WO2023153498A1 - Molding composition manufacturing method, molded body manufacturing method, molding material, and molded body - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a molding composition manufacturing method including: a step for obtaining a raw material composition containing inorganic solid materials and an organic material that is liquidized by being heated, to glue the inorganic solid materials together; a step for heating the raw material composition in a material space; and a step for extruding the heated raw material composition, as a molding composition, from the material space.

Description

Method for producing molding composition, method for producing molded article, molding material, and molded article

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for producing a molding composition, a method for producing a molded article, a molding material, and a molded article. This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/309,019, filed February 11, 2022, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding, etc. are known as molding techniques for manufacturing molded bodies with desired shapes. These are widely used as a simple method that can realize a desired shape (see Patent Document 1, for example). In these methods, a thermoplastic resin material in a fluidized state at a high temperature is extruded into a mold having a predetermined shape, and a predetermined molding process is performed to impart a corresponding shape to the resin material.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-240051

On the other hand, the molding method described above is not suitable for manufacturing moldings containing inorganic materials. This is generally because many inorganic materials do not fluidize at the heating temperatures in the above molding techniques, and compacts formed by solidifying inorganic material powder tend to become brittle. For this reason, it is not easy to use molding techniques such as injection molding and extrusion molding in molding inorganic materials.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for producing a molding composition, a method for producing a molded article, a molding material, and a molded article that can easily obtain a molded article from a raw material composition containing an inorganic material. That is.

The present invention may include the following aspects.
[1] A method for producing a molding composition,
obtaining a raw material composition containing an inorganic solid material and an organic material that is fluidized by heating to bond the inorganic solid materials together;
heating the raw material composition in a material space;
extruding the heated raw material composition from the material space as the molding composition;
A method, including
[2] The organic material is a plant material.
The method according to [1].
[3] The organic material contains one or more selected from the group consisting of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and sugar.
The method according to [1] or [2].
[4] The inorganic solid material includes one or more concretes, one or more cements, one or more minerals, one or more metals, one or more ceramics, one or more glasses, and one or more slags. , one or more lime, and one or more incinerated ash, and one or more selected from the group consisting of composite materials thereof,
The method according to any one of [1] to [3].
[5] the ratio m ₁ /m 2 of the mass m ₁ of the organic _material and the mass m ₂ of the inorganic solid material is greater than 1;
The method according to any one of [1] to [4].
[6] The raw material composition further contains water,
The method according to any one of [1] to [5].
[7] The heating temperature in the step of heating the raw material composition is 60 degrees or more and 240 degrees or less.
The method according to any one of [1] to [6].
[8] further comprising applying pressure to the heated raw material composition;
The method according to any one of [1] to [7].
[9] A method for manufacturing a molded body,
A method comprising the step of molding the molding composition produced by the method according to any one of [1] to [8] into a predetermined shape.
[10] The molded body is molded by injection molding, extrusion molding, insert molding, blow molding, or inflation molding.
The method according to [9].
[11] an inorganic solid material;
an organic material that is fluidized by heating to bond the inorganic solid materials together;
including
the ratio m ₁ /m 2 of the mass m ₁ of the organic material and the mass m _{2 of} the inorganic solid material is greater than 1;
molding material.
[12] an inorganic solid material;
an organic material that bonds the inorganic solid materials together and that can be fluidized by heating;
including
the ratio m ₁ /m 2 of the mass m ₁ of the organic material and the mass m _{2 of} the inorganic solid material is greater than 1;
molding.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for producing a molding composition, a method for producing a molded article, a molding material, and a molded article that can easily obtain a molded article from a raw material composition containing an inorganic material.

It is sectional drawing which shows the shaping|molding apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment, and its usage. It is sectional drawing which shows the shaping|molding apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment, and its usage. It is sectional drawing which shows the shaping|molding apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment, and its usage.

A method for producing a molding composition, a method for producing a molded article, a molding material, and a molded article of the embodiment will be described below. The following embodiments show one aspect of the present invention, do not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Also, each configuration and each feature of the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily.

<Method for producing molding composition>
According to one embodiment, a method for producing a molding composition, comprising:
(1) a step of obtaining a raw material composition containing an inorganic solid material and an organic material that is fluidized by heating to bond the inorganic solid materials together (hereinafter referred to as a "raw material preparation step");
(2) a step of heating the raw material composition in the material space (hereinafter referred to as a "heating step");
(3) a step of extruding the heated raw material composition from the material space as a molding composition (hereinafter referred to as "extrusion step");
A method is provided comprising:

The present inventors have found that the above method enables extrusion processing for molding using a raw material composition containing an inorganic solid material. Each step (1) to (3) included in the above method will be described below. Note that these steps may be executed in parallel.

(1) Raw material preparation step First, the above organic material and inorganic solid material are prepared. Then, by mixing these, a raw material composition is obtained. Other materials may be added along with the organic and inorganic solid materials. Examples of other materials include water, additives, and the like.

The order in which the ingredients are added is not particularly limited. All materials may be mixed together, or may be mixed in multiple steps.

The method of mixing the materials is not particularly limited. For example, mixing methods include manual stirring, mortar (manual or automatic), ball mill, planetary mill, vibrating mill, rotor mill, hammer mill, disper mill, mixer, homogenizer, and the like. Conditions for mixing are not particularly limited. For example, the materials can be mixed in the atmosphere at normal temperature and normal pressure, but the temperature, pressure, atmosphere, etc. may be appropriately set.

(1-1) Organic material The organic material can have the function of fluidizing the entire composition so that molding such as injection molding and extrusion molding can be performed. The organic material is not particularly limited as long as it is fluidized by heating and exhibits adhesiveness. When the organic material is fluidized by heating and then cooled, the surrounding inorganic solid material particles can be adhered and fixed to each other. This can improve the strength and compactness of the compact.

(type of organic material)
Examples of organic materials include, but are not limited to, vegetable materials, animal materials, synthetic resin materials, and the like. The organic material may contain two or more of these materials.

For example, organic materials are plant materials. As used herein, "plant material" means material contained in plants or derivatives thereof. Examples of plant materials include lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, sugars, and the like. From the viewpoint of raw materials, there are no particular limitations, but conifers such as cedar, cypress, and pine; broad-leaved trees such as beech, chinensis, and maple; , barnyard millet, green soybeans, soybeans, red beans, peas, coffee beans; , bell peppers, paprika, cucumber, bamboo shoots, tea leaves, and other vegetables; oranges, mandarin oranges, Iyokan, strawberries, bananas, cassis, apples, persimmons, pears, cherries, pineapples, grapes, blueberries, peaches, and other fruits; potatoes, sweet potatoes, purple Potatoes such as potato, taro, Chinese yam, and yam; mushrooms such as shiitake, maitake, enoki, shimeji, nameko, and mushrooms; seaweeds such as sea lettuce, wakame, kelp, mekabu, hijiki, and laver; lignocellulosic materials; man-made materials (eg, lignin- and/or cellulose-containing wastes and residues from paper mills); From the viewpoint of form, there are no particular limitations, but examples include wood flour, wood chips, sawdust, plant stems and leaves, flowers, plant-derived wastes and residues, and the like. In addition, plant materials such as isolated lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and sugar may be used as the organic material.

As used herein, the term "lignin" refers to a polymer having a structure in which lignin monomers are polymerized as a basic structure, which may be partially substituted by a substituent, and binds or complexes with other compounds. may be formed. The type of lignin is not particularly limited, such as S-type lignin, G-type lignin, and H-type lignin. The organic material may contain lignin in a structure in which one or more lignin monomers are polymerized. Lignin may contain monomers other than lignin monomers as polymerized units.

As used herein, the term "cellulose" refers to a polymer having a basic structure in which β-glucose is linearly polymerized through glycosidic bonds, and may be partially substituted with a substituent. (for example, lignin), or may form a complex with other compounds.

As used herein, the term "sugar" refers to a compound having a carbonyl group or an aldehyde group and having multiple hydroxyl groups, which may be partially substituted by substituents, bound to other compounds or It may form a complex.

For example, organic materials are animal materials. As used herein, "animal material" means a material contained in an animal or a derivative thereof. Examples of animal materials include, but are not limited to, proteins and the like.

For example, organic materials are synthetic resin materials. Examples of synthetic resin materials include thermoplastic resins. Specific examples include polyolefin (polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.), polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl alcohol, polyester (polyethylene terephthalate, etc.), polycarbonate, polyamide, and the like. However, the raw material composition and the molding composition do not have to contain the synthetic resin material.

For example, the organic material can contain one or more selected from the group consisting of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and sugar. These materials can be obtained from plants. Therefore, the use of these materials as organic materials is preferable in that plant-derived resources, which have not been sufficiently reused in the past, can be reused, contributing to sustainability.

While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and sugars are fluidized at elevated temperatures to fluidize the entire feedstock composition, thereby enabling the extrusion process for shaping. . In addition, these materials function like an adhesive, and after cooling, the particles of the inorganic solid material are adhered and fixed to each other, thereby maintaining the shape of the molded body and improving the strength of the molded body. Conceivable.

Since fibrous materials have resistance to tensile force, organic materials containing fibrous materials are preferable in that the tensile strength of the molded body can be improved. Examples of fibrous materials that can be used as organic materials include cellulose, hemicellulose, nylon fibers, polyester fibers, acrylic fibers, and the like. However, the raw material composition and molding composition may be free of fibrous material.

(Particle size of organic material)
The organic material may be comminuted and/or screened, for example by grinding, chopping, or sieving the raw material, until the maximum particle size is in the desired range. As used herein, the term "maximum particle size" refers to the use of a mesh sieve having square pores of a predetermined size to select a "particle group that has passed through the sieve" from a certain particle group. sieve pore size. That is, the maximum particle size of the "particles that passed through the sieve" is the pore size of the sieve used. The maximum particle size of the organic material when mixed with other materials is, for example, 100 nm or more and 50 mm or less. If the maximum particle size of the organic material is less than 100 nm, the burden of pulverizing the material may become excessively large. If the maximum particle size of the organic material exceeds 50 mm, the organic material may not be sufficiently fluidized even at high temperatures. The maximum particle size of the organic material is preferably 1 μm or more and 10 mm or less, 10 μm or more and 5 mm or less, or 100 μm or more and 1 mm or less. Preferably, the maximum particle size of the inorganic solid material is smaller than the diameter of the extrusion port 30 of the molding device 10 described below. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily.

(Amount of organic material added)
When the total amount of the materials to be mixed is 100 parts by mass, the amount of the organic material added is, for example, 50 parts by mass or more and 99 parts by mass or less, preferably 60 parts by mass or more and 90 parts by mass or less, or 70 parts by mass or more. It is 80 parts by mass or less. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily.

(1-2) Inorganic Solid Material The inorganic solid material can have the function of improving the density and/or durability (for example, fire resistance and insect repellency) of the molded article to be produced. The inorganic solid material may be any inorganic material that is solid at normal temperature and pressure.

(Type of inorganic solid material)
The inorganic solid material is not particularly limited, but for example, one or more concretes, one or more cements, one or more minerals, one or more metals, one or more ceramics, one or more glasses, one above slag, one or more kinds of lime, one or more kinds of incineration ash, and one or more selected from the group consisting of these composite materials.

Concrete includes any known cement material, any known coarse aggregate, any known fine aggregate, and water. For example, concrete includes cement materials such as portland cement, ground blast furnace slag, silica fume and fly ash, water, fine aggregate such as natural sand, blast furnace slag and limestone sand, natural gravel and blast furnace slag coarse aggregate. , limestone gravel, steel slag subbase material for roads and other coarse aggregates. Concrete may further comprise an air entrainment agent. The blending amount of each component in the concrete can be determined arbitrarily.

　Concrete may further contain any material other than the above. For example, concrete may further comprise optional additives such as shrinkage reducing agents, water reducers, cement dispersants, and the like. Concrete may further include fibrous materials, metallic materials, ceramic materials, plastic materials, wood, wood chips, grass, paper, cloth, glass, soil, clay, paints, adhesives, and the like.

Concrete is concrete in various shapes such as concrete structures having arbitrary shapes, concrete waste, or fragments obtained by crushing or pulverizing concrete structures, granules, and powders. obtain. As the inorganic solid material, concrete waste such as concrete rubble generated from construction of structures such as buildings, roads, railways, utility poles may be used. The use of concrete waste is advantageous in terms of cost and sustainability, as it enables effective utilization of concrete resources that have not been sufficiently reused in the past.

As used herein, "cement" means a powder that can be used as a raw material for building materials such as mortar and concrete. Examples of cement include portland cement, ground granulated blast furnace slag, silica fume, fly ash cement, and alumina cement.

As used herein, "minerals" may be natural minerals, or may be artificial or biologically derived materials. Examples of minerals, or mixtures or composites of minerals, include sand, gravel, silt, clay, gravel, stone, diatomaceous earth, and the like.

In this specification, "metal" includes elemental metals and alloys. Examples of metals include iron, steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and the like.

As used herein, "ceramics" means heat-treated inorganic substances. Examples of ceramics include metal oxides, metal carbides, metal nitrides, and inorganic materials containing no metal element (eg, diamond, silicon, carbon fiber, silicon carbide, fullerene, boron carbide), and the like.

As used herein, "glass" means a solid material containing at least partially amorphous silicon oxide. Examples of glasses include soda lime glass, quartz glass, silicate glass, borosilicate glass, and the like.

As used herein, "slag" means a by-product produced when smelting metal from ore. Examples of slag include blast furnace slag, steelmaking slag, nonferrous slag, and the like.

As used herein, "lime" is a generic term for quicklime (calcium oxide) and slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), and includes materials containing calcium oxide and/or calcium hydroxide as main components.

"Incineration ash" as used herein means the powder that remains after burning a substance. Examples of incinerated ash include fly ash.

Preferably, the inorganic solid material includes one or more selected from the group consisting of concrete, cement, sand, gravel, stone, diatomaceous earth, slag, gypsum, lime, ash, fly ash, metal, brick, and glass. These materials are advantageous in that they are readily available and have not been fully utilized in the past.

(Particle size of inorganic solid material)
Inorganic solid materials, like organic materials, can be comminuted and/or screened, for example by grinding or sieving raw materials, until the maximum particle size is in the desired range. The maximum particle size of the inorganic solid material is, for example, 100 nm or more and 50 mm or less. If the maximum particle size of the inorganic solid material is less than 100 nm, the burden of pulverizing the material may become excessively large. If the maximum particle size of the inorganic solid material is more than 50 mm, the gaps between the constituent particles of the molded article to be produced become large, and the strength of the entire molded article may decrease. The maximum particle size of the inorganic solid material is preferably 1 μm or more and 10 mm or less, 10 μm or more and 5 mm or less, or 100 μm or more and 1 mm or less. Preferably, the maximum particle size of the inorganic solid material is smaller than the diameter of the extrusion port 30 of the molding device 10 described below. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily.

(Amount of inorganic solid material added)
When the total amount of the materials to be mixed is 100 parts by mass, the amount of the inorganic solid material added is, for example, 10 parts by mass or more and less than 50 parts by mass, preferably 15 parts by mass or more and 45 parts by mass or less, and 20 parts by mass or more. It is 40 parts by mass or less, or 25 parts by mass or more and 35 parts by mass or less. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily.

When the total amount of the organic material and the inorganic solid material is 100 parts by mass, the amount of the organic material added is, for example, greater than 50 parts by mass and 99 parts by mass or less. That is, the amount of the inorganic solid material added is, for example, 1 part by mass or more and less than 50 parts by mass. The ratio m ₁ /m ₂ between the mass m ₁ of the organic material and the mass m ₂ of the inorganic solid material is, for example, greater than 1 and 100 or less. Preferably, m ₁ /m ₂ may be 1.5 to 50, 2 to 20, 3 to 10, or 4 to 8. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily. When the amount of the organic material added is less than 50 parts by mass (that is, m ₁ /m ₂ is 1 or less), the amount of the organic material contained in the molding composition is insufficient, and sufficient fluidity is not obtained during molding. may not be obtained. As a result, there is a possibility that the molding composition cannot be injected. Even if it is less than parts by mass, it may be possible to inject depending on the applied pressure.). If the amount of the organic material added is more than 99 parts by mass (that is, the amount of the inorganic solid material added is less than 1 part by mass), the amount of combustible components in the molded body increases, and sufficient fire resistance may not be obtained. have a nature. In addition, the molded article may not be sufficiently resistant to insect damage and fungal growth.

(1-3) Water Water may be added to the organic material and the inorganic solid material in the raw material preparation step. In this case, the raw material composition will contain water. The timing of adding water is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to add water to the raw material composition before the heating step in order to permeate the water into the raw material composition before heating.

According to the examples described later, the addition of water increased the fluidity of the molding composition, making it easier to extrude, while also tending to increase the porosity of the molding composition. Without intending to bind the invention by theory, the effect of water is discussed below. A possible mechanism for the increase in fluidity is that the organic material is denatured by high-temperature steam, resulting in an improvement in fluidity. For example, if the organic material contains lignin or hemicellulose, the mechanism is considered to be that these components are decomposed by high-temperature steam, thereby improving fluidity. A possible mechanism for the increase in porosity is that water contained in the molding composition evaporates due to heating, resulting in formation of voids in the molding composition.

As used herein, the ratio of the mass of added water to the total mass of components other than water in the raw material composition is referred to as "moisture content".
A water content of 0% means that no water was added, and a water content of 100% means that the same mass of water as the components other than water in the raw material composition was added. The water content is, for example, 0% or more and 200% or less, 5% or more and 100% or less, or 10% or more and 50% or less. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily.

(1-4) Additives In addition to the above organic materials, inorganic solid materials, and water, other additives may be added as necessary. Examples of additives include adhesives, plasticizers, reinforcing materials, colorants, dispersants, antioxidants, flame retardants, stabilizers, foaming agents, and the like.

In addition, to make the molding composition suitable for molding methods such as extrusion molding and injection molding, to improve the fillability of the molding composition into the mold, and / or to improve the properties of the molded product (for example, , flexural strength, compressive strength, tensile strength, surface properties, etc.), an alkaline component, another organic material, another inorganic solid material, or the like may be further added.

The form of the raw material composition is not particularly limited. For example, in the raw material composition, organic materials and inorganic solid materials may be mixed in the form of powders or particles, respectively. The raw material composition may be in the form of a powder (including a powder wet with water), or may be solidified into a predetermined shape such as a pellet. Preferably, the raw material composition has the form of a powder in which the powder of the organic material and the powder of the inorganic solid material are mixed.

(2) Heating Step In the heating step, the raw material composition is heated to a predetermined temperature. In the heating step, heat treatment is performed so as to fluidize the organic material. Preferably, the organic material fluidized by the heat treatment enters interstices between particles of the inorganic solid material, so that substantially the entire molding composition is fluidized. A heating method is not particularly limited, and any heating means such as a hot plate and a heating furnace can be used.

(2-1) Heat Treatment The heating temperature in the heating step is, for example, 60 degrees or more and 240 degrees or less. If the heating temperature is less than 60°C, the organic material may not be sufficiently fluidized and extrusion of the molding composition may be difficult. If the heating temperature is over 240 degrees, the organic material may be carbonized or ignited. Preferably, the heating temperature is 80 to 230 degrees, 100 to 200 degrees, or 120 to 180 degrees. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily. The heating temperature may be changed as appropriate during the molding process.

(2-2) Pressure treatment In addition to heat treatment, pressure treatment may be performed by applying pressure to the raw material composition. The pressure treatment may be performed after the heating to the heating temperature is completed, may be performed in parallel with the heating to the heating temperature, or may be performed before the heating treatment. For example, the method may further include applying pressure to the heated raw material composition (hereinafter referred to as "pressurization step"). By pressurizing the heated raw material composition, the material is compressed while the organic material is in a molten state, so that the voids inside the molding composition can be reduced. By molding using this molding composition, a molded article with few voids can be formed.

The applied pressure applied to the raw material composition in the pressure treatment is, for example, 0.01 MPa or more and 400 MPa or less. If the applied pressure is less than 0.01 MPa, the raw material composition may not be sufficiently pressurized. If the applied pressure is 400 MPa or more, the excessive pressure may adversely affect the molding equipment. Preferably, the applied pressure is 0.1 MPa to 300 MPa, 1 MPa to 200 MPa, or 10 MPa to 100 MPa. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily. The applied pressure may be varied appropriately during the molding process.

Before the heat treatment and/or pressure treatment, a step of selecting a heating temperature and/or applied pressure that can extrude the molding composition may be performed according to the molding conditions. The molding conditions include, for example, the types, amounts, and forms of organic materials and inorganic solid materials contained in the raw material composition, the amount of water in the raw material composition, the treatment of the raw material powder, the size and shape of the mold used, as well as the diameter of the extrusion port. For example, for various combinations of molding conditions, the heating temperature and/or the applied pressure can be selected by referring to a database that records the heating temperature and/or the applied pressure suitable for extrusion of the molding composition. .

(2-3) Configuration of Molding Apparatus An example of the configuration of the molding apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1-3 are cross-sectional views showing a molding apparatus 10 and its method of use. The molding apparatus 10 accommodates and heats the raw material composition P1 inside, and applies pressure to the heated raw material composition P1 by sandwiching it from above and below, and extrudes it to the outside as a molding composition P2.

The molding apparatus 10 includes storage means for storing the raw material composition P1 in the material space, heating means for heating the raw material composition P1 in the material space, pressurizing means for applying pressure to the raw material composition P1 in the material space, and heating means. and extruding means for extruding the pressurized raw material composition P1 to the outside from the material space as the molding composition P2, and molding means for molding the extruded molding composition P2 into a predetermined shape.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, molding device 10 has lower member 12 and upper member 14 . The lower member 12 and the upper member 14 are joined together to form a cavity C (an example of a "material space") inside which the raw material composition P1 can be accommodated. Preferably, lower member 12 and upper member 14 are made of a material with good thermal conductivity. More preferably, lower member 12 and upper member 14 are made of metal.

The lower member 12 has a lower heating member 20 (an example of "heating means"), a base 22, and an accommodating member 24 (an example of "accommodating means"). The lower heating member 20 is attached to the lower surface of the base 22 and heats the molding apparatus 10 from below. The housing member 24 is a tubular member attached to the upper surface of the base 22 and supported by the base 22 . The containing member 24 has an internal space capable of containing the raw material composition P1. A peripheral wall of the housing member 24 is formed with an extrusion port 30 passing through the peripheral wall.

The upper member 14 has an upper heating member 26 and a pressing member 28 . The upper heating member 26 (an example of “heating means”) is attached to the upper surface of the pressing member 28 and heats the molding apparatus 10 from above. The pressing member 28 (an example of “pressurizing means” and “extrusion means”) has a piston shape so that it can be inserted into the internal space of the housing member 24 from above. A cavity C is formed by inserting the pressing member 28 into the internal space of the housing member 24 . Cavity C is closed except for extrusion port 30 .

A method of heating the raw material composition P1 using the molding apparatus 10 will be described. First, the molding apparatus 10 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the lower heating member 20 and the upper heating member 26 . Next, the raw material composition P1 is put into the internal space of the containing member 24 . A raw material composition P1 is heated by a preheated molding device 10 . Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower member 12 and the upper member 14 are coupled by inserting the pressing member 28 into the internal space of the housing member 24 . The raw material composition P1 is pressed from above by the pressing member 28 . As a result, heat exchange between the raw material composition P1 and each member of the molding apparatus 10 is promoted, and the raw material composition P1 is compressed within the cavity C. As a result, the entire raw material composition P1 is heated.

(3) Extrusion Step In the extrusion step, the heated raw material composition P1 is extruded to the outside as a molding composition P2. An example of an extrusion step using molding apparatus 10 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

As shown in FIG. 2, further pressure is applied in the direction in which the lower member 12 and the upper member 14 approach each other. For example, a downward load is applied to the upper surface of upper heating member 26 to press lower member 12 and upper member 14 . Sufficiently heated organic material can fluidize and enter interstices between particles of inorganic solid material by compression. As a result, the organic material and the inorganic solid material are mixed more homogeneously, and the contact area between the organic material and the inorganic solid material is increased. The fluidized organic material functions as a matrix material for the inorganic solid material and fluidizes the entire raw material composition P1. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the raw material composition P1 is pressurized from the cavity C through the extrusion port 30 and extruded into the external space as a molding composition P2. This molding composition P2 can be used for molding.

It is preferable that the molding device 10 can perform both the heating step and the extrusion step, because the molding composition P2 can be easily molded.

<Method for manufacturing molded body>
According to one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a molded body, comprising:
(4) A step of molding the molding composition produced by the above method into a predetermined shape (hereinafter referred to as "molding step").
A method is provided comprising: The molding step may follow the extrusion step described above or be performed in parallel with the extrusion step. An example of a method for producing a molded article from the molding composition P2 will be described below with reference to FIG.

(4) Molding Step FIG. 3 shows an example of a method of processing the molding composition P2 using the molding apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, a mold 40 is used for molding the molding composition P2. As shown in FIG. 3, a die 40 is coupled to the outlet of extrusion spout 30 . Mold 40 has a female mold 42 and a male mold 44 . The female die 42 is formed with a recess having a predetermined shape for forming a molded product. The male mold 44 is formed with a projection having a predetermined shape for cooperating with the female mold 42 to form a molded product. When the female mold 42 and the male mold 44 are joined together, the concave portion of the female mold 42 and the convex portion of the male mold 44 do not come into complete contact, forming a gap G corresponding to the shape of the molded product.

A mold 40 (an example of "forming means") is coupled to the housing member 24 so that the concave portion of the female mold 42 communicates with the extrusion port 30. The gap G is filled with the molding composition P2 extruded from the extrusion port 30 in a state in which the housing member 24 and the mold 40 are coupled. After that, the female mold 42 and the male mold 44 are separated, and the molding composition P2 is cooled and hardened on the convex portion of the male mold 44 . Thereby, a molded product having a shape corresponding to the gap G is obtained.

Thus, by extruding the molding composition P2 fluidized by the organic material from the extrusion port 30 of the molding apparatus 10, a molding having an arbitrary shape corresponding to the mold 40 can be manufactured. In addition, the molding method of the molding composition P2 is not limited to the above example. Although the method shown in FIG. 3 is injection molding, various molding methods such as extrusion molding, insert molding, blow molding, and inflation molding can be used for the molding composition P2 extruded from the extrusion port 30.

(5) Other treatments The raw material composition can be appropriately pretreated. The pretreatment may be performed, for example, in the raw material preparation step, before or after mixing each raw material. Specifically, as a pretreatment, a treatment (for example, alkali treatment, autoclave treatment, or enzymatic treatment) for reducing the polymer can be performed. Any base such as KOH, NaOH, LiOH can be used for the alkaline treatment. In addition, arbitrary pretreatments such as acid treatment, oxidation treatment, explosion treatment, hydrolysis treatment, and bleaching treatment may be performed. After pretreatment such as alkali treatment or acid treatment, washing treatment may be performed. Specifically, washing treatment such as washing with water, washing with a neutralization chamber, or neutralization treatment with an acid or alkali can be performed so that the raw material is in a predetermined state (for example, a predetermined pH). Such pretreatment and/or washing treatment may be carried out in order to make the raw material composition P1 containing the organic material and the inorganic solid material suitable for the desired molding method.

When the raw material composition P1 contains a fibrous material, the molding composition P2 having properties and characteristics suitable for the desired molding method is obtained, or a molded article having desired strength characteristics is obtained. As such, the fiber orientation of the fibrous material may be controlled by known techniques.

As described above, by appropriately performing operations such as heating, pressurization, addition of water, and pretreatment on the raw material composition containing the organic material and the inorganic solid material, properties and characteristics suitable for the desired molding method (for example, flowability, thermal shear properties, viscosity, density, etc.) can be obtained. For example, a molding composition can be obtained that has a desired shear capacity or shear rate. Thereby, a known simple molding method can be applied to the raw material composition containing the inorganic solid material. Therefore, a molded article having a desired shape can be easily obtained from a raw material composition containing an inorganic solid material. Further, by bonding the inorganic solid materials together with the organic material, the strength of the molded body can be improved compared to a molded body made of only the inorganic solid material.

<Molding material>
According to one embodiment, the molding material includes an inorganic solid material and an organic material that is fluidized by heating to bond the inorganic solid materials together, the mass _m1 of the organic material and the mass of the inorganic solid material A molding material is provided in which the ratio m ₁ /m ₂ to m ₂ is greater than 1.

A molding material is used as a material for forming a molded body. The term "molding material" encompasses both the raw material composition P1 and the molding composition P2 described above. The form of the molding material is not particularly limited, and may be a mixture of solid powders such as the raw material composition P1, or a composition in which at least a portion is fluidized such as the molding composition P2. The composition may be a solidified fluid. Preferably, the molding material can be used in molding methods applicable to thermoplastic materials such as injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding, inflation molding.

In the molding material, m ₁ /m ₂ is 100 or less, for example. Preferably, m ₁ /m ₂ may be 1.5 to 50, 2 to 20, 3 to 10, or 4 to 8. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily.

The molding material has, for example, a porosity of 0% or more and 90% or less. Porosity is measured by the Archimedes method. Preferably, the porosity of the molding material is 10% to 80%, 20% to 70%, 25% to 60%, or 30% to 50%.

<Molded body>
According to one embodiment, the shaped body includes an inorganic solid material, and an organic material that bonds the inorganic solid materials together and that can be fluidized by heating, and the mass of the organic material m ₁ to the mass m ₂ of the inorganic solid material, m ₁ /m ₂ is greater than 1.

In the compact, m ₁ /m ₂ is, for example, 100 or less. Preferably, m ₁ /m ₂ may be 1.5 to 50, 2 to 20, 3 to 10, or 4 to 8. In addition, these upper limit values and lower limit values can be combined arbitrarily.

The compact has, for example, a porosity of 0% or more and 90% or less. Porosity is measured by the Archimedes method. Preferably, the porosity of the compact is 10% to 80%, 20% to 70%, 25% to 60%, or 30% to 50%.

Although the present invention will be described below with experimental examples, the present invention is not limited to the following experimental examples.

<Example 1-1>
(Manufacture of raw material composition)
As an organic material, cedar wood powder (trade name: domestic cedar powder, 300 μm pass, manufactured by Naka Wood Co., Ltd.) was prepared. A 300 μm pass is a standard for passing through a sieve with an opening of 300 μm. Therefore, the maximum particle size of the wood flour used is about 300 μm. As the inorganic solid material, concrete powder obtained by pulverizing concrete rubble was prepared. Specifically, the concrete rubble was pulverized and passed through a sieve with an opening of 105 μm to obtain a concrete powder having a maximum particle size of about 105 μm. The above organic material and inorganic solid material were mixed at a mass ratio of 4:1. 10 parts by mass of water was added to 100 parts by mass of this mixture and mixed. Thus, a powdery raw material composition was obtained.

(heating and injection)
The molding apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 was used to heat and inject the raw material composition. Specifically, after the lower member 12 and the upper member 14 of the molding apparatus 10 are preheated to 180° C. by the heating members 20 and 26, respectively, the raw material composition P1 in powder form is put into the cavity C in the molding apparatus 10. did. Next, a load of 1 ton is applied in the direction in which the lower member 12 and the upper member 14 approach each other, and the load is maintained for 5 minutes, and whether or not the molding composition P2 is injected from the extrusion port 30 of the housing member 24 of the lower member 12 is checked. confirmed. If a load of 1 ton is maintained for 5 minutes and injection is not confirmed, the load is increased by 1 ton every 5 minutes, up to a maximum of 7 tons, and the presence or absence of injection and when injection is confirmed was confirmed. As a result, the molding composition P2 was injected from the extrusion port 30 when a load of 2 tons was applied. The inner diameter of the housing member 24 of the molding apparatus 10 used is 14 mm, and the area to which the load is applied is about 154 mm ² , so the load of 2 tons is converted to pressure of about 128 MPa.

<Example 1-2, Example 1-3, Comparative Example 1>
(Change in mass ratio between organic material and inorganic solid material)
In Example 1-2, Example 1-3, and Comparative Example 1, as shown in Table 1 below, except that the mass ratio of the organic material and the inorganic solid material was changed, Example 1-1 and The presence or absence of ejection was confirmed in the same manner. Specifically, the mass ratio of the organic material and the inorganic solid material was varied within the range of 3:1 to 1:1. As a result, injection was confirmed in Examples 1-2 and 1-3, but injection of the molding composition P2 was not confirmed in Comparative Example 1 even when a load of 7 tons was applied.

<Examples 2-1 to 2-5>
(Change of heating temperature)
In Examples 2-1 to 2-3, as shown in Table 1 below, the heating temperature was changed from Example 1-1 (the mass ratio of the organic material to the inorganic solid material was 4:1). , confirmed the presence or absence of injection. In Examples 2-4 and 2-5, the heating temperature was changed from that in Example 1-2 (the mass ratio of the organic material to the inorganic solid material was 3:1), and the presence or absence of injection was confirmed. As a result, injection of the molding composition P2 was confirmed in all Examples.

<Examples 3-1 to 3-7, Comparative Example 2>
(Change in moisture content)
In Example 3-1, as shown in Table 1 below, the same as Example 1-1 except that 100 parts by weight of water was added to 100 parts by weight of the mixture of the organic material and the inorganic solid material. Then, the presence or absence of injection was confirmed. In Examples 3-2 to 3-7, the heating temperature and the mass ratio of the organic material and the inorganic solid material were variously changed from those in Example 3-1, and the presence or absence of injection was confirmed. As a result, injection was confirmed in Examples 3-1 to 3-7, but injection of the molding composition P2 was not confirmed in Comparative Example 2 even when a load of 7 tons was applied. In Example 3-1, injection was confirmed, but the specific load value is unknown.

<Example 4-1, Example 4-2>
(no water used)
In Examples 4-1 and 4-2, as shown in Table 1 below, the presence or absence of injection was confirmed without adding water. As a result, injection of the molding composition P2 was confirmed in all Examples.

<Example 5>
(Use of thermoplastic resin)
In Example 5, the presence or absence of injection was confirmed in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that polyethylene (trade name: small polyethylene fine powder, manufactured by Featherfield Co., Ltd.) was used as the organic material. As a result, injection of the molding composition P2 was confirmed.

Table 1 below shows experimental parameters and results for each example and comparative example. The "water content" column describes the ratio of the added amount (mass) of water to the total mass of the organic material and the inorganic solid material. In the "success/failure" column, "Yes" is entered when injection is confirmed, and "No" is entered when injection is not confirmed up to a load of 7 tons.

As described above, it was confirmed that when the mass ratio of the organic material and the inorganic solid material exceeds 1:1, the molding composition can be extruded without containing the synthetic resin material. It was also confirmed that the molding composition could be extruded even when a synthetic resin material (polyethylene) was used instead of wood flour. On the other hand, when the mass ratio of the organic material to the inorganic solid material is 1:1 or less as in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, it is difficult to inject the molding composition P2 with a load of at least 7 tons. there were. On the other hand, there was a tendency that as the mass ratio of the organic material and the inorganic solid material increased, the load during injection decreased and the injection became easier. Similarly, as the heating temperature and water content increased, the load during injection decreased and the injection tended to become easier.

<Evaluation of porosity>
As shown in Table 2 below, the injection molding composition P2 in the examples was immersed in alcohol (95% ethanol) for 24 hours and then withdrawn. In each example, an increase in mass of the molding composition P2 was confirmed before and after the immersion experiment. The value obtained by dividing the increase in mass before and after immersion by the mass before immersion was calculated as the "alcohol absorption rate". Also, the "porosity" was calculated using the Archimedes method. That is, the mass (dry mass) before immersion (absolutely dry state), the mass after immersion (saturated water mass), and the mass in the alcohol solution (water mass) are measured, and (saturated water mass - dry mass) The value of /(mass saturated with water - mass in water) was calculated as the "porosity".

As described above, it was confirmed that the higher the organic material content in the raw material composition, the lower the alcohol absorption rate and the porosity. It was also confirmed that the lower the water content, the lower the alcohol absorption rate and the porosity. It is considered that the smaller the porosity value, the more the organic material enters into the gaps between the particles of the inorganic solid material, and the particles of the inorganic solid material are bonded to each other.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Molding apparatus, 12... Lower member, 20... Lower heating member, 22... Base, 24... Accommodating member, 30... Extrusion port, 14... Upper member, 26... Upper heating member, 28... Pressing member, 40... Mold , 42... Female mold, 44... Male mold, C... Cavity, P1... Raw material composition, P2... Molding composition.

Claims (12)

1. A method for producing a molding composition, comprising:
   obtaining a raw material composition containing an inorganic solid material and an organic material that is fluidized by heating to bond the inorganic solid materials together;
   heating the raw material composition in a material space;
   extruding the heated raw material composition from the material space as the molding composition;
   A method, including
2. wherein the organic material is a plant material;
   The method of claim 1.
3. the organic material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and sugar;
   3. A method according to claim 1 or 2.
4. The inorganic solid material includes one or more concretes, one or more cements, one or more minerals, one or more metals, one or more ceramics, one or more glasses, one or more slags, one above lime, and one or more incinerated ash, and one or more selected from the group consisting of composite materials thereof,
   The method according to any one of claims 1-3.
5. the ratio m ₁ /m 2 of the mass m ₁ of the organic material and the mass m _{2 of} the inorganic solid material is greater than 1;
   The method according to any one of claims 1-4.
6. The raw material composition further contains water,
   The method according to any one of claims 1-5.
7. The heating temperature in the step of heating the raw material composition is 60 degrees or more and 240 degrees or less.
   The method according to any one of claims 1-6.
8. further comprising applying pressure to the heated feedstock composition;
   The method according to any one of claims 1-7.
9. A method for manufacturing a molded body,
   A method comprising molding a molding composition produced by the method of any one of claims 1 to 8 into a predetermined shape.
10. The molded body is molded by injection molding, extrusion molding, insert molding, blow molding, or inflation molding,
    10. The method of claim 9.
11. an inorganic solid material;
    an organic material that is fluidized by heating to bond the inorganic solid materials together;
    including
    the ratio m ₁ /m 2 of the mass m ₁ of the organic material and the mass m _{2 of} the inorganic solid material is greater than 1;
    molding material.
12. an inorganic solid material;
    an organic material that bonds the inorganic solid materials together and that can be fluidized by heating;
    including
    the ratio m ₁ /m 2 of the mass m ₁ of the organic material and the mass m _{2 of} the inorganic solid material is greater than 1;
    molding.

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