POLYMER MORTAR COMPOSITIONS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to novel one-part polymer mortar compositions exhibiting a variety of advantageous properties due at least in part to the inclusion therein of a silanated polymer. More particularly, the present mortar compositions can be water resistant and stain resistant and in certain embodiments, still resistant to shrinkage and / or cracking to be suitable for use in horizontal applications, in moist or even wet environments. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The construction industry has shown incredible flexibility, if not dynamic growth at times, during the past decade. As the industry has grown, so has the demand for a larger variety and improved quality of construction products and materials. In addition, as more relatively untrained individuals are willing to attempt certain construction, remodeling or improvement tasks, the demand for greater accessibility to, and increased convenience for, using these products and materials has also increased. Tile or tile installation projects are just one example of a construction project that many individuals are willing to try with little or no experience or training. While undoubtedly not simple, the average tile project can be completed in a matter of days. In addition, the tools and supplies required to do so are readily available for purchase, and in fact, many alternatives are available. For example, there are at least four different types of commercially available mortar that can be used to fill the joints between the laid tiles, namely, cement mortar, polymer modified cement mortar, two-part polymer mortar, and mortar. of polymer of a part. Of these, the polymer mortar of one part is the only one that offers the convenience of being available in a pre-mixed state. That is, since the polymer mortar of one part hardens in the drying, the other types of mortar are cured in the addition of water, or in the case of the two-part polymer mortar, in the combination of the two parts. As such, these mortars should be mixed at the time of use and, once mixed, should be used before quickly. Any of the unused quantities can not be reconstituted. Although such part polymer mortars provide significant convenience to tile installers, those currently on the market may not be suitable for use in all applications. First, many commercially available polymer mortars on the one hand are not sufficiently water resistant for use in extremely wet environments, such as, for example, shower or bath surfaces or kitchen floors. Even when used in only moderately humid environments, polymer mortars on the one hand may be susceptible to staining, as it may be caused by mulch or other infestation or microbial growth, as could undoubtedly occur in the absence of the application of a sealant on the top of the hardened mortar. However, the application of the sealant represents an additional time requirement, which may be undesirable for those seeking the convenience otherwise offered by the polymer mortar of one part. Finally, and due to at least in part to the fact that these mortars harden through the loss of moisture, conventional one-part polymer mortars may be susceptible to shrinkage or cracking, and potentially limit their application capacity. to dry environments or for tile uses that do not absorb substantial amounts of water by itself, such as porcelain tile. Desirably, the polymer mortar compositions of one part would be available that are suitable for use in a wider variety of applications, i.e., either horizontal, vertical, carrying load, moisture, wet, etc. Whatever the application, the polymer mortars of one part could be improved if they could be provided with stain resistance, advantageously to such an extent that the application of a sealer on the applied mortar could be avoided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to novel one-part polymer mortar compositions that can be substantially resistant to water and / or staining. Surprisingly, the mortar compositions are also very strong, capable of meeting or even exceeding the strength standards for cement mortars. In some embodiments, the mortar compositions may also be substantially resistant to shrinkage and / or cracking, even when applied in joint spaces up to H "wide, and in still other embodiments may be inked by any inking equipment. of standard paint. As a result of these advantageous properties, the present mortar compositions can be used in a greater number of environments than conventional one-part polymer mortars, while also providing increased convenience in any such use. In a first aspect then, the present invention provides a polymer mortar of one part comprising a polymer silaneted in an effective amount to render the dry mortar water-resistant and / or stained. In certain embodiments, the silanated polymer may desirably be a silanated acrylic latex, or in some embodiments, it may be a silanated styrene acrylic latex. Although the present mortar compositions are expected to exhibit at least some degree of resistance to shrinkage and / or cracking, this property of the present mortar compositions can be increased in modalities where the same can be desired by way of inclusion. of quantities of at least one fiber filler. Similarly, the stain resistant aspect of the present mortar compositions can also be increased by the inclusion of one or more antimicrobial agents or stain resistant additives. In those embodiments where the mortar composition may be desirably inked, the mortar compositions may further comprise a number of rheology modification fillers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MODALITIES OF THE INVENTION The embodiments of the present invention described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the particular embodiments disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are described so that others skilled in the art can understand the principles and practices of the present invention.
Unless otherwise mentioned, the following terms and / or phrases, as used herein, have the following meanings. Such terms / phrases can be explained in more detail later in the specification. The term "mortar" is intended to indicate a composition, filled or unfilled, suitable for filling joint spaces between tiles or tiles in vertical or horizontal applications, and thus, generally speaking, having a viscosity of at least about 100,000. cps or approximately 600,000 cps, or even 1,000,000 cps. The phrase "one-part polymer composition" is proposed to indicate a mortar composition that hardens, or "heals," via the evaporation of water, rather than via a chemical reaction between the two parties. , either or neither of the two parts is water, as is the case with, for example, cement. The phrases "sandblasted mortar" and "un-sandblasted mortar" are proposed to indicate mortar compositions that include a quantity of sand as a filler, or do not include such an amount, respectively. The phrase "water resistant" is intended to indicate a mortar composition that meets or exceeds the requirement for the standard cement mortar provided in the ANSI Nos. 118.6 and 118.7, as measured by the method also provided herein. . In certain advantageous embodiments, a water-resistant mortar composition can advantageously maintain a Shore A hardness value of at least about 50, or 60, or even 75 after it is immersed in water for a period of seven days. The phrase "stain resistant" is proposed to indicate an averaged record of from about 0 to about 2 as measured according to the Ceramic Tile Institute Stain Test CTE-T-72. The phrases "resistant to shrinkage" or "crack resistant" are intended to indicate that no cracking or shrinkage of the mortar composition, visible on inspection with the naked eye, is observed once in a 12 'tile installation. 'x 16' ', with 3/16"minimum mortar joints for sandblasted mortar, and an 8" x 8"tile installation, with minimum 1/16" mortar joints for non-sandblasted mortar , has been installed and allowed to dry. The phrase "silanada" is proposed to indicate that at least one silane group (SiR3) where R can be any alkyl or cycloalkyl group and desirable can be for example a methyl, propyl or butyl group that has been chemically bonded to by minus one monomer unit of a polymer. The phrase "percent by weight", and the abbreviation of the same "% p", is proposed to indicate the percent weight as it is based on the total weight of the mortar composition.
The present invention relates to novel one-part mortar compositions comprising a silanated polymer that provides various advantages over conventional one-part polymer mortar compositions. More particularly, the present mortar compositions are surprisingly strong, as well as being substantially resistant to water, staining and certain modes of shrinkage and / or cracking. In fact, even when evaluated using the severe industry standards for cement mortar, the present polymer mortar compositions on the one hand can meet or exceed the requirements for water resistance and stain resistance, and can still achieve a proportion of residential installation. As a result, the present mortar compositions can be used in applications where the use of previously conventional polymer mortars has been counter-indicated. In addition, and due at least in part to the resistance to shrinkage and / or cracking that can be advantageously imparted to mortar compositions in certain embodiments, the present mortar compositions can be used with tiles formed of any material. This is, since conventional one-part polymer mortar compositions may tend to shrink and / or crack when used with tiles made of water-absorbing materials, such as clay-based tiles, the present mortar compositions are expected to be Usables with tiles made of any material, which substantially do not shrink or crack. Returning the present mortar compositions to a more useful and advantageous one is the fact that, if desired, the present mortar compositions can become "enlightening". That is, in certain embodiments of the present invention, the present mortar compositions can be surprisingly colored with paint inking agents, according to any color swatch, at a point of sale and agitated with standard paint agitation equipment for provide a stable uniformly inked mortar composition. The present invention thus provides a one-part polymer mortar composition comprising a silanated polymer. Any silanated polymer, or dispersion or combination comprising the same, is believed to be capable of providing the present mortar compositions with the surprising strength and water and stain resistance described herein, although for certain embodiments it may be advantageous or desirable. that the silanated polymer has a minimum film-forming temperature of at least about -6.6 ° C (20 ° F), or a Tg greater than about -1.1 ° C (30 ° F) so that any mortar residue that It can be present on the surface of the tile after the installation can be easily cleaned. An example of a particular class of polymers that can be employed in the present mortar compositions are acrylics and acrylic dispersions, since latexes / acrylic dispersions may tend to be stronger and more water resistant than other types of polymers. Additionally, many silanized acrylic latexes are readily commercially available, such as those commercially available under the trade designations Rhoximat® DS931 (Rhodia North America Cranbury, NJ) NX2835 (BASF Inc., Charlotte, NC), 13057 (Scott Bader, Northamptonshire , England) . Of course, these embodiments of the invention are not limited in this way, as any known polymer having monomer units comprising reactive functionality with a silane moiety, SiR3, can be modified to be silanated and then polymerized, according to any methodology known to those of ordinary skill in the art, to provide a silanated polymer according to the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily be able to determine the appropriate amount of a silanated polymer to include in the present mortar compositions, when desired, and of course, the particular amount used will depend on the particular silanate polymer selected. In any case, enough of the silanated polymer is desirably included so that at least a minimal improvement in water and stain resistance can be observed in the resulting mortar compositions, but not so much as to detrimentally impact any of the other properties. and desirable characteristics thereof. In list of these considerations and very generally speaking, silanized polymers, for example silanised acrylic latexes, are desirably included in the present mortar compositions in total amounts ranging from about 8 wt% to about 40 wt%, or about 10% by weight to about 30% by weight, and in certain embodiments, of about 10% by weight of about 20% by weight. In addition to the silanated polymer, the present mortar compositions may additionally comprise an amount of an acrylic dispersion, such as an acrylic / polyurethane dispersion. The inclusion of such dispersion may further increase the water and / or stain resistance of the mortar compositions since they may be desirable in extremely wet applications. Preferably, if such a dispersion is to be used, the hybrid dispersion with increased interaction between the urethane and acrylic portions, rather than a simple mixture, will be stabilized. Many such stabilized hybrid dispersions are commercially available, but with few examples of these being any of those available under the trade designations Hybridur® (Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Allentown, PA) or NeoPac® (grades E125 and E114, NeoResins, Wilmington, MA). If desirably included in the present mortar compositions, the dispersions are suitably used in amounts ranging from about 1% by weight to about 15% by weight, or from about 2% by weight to about 10% by weight, or even of about 3% by weight to about 5% by weight. As discussed above, the inventive one-part polymer mortar compositions comprising a silanated polymer are surprisingly strong, for example, capable of meeting, or even exceeding, the standards for the flexural strength and tension provided by the American National Standard Specifications for standard cement mortars, as well to achieve a residential installation ratio under ASTM C627-76. The mortar compositions are also still surprisingly water and stain resistant, capable of meeting or even exceeding these standards for cement mortars provided by the American National Standard Specifications. As such, the present mortar compositions provide significant advancement to the construction and home improvement industries, while still providing potential cost and time savings in their application and use. Still, the present polymer mortars on the one hand can still be further increased in order to provide additional advantages in their use and application. For example, the present mortar compositions can include amounts of fiber fillers, which can not only improve the cohesiveness of the mortar compositions in the drying so that visual cracking can be minimized or eliminated, but also, the compositions can become mortars in a point of sale, as described in the commonly assigned co-pending patent application no. 10 / 729,630, registered December 5, 2003, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and for all purposes. Fibers of any material are believed to be capable of providing at least some of the amount of rheology modification and / or mixing facilitation, or assist in shrinkage / crack resistance, and many types of fiber fillers are known and commercially available. Mineral fillers, for example, are commercially available under the trade designations Nyad® G or Wollastocoat® (Nyco, Calgary, Alberta, Canada) or MS605 Roxul 1000 (Lapin's Fibers BV, Roermond, The Netherlands), while an example of A commercially available cellulose fiber filler is one that has the trade name Arbocel® (all grades) from J. Rettenmaier USA, Schoolcraft, MI. Any of these, or any other commercially available fiber filler comprising any material, may be used alone or in combination in the present mortar compositions if increased shrinkage / crack resistance is desired. As recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, the amount of any such fiber filler (s) used will depend at least in part on the selection of particular fiber filler. Of course, the total amount of the fiber filler used will desirably be sufficient to at least assist at least in the dispersion of the dye by all the mortar compositions., but still less than to detrimentally impact any of the other desirable properties of the same. Generally speaking, the amounts of the mineral fibers, when used alone, range from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight, or from about 1% by weight to about 10% by weight, or even about 2% by weight to about 6% by weight can provide the desired rheology modification or other assistance in the dispersion of the dye. Cellulose fibers in amounts ranging from about 0.05% by weight to about 2% by weight or 0.1% by weight to about 1% by weight, or from about 0.2% by weight to about 0.9% by weight are believed to be capable of to provide the minimum improvement in the dispersion of the dye in the present mortar compositions. Combinations of fillers comprising a variety of materials can be used, and if the same is desired, each type of fiber can be included in the combination in an amount according to the ranges provided herein. Although mortar compositions are believed to be substantially water and / or stain resistant only due to the inclusion therein of a silanated polymer, the stain resistance of the present mortar compositions can also be further increased. In applications where such an increase in properties is desired, for example as may be the case for extremely wet application sites, at application sites where mulch and mold are otherwise known to proliferate, or application sites where contact with agents that cause staining can be anticipated, the present mortar compositions additionally can comprise effective amounts of antimicrobial and / or stain resistance additives. The commercial market is replete with such agents, and any of these can be used to further optimize the stain resistance of the present mortar compositions. Zinc oxide is an example of a generic antimicrobial agent available from any of a number of sources, while other examples of antimicrobial agents include barium metaborate (Revelli, Chemicals, Inc., Greenwich, CT), Kathon® LX (Rohm & Haas, Philadelphia, PA) zinc omadine and sodium omadine (Arch Chemicals, Inc., Norwalk Connecticut) triclosan (Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Basel Switzerland) or Troysan® 174 and Troysan® P20T (Troy Corporation, Florham Park, NJ). Suitable amounts of these will vary according to the particular antimicrobial agent selected, but in each case, suitable amounts are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and in addition may be available from the respective suppliers of each. Generally speaking then zinc oxide and barium metaborate can be included in the present mortar compositions in amounts ranging from about 1% by weight to about 20% by weight, from about 3% by weight to about 15% by weight or even from about 5% by weight to about 10% by weight, while zinc and sodium omadine and triclosan can be included, if desired, in amounts ranging from about 0.05% by weight to about 0.1% by weight to about 4% by weight or from about 0.15% by weight to about 1% by weight. Commercially available stain resistance additives include, but are not limited to, Teflon powders, such as Zonyl® MP1200 from DuPont; silicone / silane / siloxane emulsions including BS45 or BS1306 from Wacker Silicones, Adrián, MI; fluoropolymer emulsions similar to APG3312 from Advanced Polymer, Inc., Carlstadt, NJ; Fluorinated silicone emulsions such as Visil FSE from Vitech International Inc., Janescille, Wl; wax dispersions such as Aquabead® 325E from Micro Powders Tarrytown, NY; and polyurethane dispersions such as NeoResR9649 also from Neoresins. Useful amounts of each of these stain resistance additives are well known and / or readily available, and generally speaking can vary from about 0.5 wt% to about 10 wt%, about 1 wt% to about 6% by weight, or from about 1.5% by weight to about 4% by weight for Teflon powders and wax dispersions. The silicone / silane / siloxane emulsions, fluoropolymer emulsions and fluorinated silicone emulsions can be used when desired, in amounts ranging from about 1% by weight to about 20% by weight, or from about 2% by weight to about 15% by weight or even from about 3% by weight to about 10% by weight. Acrylic / polyurethane dispersions can be provided in amounts ranging from about 1% by weight to about 15% by weight, from about 2% by weight to about 10% by weight, or from about 3% by weight to about 5% in weigh. Finally, suitable amounts of the polyurethane dispersions can range from about 0.05 wt% to about 6 wt%, from about 0.6 wt% to about 4 wt%, 0.8 wt% to about 1.5 wt%. Although expected to be uniformly inked by the inclusion of one or more fiber fillers, the ability to indent of the mortar compositions can be further increased by the inclusion of one or more surfactant rheology modifiers therein. and / or dispersants. Many rheology modifiers are known and commercially available and any of these can be used in the present mortar compositions. For example, "Rheology Modifiers Handbook: Practical Use and Application", David R. Braun and Meyer R. Rosen, William Andrews Publishing, New York, New York, 2001, describe many commercially available rheology modifiers, as well as procedures and formulations of selection thereof, and are incorporated herein by reference thereto in their entirety for all purposes. Generally, rheology modifiers can be comprised of acrylic polymers; crosslinked acrylic polymers; alginates; associative ossifying adhesives; carrageens; cellulose derivatives, including, but not limited to, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxylmethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose and methylcellulose; guar and guar derivatives; carob gum; organoclays and other clays; polyethylene oxide; polyvinylpyrrolidone silica; xanthan gum; or combinations of these. Only a few examples of commercially available rheology modifiers that may be suitable for use in the present mortar compositions include any or all of the grades available under the tradenames Carbopol® (Noveon Inc., Cleveland, OH); Cab-0-Sil® (all grades, Cabot Corp., Tuscola, IL); Aerosil® (all grades, Degussa, Piscataway, NJ); Bermocoll® (all grades FQ, Akzo Nobel Stenungsund, Switzerland); Cellosize® (all Q grades, The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI); Tylose® (all grades, Clariant Corp., Charolette, NC) Acrysol® (all grades, Rohm &Haas, Philadelphia, PA) and Attagel® (all grades Engelhard, Iselin, NJ). The amounts of the rheology modifiers will depend not only on the particular rheology modifier used, but also on the desired effect thereof. That is, while rheology modifiers can surprisingly result in the present mortar compositions that are inintable at a point of sale, that can not be desired or required in all instances. With this in mind, in those embodiments where the addition of rheology modifiers results in a mortar composition to the present invention that is inintable at a point of sale, the amount of rheology modifiers included desirably will be able to provide a reduction in the viscosity of at least about 35%, or about 40%, even at least about 50%, so that the inking agent can be uniformly dispersed within the mortar composition. For any other purpose, very generally speaking then, polymeric and cellulosic rheology modifiers may generally be included in the present mortar compositions in amounts ranging from about 0.05 to about 2 weight percent, in some embodiments from about 0.1 to about 1.5% by weight and in still other embodiments, from about 0.2% by weight to about 1% by weight, based on the total weight of the mortar composition while the smoked silica and the clay rheology modifiers can be suitable included in the mortar compositions in amounts ranging from about 0.05% by weight to about 5% by weight, in some embodiments of about 0.1% by weight, about 4% by weight, and in still other embodiments of about 0.5% by weight about 3% by weight. One or more surfactants and / or dispersants may also desirably be included in the present mortar compositions since it may be desired to assist only in the uniform dispersion of the dye throughout the mortar composition in the agitation, but also to assist in the stability of the dye within the composition once so evenly dispersed. Many dispersants and surfactants suitable for use in conventional compositions are known and any of these may be used in the present ineligible mortar compositions. A few examples of commercially available dispersants include those provided under the trade designations Colloid 211 (Rhodia USA, Cranbury, NJ), Sokalan® CP13S (BASF Inc. Charlotte, NC) and Tamol® 731 (Rohm &Haas), while examples of commercially available surfactants include, but are not limited to, those provided under the trade designations T-Det® N407 and Triton® X100 (Harcros Chemicals, Inc., Kansas City, Kansas and Rohm and Haas, respectively). As understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, the amount of surfactant and / or dispersant used will depend on the particular surfactant and / or dispersant selected. Desirably, the amounts used at least at least will assist in the uniform dispersion of a dye within the mortar composition, as well as the stability of the dye within the mortar composition once dispersed in this manner, but not so much as to impact substantially detrimentally other desirable properties of mortar compositions. Having these considerations present, and very generally speaking, useful amounts of dispersants are expected to range from about 0.1 wt% to about 3 wt%, or from about 0.2 wt% to about 2 wt% or even about 0.5. % by weight to about 1.5% by weight. Similarly, useful amounts of surfactants are expected to vary from about 0.2 wt% to about 2 wt% or from about 0.4 wt% to about 1.5 wt% or even from about 0.5 wt% to about 1 wt% .
The present mortar composition may additionally comprise any of the components otherwise found in conventional part polymer mortar compositions. In addition to the fiber fillers, either alone or in combination with rheology modifiers, surfactants and / or dispersants to render the inlay mortar compositions or to increase the inking capacity of the mortar compositions, respectively, the polymer silanate since can be provided to render the present mortar compositions exceptionally strong, as well as additives to water and / or stain resistant antimicrobial agents as can optionally be provided to increase stain resistance, the present mortar compositions can include such conventional components as other fillers, solvents, humectants, plasticizers, preservatives, defoamers, adhesion promoters, pH modifiers, freeze / thaw stabilizers, anti-setting agents, etc. If desirably included, each of these may advantageously be used in amounts typically used in conventional polymer part mortar compositions, as may be readily determined by those of ordinary skill in the art and / or as may be provided by the art. supplier of each one.
Other fillers, in addition to fiber fillers and optionally other rheology modifiers, can optionally be used in the present mortar compositions, for example, to impart the desired application characteristics. Those of ordinary skill in the art are familiar with such fillers, commercial sources thereof, and quantities in which the use of them accomplishes any of their desired effect. Bubbles of glass, for example, can be included to increase the coating abilities of the present mortar compositions and are commercially available under the trade names Scotchlite® and Q-cell® (all grades of each, 3M, Maplewood, MN and PQ Corporation, Valley Forge, PA, respectively). Ceramic microspheres can be included in the present mortar composition for similar purposes and trade names of few commercially available examples thereof include Fillite®500 (Trelleborg Fillite, Ltd., Norcross, GA), Zeospheres H600 (3M) and Extendospheres. ™ SG, (PQ Corporation). Silica sand is a common filler that can also be used to alter the application characteristics of mortar compositions, to assist in inking dispersion, and / or to improve the strength of mortar compositions when desired. All fine or commercially available grades of Fairmont Minerals, Wedron, IL and U.S. Silica, Ottawa, IL are suitable for such purposes. Finally, calcium carbonate can be desirably added as an end-filler in mortar compositions and is particularly useful in those instances where the present water-resistant mortar, stain and paint compositions are desirably also inintable. Calcium carbonate is available generically from a number of chemical manufacturers. As mentioned above, those of ordinary skill in the art are well aware, and / or well equipped to calculate, adequate amounts of such fillers. Generally speaking then, glass bubbles and ceramic microspheres can be included in the present mortar compositions, if desired, in amounts ranging from about 0.5% by weight to about 10% by weight, in certain embodiments of about 1. % by weight to about 18% by weight, and still other embodiments from about 2% by weight to about 6% by weight. The silica can be used, if desired, in the present mortar compositions in amounts of about 20% by weight to about 60% by weight, in other embodiments, from about 25% by weight to about 50% by weight and still in other embodiments, from about 30% by weight to about 45% by weight. Finally, in those embodiments of the mortar compositions where it may be desirable to include calcium carbonate, suitable amounts may vary from about 5% to about 50% by weight, in other embodiments from about 10% by weight to about 40% by weight. weight, and in still other embodiments from about 15% by weight to about 30% by weight. Solvents may also optionally be included in the present mortar compositions, may already be required or desired to provide improved application characteristics and / or to further improve the resistance to cracking and / or shrinkage. Solvents useful in polymer mortar compositions on the one hand are well known, and include mineral oils (generically available from many sources) and other organic solvents. Two commercially available examples of suitable solvents include Texanol® and cellosolv butyl (Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, TN, and The Dow Chemical Company, respectively). Any of the desired solvents will be used in any amount required to achieve the desired effect as can be easily determined by those of ordinary skill in the art. Exemplary solvents are expected to be suitable in amounts ranging from about 1.0% by weight to about 5% by weight, or from about 0.5% by weight to about 3% by weight, or even from about 1% by weight to about 2% by weight. % in weigh. Likewise, humectants and plasticizers are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, they can be used in the present mortar compositions as are appropriate or desired. Many humectants and plasticizers are well known and are commercially available generically. For example, neopentyl glycol and urea are two well known humectants, commercially widely available from a variety of sources, while Benzoflex® 50 (Velsicol Chemical Company, Rosemount, IL) is only one example of a suitable plasticizer for use in the present mortar compositions, if desired. Suitable amounts, as well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, of these will of course depend on the particular moisturizer or plasticizer chosen, but generally speaking will vary from about 0.1% by weight to about 3% by weight, or about 0.2% by weight. weight to about 2% by weight, or even from about 0.5% by weight to about 1.5% by weight. The present strong water and stain resistant mortar compositions can be prepared according to any known method of preparing systems of polymer mortar compositions on the one hand, and the particular methodology employed is not critical. For example, the desired components can simply be placed in an appropriate container in appropriate amounts and mixed until a substantially uniform mortar composition is achieved. Particularly non-limiting examples of sandblasted mortar compositions incorporate features of the present invention, as well as methods for preparing the same, are given below in Examples 1 and 2, while an exemplary embodiment of a non-sandblasted mortar composition. according to the present invention and method of their preparation is provided in Example 3. The following test procedures are suitable for use in the following examples: Water Resistance will be tested by immersing a disc of one inch diameter, Dry bulk mortar in water and visually monitor the impact of immersion in the water at regular time intervals. The sample can also be tested for hardness or resistance after the immersion period. Water resistance can also be measured and evaluated according to the American National Standard for standard and polymer modified cement mortars., ANSI A118.6 and A118.7. The Contraction / Crack Resistance will be measured by applying the mortar compositions to joint spaces up to H "wide, allowing the mortar to dry and record any visually apparent cracks or contractions at the intersections of the joint that occur ( n). The Stain Resistance will be measured and evaluated according to the Ceramic Tile Institute Stain Test CTI. T-72, but modified to include additional dyeing materials (beyond what is specified in the procedure). Mortar compositions that register an average of 2 or lower are considered resistant to staining according to "this method." The tensile strength will be measured and evaluated according to the American National Standard for standard and modified cement mortars. polymer, ANSIA A118.6 and A118.7, using a dog bone sample of W 'before the specified sample size.The Flexural Strength will be measured and evaluated according to the American National Standard Specifications for modified cement mortars. standards and polymer, ANSI A118.6 and A118.7, using an adjusted bar of% '' x W 'before the specified sample size.The Performance of the Facility was measured and classified according to the ASTM Method c 627-76 Evaluating Ceramic Floor Tile Installation Systems The Shore A hardness was measured using a Shore A hardness tester if the indentation penetrates the mixture completely, a read a zero is had, and without any penetration occurs, a reading of 100 results. Samples capable of achieving an average Shore A hardness reading of at least about 50, or at least about 60, or even at least Approximately 75 after it is immersed in water for 7 days, it is considered to be "water resistant" as that term which is used herein. Example 1 A sandblasted mortar composition incorporating certain aspects of the present invention was prepared according to the following Formula 1 by adding the components, in the order and quantities listed, to an appropriate mixing container: Formula I
The above components were added to a container in the order mentioned and mixed after each addition with a KitchenAid mixer for at least one minute, with the exception that after the addition of the fibers (Wollastocoat®, Arbocel® and Lapinus), the mixture was combined for at least about 5 minutes. The resulting mortar composition was stained in a stable and uniform manner, as is described below in Comparative Example 1 and had an average viscosity of 700,000. Surprisingly and advantageously, this embodiment of the inventive mortar composition also met the requirements of water absorption property, tensile strength and flexural strength for standard cement mortar. More particularly, this particular mortar composition had the following properties as measured by ANSI118.6:
This particular mortar composition also showed no visible contraction or cracking visible when applied to the spaces of the junction of W '. The mortar composition was also determined to be resistant to staining, an average ranging from < 2 in the Ceramic Tile Institute Stain Test CTI-T-72. Finally, this mortar achieved a "Residential" installation performance rate according to ASTM C 627-76. Example 2 A sandblasted mortar composition incorporating certain aspects of the present invention was prepared according to the following Formula II by adding the components, in the order and quantities listed, to an appropriate mixing container:
Formula II
The above components were added to a container in the order mentioned and mixed after each addition with a KitchenAid mixer for at least one minute, except that after the addition of the fibers, (Wollastocoat®, Arbocel® and Lapinus), the mixture was combined for at least about 5 minutes. The resulting mortar composition had a measured viscosity of 625,000 cps and expected to be able to be stably and uniformly matched according to the method of the present invention, and may additionally meet the requirements of water absorption property, tensile strength and flexural strength for the standard cement mortar. Example 3 A non-sandblasted mortar composition incorporating certain aspects of the present invention was prepared according to the following Formula III by adding the components, in the order of listed amounts, to an appropriate mixing container: Formula III
The above components were added to a container in the order mentioned and mixed after each addition with a KitchenAid mixer for at least one minute, except that, after the addition of the fibers, (Arbocel® and Lapinus), the mixture was combined for at least about 5 minutes. The resulting non-blasted mortar composition is expected to have a measured viscosity of 1000,000 cps. Comparative Example 1 The mortar compositions according to the
Formulas I and II, above, were tested according to ANSI 118.6 for water absorption, along three commercially available mortar compositions of one part, Prexix Ceramic Tile Adhesive and Grout, sandblasted and non-sandblasted, commercially available from Tile Perfect, Aurora, IL and Custom Pre-Mixed Tile Grout, commercially available from Custom Buildign Products, Seal Beach, CA. Two samples of each mortar composition were tested. The results of this comparison are given below in Table 3 TABLE 3
As can be seen, two of the commercially available polymer mortars on one side, although not unexpectedly, did not meet the ANSI requirements for the standard sandblasted cement mortar, and none performed as well as the mortar compositions exemplified according to the Formulas I and II. Additionally, the sample discs of 1"diameter and W 'thickness were prepared for each sample soaked in water for 10 days. The samples of Formula I and Formula II were hard, having Shore A hardness values ranging from 50 to about 100 while the competitive products were soft, they have a Shore A reading of 0. In fact, the Tile Perfect samples had a Shore A reading of 0 even before that are submerged in water. Comparative Example 2 The mortar composition according to Formula I was tested for uniform and stable inking capacity throughout six commercially available polymer mortar compositions of one part: Custom unsanded (Custom Building Products, Seal Beach, CA); one unsolded Acetate polymer mortar (Ace Hardware Stores, nationwide); TilePerfect, both sandblasted and non-sandblasted
(TilePerfect, Aurora, IL); and sandblasted and non-sandblasted Mapei (Mapei, Deerfield, FL). More specifically, each of the samples were inked with the DeGussa Colortred 888 dyes according to the 3E + 3V formulations (3 / 48vo oz of phthalo blue 3/48 vos oz to provide the purple); 3T + 3R (3/48 vos oz of medium yellow and 3/48 vos organic red to provide the orange) and 2D + 6E + 2T (2/48 vos oz green phthalo, 6/48 vos oz blue phthalo and 2 / 48 ounces yellow medium to provide blue / green). The dyes were dispensed with a dye dispenser that automatically dispensed 22PD (Fluid Management, Inc.) and the inked mortar was agitated using either a Miller model G paint agitator, or a Harbil 5G GD, depending on the type of container. That is, the Miller paint agitator is suitable for metal cans, since the Harbil can accept only plastic containers. All samples were shaken for 3 minutes, tumbled and shaken another 3 minutes. The samples were then tested for color dispersion and dye stability, as described above. The results are provided in the tables right away.
Color dispersion
Dye Stability Additionally, the mortar composition of Formula I and the six competitive samples were tested for shrinkage / crack resistance by applying the mortar compositions to joint spaces up to W 'wide, allowing the mortar to dry and record any of the cracks or visually apparent contraction in the intersections of the joints that occur. The results of this test are provided below. Generally speaking none of the six commercially available products are capable of being applied in joint spaces larger than 1/8"without shrinkage or cracking. Contraction resistance / cracking
As shown, only the mortar composition according to formula I and Colorlastec TA 680 (not more commercially available from HBFuller) both could be inked uniformly and stably. However, the mortar composition of Formula I is also resistant to shrinkage / cracking as defined herein. Other embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in consideration of this specification or the practice of the invention disclosed herein. Various omissions, modifications and changes to the principles and modalities described herein may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention indicated by the following claims.