KR20150066075A - Method of manufacturing superabsorbent-coated yarn - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin. The method includes the steps of: (i) producing a composition including a binder and the superabsorbent resin by mixing, agitating, and heating the binder made of a thermoplastic polyurethane resin and the superabsorbent resin to reduce viscosity of the binder; and (ii) drying yarn after dipping the yarn in the composition. Viscosity of the binder can be reduced into a desired level by only heating the binder without using an organic solvent as the thermoplastic polyurethane resin is used as the binder when the composition is produced. Therefore, environment pollution, resulted from use of an organic solvent, and increase in production costs can be effectively prevented. The yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin by the method of the present invention has a high absorption rate without decrease in strength and an elongation rate and thus is advantageously used as a reinforcing material for an optical cable.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a superabsorbent-coated yarn,

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin, in which a viscosity of the binder can be lowered without using an organic solvent, Absorbing resin coated with a superabsorbent resin which can effectively prevent environmental pollution and an increase in manufacturing cost due to the coating of the superabsorbent resin and minimize the decrease in the strength and elongation of the yarn due to the coating of the superabsorbent resin.

U.S. Patent No. 5,635,569 discloses a method for producing a thread of a water-in-oil emulsion containing a superabsorbent material in an aqueous phase as a conventional technique for producing a thread coated with a superabsorbent material . However, since the above-mentioned prior art releases environment-causing substances such as isohexadecane during the drying process, additional devices and costs are required for the treatment of such harmful substances.

In order to solve the above problems, U.S. Patent No. 5,100,397, U.S. Patent No. 6,319,558, and U.S. Patent No. 6,284,367 disclose a method of coating an aqueous solution comprising a water-soluble crosslinkable polymer on a substrate, And the water-soluble polymer is crosslinked through a heat treatment process after impregnation to convert it into a water-insoluble superabsorbent material.

This method requires that the yarn be subjected to a high temperature heat treatment process for a long time in order to crosslink the water-insoluble polymer, which is not crosslinked at all, to a degree sufficient to form a water-insoluble substance having a high level of water absorbency. However, when a high-temperature heat treatment is performed for a long time, damage to the yarn is caused, which causes a decrease in the strength and elongation of the yarn. Decreasing the strength and elongation of the yarn used as the reinforcing material of the optical cable is fatal. Further, as the heat treatment time of the high temperature becomes longer, the productivity is lowered and the energy use is increased, which is economically disadvantageous.

Also, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2013-0015478 discloses a method of preparing a semi-crosslinked superabsorbent precursor dispersed solution comprising: (i) preparing a semi-crosslinked superabsorbent precursor dispersed solution;

(Ii) coating the yarn with the dispersion; And

(Iii) a method of manufacturing a yarn coated with a superabsorbent material (resin) through a step of heating a yarn coated with the dispersion so that the superabsorbent material precursor is completely crosslinked to form a superabsorbent material have. However, this method has a problem that it is difficult to produce a final product in a large amount and the appearance of the final product is deteriorated.

In Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2012-0070929, a superabsorbent resin such as a sodium acrylate absorbent and a polyurethane binder are added to an organic solvent and stirred to prepare a composition, followed by dipping (impregnating) the composition into the composition And drying it to produce a yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin.

However, since the above method uses an organic solvent for controlling the viscosity of the binder, problems such as environmental pollution and an increase in manufacturing cost have been caused.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin without lowering environmental pollution and manufacturing costs because the viscosity of the binder can be lowered to a desired level without using an organic solvent.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses a thermoplastic polyurethane resin as a binder when preparing a composition comprising a superabsorbent resin and a binder, whereby the viscosity of the binder can be lowered to a desired level by simple heating without using an organic solvent Let's do it.

Specifically, the present invention relates to a process for producing a composition comprising: (i) a step of mixing a binder which is a thermoplastic polyurethane resin with a superabsorbent resin while stirring and heating to lower the viscosity of the binder to prepare a composition comprising the binder and the superabsorbent resin; And (ii) dipping the yarn in the composition and drying.

Since the thermoplastic polyurethane resin is used as a binder in the preparation of the composition, the viscosity of the binder can be lowered to a desired level even by heating alone without using an organic solvent. Therefore, environmental pollution due to the use of an organic solvent can be prevented, .

The yarn produced by the present invention and coated with a superabsorbent resin is excellent in optical fiber reinforcing materials and the like because of its excellent water absorption without deteriorating strength and elongation.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the present invention encompasses all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

The method for producing a yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin according to the present invention comprises the steps of: (i) heating a binder and a superabsorbent resin which are thermoplastic polyurethane resins while mixing and stirring to lower the viscosity of the binder so as to contain the binder and the superabsorbent resin To form a composition; And (ii) dipping the yarn in the composition and drying.

The "superabsorbent resin" used in the present invention means an absorbent resin having a capability of absorbing water at least two times its own weight.

As used herein, the term "highly absorbent" means having a high absorption capacity capable of absorbing water at least two times its own weight.

In an embodiment of the present invention, first, a thermoplastic polyurethane binder and a superabsorbent resin are mixed at a ratio of 1: 2 to 4, and then the mixture is heated to 180 to 200 ° C while stirring to form a superabsorbent resin A composition is prepared.

The superabsorbent resin is (i) a polyacrylic acid, (ii) a polyacrylamide, or (iii) a copolymer of acrylic acid and acrylamide.

The temperature for heating the mixture of the thermoplastic polyurethane resin and the superabsorbent resin is adjusted to a temperature at which the viscosity of the binder falls to a desired level, and is preferably heated to 180 to 220 ° C.

Next, the yarn is dipped in a composition including the binder and the superabsorbent resin and dried to prepare a yarn coated with the superabsorbent resin.

The yarns may comprise continuous multifilaments. Particularly, considering the function as a reinforcing material, it is preferable that the multifilament is a high-strength multifilament. Therefore, the yarn of the present invention can be formed of aramid, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, or polybenzoxazole.

Optionally, the yarn may comprise continuous filaments of aramid multifilaments consisting of 1 to 20,000 monofilaments and having a linear density of 50 to 1,500 denier. One multifilament may constitute a single yarn, but a plurality of multifilaments may be combined to form a single yarn.

Since the thermoplastic polyurethane resin is used as a binder in the preparation of the composition, the viscosity of the binder can be lowered to a desired level even by heating alone without using an organic solvent. Therefore, environmental pollution due to the use of an organic solvent can be prevented, .

The yarn produced by the present invention and coated with a superabsorbent resin is excellent in optical fiber reinforcing materials and the like because of its excellent water absorption without deteriorating strength and elongation.

Hereinafter, the effects of the present invention will be described in more detail through examples and comparative examples. The embodiments illustrated below are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

Example  One

60 g of commercially available sodium acrylate superabsorbent resin (TPY-1000, manufactured by DIPEIWI INC.) And 20 g of a thermoplastic polyurethane resin binder (manufactured by Kolon Industries Co., Ltd.) were mixed and heated to 200 캜 with stirring to obtain a binder A composition comprising a superabsorbent resin was prepared.

Next, an aramid filament of 1,000 denier was dipped in the composition and dried in a heater at 160 캜 for 3 seconds to prepare an aramid filament coated with a superabsorbent resin.

The properties of the aramid filaments thus prepared were measured and the results are shown in Table 1.

Example  2

60 g of a commercially available sodium acrylate superabsorbent resin (TPY-1000, manufactured by DIPEIWI INC.) And 20 g of a thermoplastic polyurethane resin binder (manufactured by Kolon Industries Co., Ltd.) were mixed and heated to 200 with stirring to form a binder A composition comprising a water absorbent resin was prepared.

Next, 1,000 denier ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene filaments were dipped in the composition and dried in a heater of 160 for 3 seconds to prepare ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene filaments coated with a superabsorbent resin.

The properties of the ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene filament thus prepared were measured and the results are shown in Table 1.

Example  3

60 g of a commercially available sodium acrylate superabsorbent resin (TPY-1000, manufactured by DIPEIWI INC.) And 20 g of a thermoplastic polyurethane resin binder (manufactured by Kolon Industries Co., Ltd.) were mixed and heated to 200 with stirring to form a binder A composition comprising a water absorbent resin was prepared.

Next, 1,000 denier polybenzoxazole filaments were dipped in the composition and dried in a heater of 160 for 3 seconds to prepare a polybenzoxazole filament coated with a superabsorbent resin.

The physical properties of the polybenzoxazole filament thus prepared were measured, and the results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example  One

60 g of commercially available sodium acrylate superabsorbent resin (TPY-1000, product of TYPE WIRE) and 20 g of polyurethane binder (VCOAT-780, Vixx) were added to 900 g of methyl ethyl ketone (organic solvent) Followed by stirring and mixing to prepare a composition containing a binder and a superabsorbent resin.

Next, an aramid filament of 1,000 denier was dipped in the composition and dried in a heater at 160 캜 for 3 seconds to prepare an aramid filament coated with a superabsorbent resin.

The properties of the aramid filaments thus prepared were measured and the results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example  2

60 g of commercially available sodium acrylate superabsorbent resin (TPY-1000, product of TYPE WIRE) and 20 g of polyurethane binder (VCOAT-780, Vixx) were added to 900 g of methyl ethyl ketone (organic solvent) Followed by stirring and mixing to prepare a composition containing a binder and a superabsorbent resin.

Next, 1,000 denier ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene filaments were dipped in the composition and dried in a heater of 160 for 3 seconds to prepare ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene filaments coated with a superabsorbent resin.

The properties of the ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene filament thus prepared were measured and the results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example  3

60 g of commercially available sodium acrylate superabsorbent resin (TPY-1000, product of TYPE WIRE) and 20 g of polyurethane binder (VCOAT-780, Vixx) were added to 900 g of methyl ethyl ketone (organic solvent) Followed by stirring and mixing to prepare a composition containing a binder and a superabsorbent resin.

Next, 1,000 denier polybenzoxazole filaments were dipped in the composition and dried in a heater of 160 for 3 seconds to prepare a polybenzoxazole filament coated with a superabsorbent resin.

The physical properties of the polybenzoxazole filament thus prepared were measured, and the results are shown in Table 1.

Results of physical property evaluation division Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Comparative Example 1 Comparative Example 2 Comparative Example 3 Absorbency (%) 215 217 210 220 221 217 Strength (g / d) 22 30.6 34 22 30.1 33.5 Elongation (%) 2.73 2.95 2.8 2.70 3.26 2.70

The various physical properties listed in Table 1 were evaluated by the following methods.

Absorbency measurement of yarn

2 g of the sample was taken and cut to a uniform length of about 2 cm, and then immersed in 500 ml of distilled water at 20 캜 for 2 minutes each. Excess water was removed from fully wetted samples by centrifugation (2000 rpm, 1 min). After measuring the weight of the samples with excess water removed, the samples were hot air dried in an oven at 110 DEG C for 24 hours. After the weights of the dried samples were measured, the absorbency of the yarn was calculated using Equation 1 below.

Equation 1: Absorbency (%) of yarn = [(A-B) / B] x 100

Where A is the weight of the sample measured in the state of excess water removed after being immersed in distilled water and B is the weight of the sample measured after hot air drying.

Thread strength and Elongation  Measure

After stretching until the specimen of 25 cm length was broken in an Instron Engineering Corp. (Canton, Mass.) According to ASTM D885, the strength and elongation at the breaking point were determined. At this time, the tensile speed was 300 mm / min and the super load was the fineness x 1/30 g. This process was repeated 5 times and the average value was obtained.

The superabsorbent yarn prepared in Example 1 and the superabsorbent yarn prepared in Comparative Example 1 had similar physical properties as shown in Table 1. However, in Comparative Example 1, an organic solvent is used, but Embodiment 1 does not use an organic solvent. Thus, Example 1 has the effect of preventing environmental pollution and lowering the manufacturing cost as compared with Comparative Example 1 .

Claims (5)

(I) a step of mixing a binder, which is a thermoplastic polyurethane resin, with a superabsorbent resin, and heating the mixture while stirring to lower the viscosity of the binder to prepare a composition comprising the binder and the superabsorbent resin; And
(Ii) a step of dipping the yarn in the composition and then drying the yarn. The method according to claim 1, wherein the superabsorbent resin is one selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acid, polyacrylamide, and copolymers of acrylic acid and acrylamide. The method for producing a yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin according to claim 1, wherein the blend weight ratio of the thermoplastic polyurethane resin binder to the superabsorbent resin is 1: 2 to 4. The method for producing a yarn coated with a superabsorbent resin according to claim 1, wherein the binder is a thermoplastic polyurethane resin and the superabsorbent resin is mixed and stirred while being heated to 180 to 220 캜.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the yarn is one selected from the group consisting of an aramid filament, an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene filament, and a polybenzoxazole filament.