature 10 ° C. lower than the set temperature of the upper roll. The cold offset, hot offset, and peeled nail trace of the image sample were visually evaluated, and a non-offset area was obtained and evaluated. The process speed was 129.3 mm / sec, and the paper was XEROX P paper A4 size (weight 64 g / m ² ). The oil supply roll of the fixing device was removed.

  A: The non-offset region is 30 ° C. or higher.

  ○: The non-offset region is 20 ° C. or higher.

  (Triangle | delta): A non-offset area | region is 20 degrees C or less.

  X: A non-offset area | region is 10 degrees C or less.

Test 5-Crushability When pulverizing and classifying the kneaded and crushed product in the pulverization / classification step, the determination is made based on the yield (mass%) of the particles serving as the toner base. In reality, there is no problem if the yield is 70% or more. At this time, the pulverization conditions are adjusted so that the volume average particle diameter of the toner is 9 μm, the number ratio of 3 μm or less as fine powder is 5% or less, and the volume ratio of 16 μm or more as coarse powder is 3% or less.

○: Yield 65% or more X: Yield less than 65% The results of the above tests 1 to 5 are shown in Table 2 below.

  From Table 2 above, the following is clear. In the case of using biodegradable resins 1-5 whose molecular weight was reduced within a range not lower than 5,000 by hydrolysis (Examples 1-4, 6, 7), any of Tests 1-5 Shows good results. Even when a high molecular weight (115,000) commercially available biodegradable resin that has not been subjected to molecular weight reduction treatment is used, when water is added and kneaded with other raw material components (Example 5), Similarly, the molecular weight is reduced and good results are obtained.

  On the other hand, when a high molecular weight (115,000) commercially available biodegradable resin that has not been subjected to molecular weight reduction treatment is used and kneaded with other raw material components without adding water (Comparative Example 1), When the test result excluding the fixing property is not good and the biodegradable resin 6 whose molecular weight is reduced to less than 5,000 by the molecular weight reduction treatment is used (Comparative Example 2), it cannot be converted into a toner, and the pulverization test When kneading was performed, the kneaded material adhered to the inside of the machine.

Claims (10)

  A resin for electrophotographic toner, wherein the biodegradable resin is hydrolyzed to reduce the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin to a value not less than 5,000.   2. The resin for electrophotographic toner according to claim 1, wherein the hydrolysis is caused by melting and kneading the biodegradable resin and water.   3. The resin for electrophotographic toner according to claim 1, wherein the biodegradable resin is a polylactic acid resin.   The resin for electrophotographic toner according to claim 1, wherein the reduced biodegradable resin has a molecular weight of 5,000 to 50,000.   The electrophotographic toner resin according to claim 1, further comprising a hydrolysis inhibitor.   An electrophotographic toner comprising the electrophotographic toner resin according to claim 1 or 2 and a colorant.   An electrophotographic toner obtained by melt-kneading a biodegradable resin, water, and a colorant to reduce the molecular weight of the biodegradable resin to a value not lower than 5,000.   The electrophotographic toner according to claim 6, wherein the biodegradable resin is a polylactic acid resin.   The electrophotographic toner according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the molecular weight of the reduced biodegradable resin is 5,000 to 50,000.   The electrophotographic toner according to claim 6, further comprising a hydrolysis inhibitor.