US2197246A - Fiber - Google Patents

Description

Patented Apr. 16, 1940 FIBER Earle 0. Whittier and Stephen P. Gould, Washington, D. 0., dedicated to the free use of the l People of the United States of America No Drawing. Application M... 19, 1938,

Serial No. 208,830

2 Claims. (01. 28-1) I (Granted under the act of March 3, .1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 870 0. G. 757) This application .is made under the act of r h 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, may be manufactured and 6 used by or for the Government of the United States for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This application is a continuation in part of the one filed by us on August 12, 1937, bearing 10 Serial No. 158,822.

We hereby dedicate the invention herein described to the free use of the People of the United States of America to take effect on the granting of a patent to us.

Our invention deals with fibers made from casein.

The objects of our invention are to produce dispersions of casein (mixed usually with plasticizers and salts), which can be extruded into fibers having the requisite characteristics of strength, water resistance, flexibility, and softness necessary to make them suitable for use in textiles, and are valuable as substitutes for W001 and other fibers. I

In forming dispersions suitable for extrusions, the casein is dissolved or dispersed in a solution of some protein solvent. Plasticizers, salts for increasing the strength and water-resistance may be incorporated in the dispersion.

Some of the best plasticizers were found to be the fat acids, 1. e., those usually obtained by the hydrolysis of oils and fats, or their salts. These give to the fibers a highly desirable flexibility, softness, and water repellency. Used alone with the casein dispersion, some loss in strength of the filaments occurs; but by the addition of sodium aluminate, or other salts, the strength may be considerably increased. These filaments are very much better than when unplasticized casein is used as such fibers are too brittle, and not so water resistant. In addition to the fat acids,

other plastlcizersor softeners may be used, as for example, amyl lactate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, latex (this also increases the waterproofness); maleic acid, and tartaric acid, or

their salts, or compounds consisting of combinations of organic acid radicals; withmetals or with alkyl or aryl groups.

Calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, or other a salts 'of these metals, can be used (although not in the presence of some plasticizers) as hardening and water-repelling agents in the casein fibers, instead of sodium aluminate. Ammonlacal or amine solutions of casein work best when using calcium and magnesium salts, as complexes 5 are formed which give a more homogeneous solution, and calcium caseinate will not separate so readily before the dispersion is extruded.

The following-is given to illustrate a preferred procedure for producing fibers comprising casein. l0. Proportions are given in parts.

Example 1 ,Casein 24.0 Water 208.0 1 Sodium hydroxide solution (2N) 8.0 Sodium aluminate 1.9 Maleic acid 0.63

The casein was soaked .in part of'the water for 15 to 30 minutes and the sodium hydroxide solu- 1) tion then added. The sodium'aluminate and the maleic acid were dissolved in small portions of the water and added to thecasein solution. This solution was warmed to C. and forced through a spinnerette, of a type commonly used inthe $5 rayon industry, into a precipitating bath, heated to the same temperature. The composition of the precipitating bathwas, expressed in parts: sulfuric acid, 2; formaldehyde, 5; glucose, 10; water, .83. This procedure gives fibers having the characteristics necessary for use in making yarns and fabrics.

It is understood that our invention is not limited to the above example, as the constituents and proportions, both in the solution comprising 86 casein and in the precipitating bath, may be varied over a wide range. The temperatures of the solutions are not limited to 50 C., but may be of any value between room temperature and 2. As an article of manufacture, a flber com- 46 prising casein, salts of casein, and dibasic aliphatic acids containinga maximum of 4 carbon atoms.

EARLE O. WHI'I'I'IER. STEPHEN P. GOULD. o