Abstract: A method for producing an at least partially open-celled foam foil on a basis of styrene polymers, nucleating agents, surfactants, physical foaming agents and, if required, further additives, such as foreign polymers and auxiliary materials, comprising a twin-screw extruder with identical parallel screws rotating in the same direction, wherein the twin-screw extruder has a length of at least 25 D (D=screw diameter), in particular 30 to 42 D, with a draw-in and plastification zone of a length of 10 to 15 D, and a mixing zone of a length of 3 to 6 D, and a following cooling zone.

Abstract: An insect resistant foam building material includes calcium borate incorporated therein in sufficient quantity to provide insect resistance. Calcium borate may be incorporated in expanded polystyrene or extruded polystyrene foam materials as part of the foam manufacturing process. The resulting insect resistant calcium borate infused foam material is non-toxic to humans and resistant to leaching out of the protective calcium borate compound from the foam material under high moisture conditions.

Abstract: A process of manufacturing of a chromatography material comprising the steps of (i) reacting a polymerizable at least bifunctional monomer A with a ligand also having a functional group which binds covalently with one of the functional groups of said polymerizable bifunctional monomer A, (ii) to form a compound B comprising at least one polymerizable functional moiety (iii) polymerizing the compound B essentially alone or with the polymerizable monomers in presence of porogenes to obtain a block of porous polymerizate which is self-supporting or (iv) reacting the ligand and a spacer via a covalent bond which is cleavable to form a ligand-spacer conjugate and binding the ligand-spacer conjugate to the surface of a chromatographic support or reacting the ligand-spacer conjugate via a covalent bond to the at least bi-functional monomer A and polymerizing it essentially alone or with the polymerizable monomers in presence of porogenes to obtain a block of porous polymerizate which is self-supporting.

Abstract: A waste disposal and recovery system for disposal of expanded polystyrene foam and recovery of a usable resin. The system includes a first tank and a second tank in flow communication. Within the second tank may be a plurality of settlement compartments with a filtration system. An organic solvent is used to dissolve the EPS foam which forms a waste solution. The waste solution is directed to the second tank where it is separated into resin and the organic solvent. The solvent may be recycled for use in dissolving more EPS foam while the resin may be removed for storage, shipment or sale.

Abstract: A suitable cross-linkable matrix precursor and a poragen can be treated to form a porous cross-linked matrix having a Tg of greater than 300° C. The porous matrix material has a lower dielectric constant than the corresponding non-porous matrix material, making the porous matrix material particularly attractive for a variety of electronic applications including integrated circuits, multichip modules, and flat panel display devices.

Abstract: A flexible thermoplastic article is formed from a blend comprising from about 2 to about 15 weight percent of a styrene-elastomer block copolymer; from about 60 to about 90 weight percent polyolefin; from about 4 to about 15 weight percent plasticizer oil, and optionally from about 0 to about 3 weight percent of at least one additive. The additives are typically present in a concentration of from 0.05 to about 3 weigh percent and can include those additives conventionally used in polyolefin foam compositions, including antioxidants and stabilizers, processing aids, etc. The styrene-elastomer block copolymer is preferably a tri-block copolymer structure which includes styrene end-blocks and a mid-block of a saturated olefin elastomer. A particularly suitable styrene elastomer block copolymer is a styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS) block copolymer.

Abstract: The invention includes a process for providing a coupled propylene polymer foam. The invention also includes any composition comprising a product formed by the process of the invention and any article formed from such a composition.

Abstract: In producing a porous cross-linked polymer by forming a water-in-oil type high internal phase emulsion and subsequently polymerizing the emulsion, a method for the production of a porous cross-linked polymer material which comprises a step of polymerizing a water-in-oil type high internal phase emulsion obtained in the presence of a polyglycerine fatty acid ester. This invention permits an HIPE to be polymerized at a high temperature for the purpose of stabilizing the HIPE and consequently warrants quick production of a porous cross-linked polymer material possessed of an excellent water absorbing property.

Abstract: It is possible to recover a volume reducing agent from a waste foamed polystyrene resin material compacted with the volume reducing agent and to impregnate a blowing agent into the compacted material at ordinary room temperature. The volume reducing agent is preferably a polar solvent having solubility with respect to the polystyrene resin and exhibiting a mutual solubility with the blowing agent, which is one whose hydrogen bond term &dgr;h and polarity term &dgr;p of the Hansen solubility parameters satisfy the following conditions: (&dgr;p−5.8)2+(&dgr;h−4.3)2<50 and &dgr;p2+&dgr;h2>46  [units :(J/cm3)1/2] The solvent used as the volume reducing agent is preferably at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of ketones, esters, polyhydric alcohol ether acetates, ethers, halogenated hydrocarbons, nitro compounds, and amines.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process for producing a diantimony pentoxide sol, characterized in that a diantimony pentoxide sol having a particle size of 5 to 30 nm is used as a nuclear sol and the sol is grown to an arbitrary particle size, preferably a particle size of 40 to 300 nm. The process comprises adding a hydrogen peroxide solution and diantimony trioxide into a sol comprising diantimony pentoxide particles as a raw material, and coating the diantimony pentoxide particles with a resulting antimony compound, preferably diantimony pentoxide. In the process, the coating is preferably carried out in such a manner that a particle size of particles in a sol as a raw material increases by a factor of 1.3 to 60.

Abstract: A fibrillated foamed article and process for producing the same is described. The fibrillated articles are useful as tape backings, filters, thermal and acoustical insulation and as a diffuse reflector for use in optical applications such as computer displays and as reinforcement fibers for polymers or cast building materials such as concrete.

Abstract: An anti-lumping agent for use with expandable polystyrene beads is disclosed. The expandable polystyrene beads comprise a styrene or styrene derivative polymer in combination with a blowing agent. Typical blowing agents are C3-C6 hydrocarbons, with pentane being especially preferred. The anti-lumping agents include block copolymers formed from blocks of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. Preferably, the copolymers have a number average molecular weight of from about 4,000 to 15,000, and a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number of from about 16 to 29. The anti-lumping agents significantly reduce the lumping potential of the expandable polystyrene beads, especially when they are expanded to low densities of from about 1.5 to 0.75 lbs. per cubic foot, and more preferably to densities of from about 1.2 to 0.85.

Abstract: Provided is a porous para-oriented aromatic polyamide film which contains fine particles composed of a heat-resistant resin in an amount of 10 to 400 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of a pare-oriented aromatic polyamide and has a linear thermal expansion coefficient at 200 to 300° C. of from −50×10−6/° C. to +50×10−6/° C. The porous para-oriented aromatic polyamide film shows excellent tear propagation resistance and has light weight and low linear thermal expansion coefficient, and is suitable as a prepreg material used for a base substrate for printed circuit board.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to thermo-expandable microspheres and to the expanded microballoons, microcellular foam or foamed composite material that results upon heating the microspheres. The thermo-expandable microsphere of the present invention is characterized by having a polymeric wall surrounding one or more pockets or particles of blowing agent or propellant within the microsphere. The polymeric wall may have reactive functional groups on its surface to give a fusible microsphere. When the microspheres are heated, they expand to form microballoons comprising polymeric shells surrounding one or more internal gaseous voids, and when the microspheres are expanded while in contact with each other, a microcellular foam may be formed. The foam consists of a plurality of microballoons fused together, optionally aided by functional groups present on the surface of the heated microspheres that act to crosslink the material.

Abstract: A synthetic aggregate having a multiplicity of uses such as for mixing with a cementing material to form concrete, mortar or plaster is disclosed. The aggregate includes crushed fragments of a size which are capable of passing through mesh screen having sieve openings ranging from between about 19 mm and 75 microns. The aggregate fragments are made by curing and then crushing a compressed product. The compressed product is made by compressing an aqueous cementitious mixture comprising cement and at least one member selected from the group consisting of bottom ash and non-cementitious fly ash. The compressed product is cured so that it has a compressive strength of at least 600 psi.

Abstract: A porous thermoplastic resin film capable of functioning well as a separator of a cell is provided. The porous film is constituted with a thermoplastic resin and a filler, wherein XR defined by the following formula: XR=25×TGUR×d2/Y is smaller than 5, where Y(&mgr;m), TGUR (sec/100 cc), and d (&mgr;m) represent the thickness, the gurley value, and the average pore diameter of said film, respectively. The porous film constructed as shown above can reduce the internal resistance of a cell when used as a separator of the cell.

Abstract: An expandable vinyl chloride resin composition which can provide foamed articles having a greatly enhanced expansion ratio without remarkably lowering the surface property and strength by the use of thermally decomposable blowing agents without the use of organic solvent blowing agents, and which comprises 100 parts by weight of a vinyl chloride resin, 0.5 to 30 parts by weight of, as a processing aid, a two stage (meth)acrylic ester polymer having a specific viscosity of at least 0.5 (0.1 % chloroform solution, 30° C.) prepared by polymerizing a monomer component containing as a main component a monomer selected from acrylic esters and methacrylic esters excepting methyl methacrylate in the presence of a latex of a methyl methacrylate polymer having a specific viscosity of at least 0.7, 0.3 to 25 parts by weight of a thermally decomposable inorganic blowing agent, 0.01 to 15 parts by weight of a thermally decomposable organic blowing agent and 0 to 20 parts by weight of a filler.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for preparing a hydrophilic porous polymeric material comprising the step of mixing a hydrophilic polymeric material with a hydrophobic material; solvent sintering the surface of the hydrophilic polymeric material with water or an aqueous solution; and removing the hydrophobic material contained within the hydrophilic polymeric material with a massive organic solvent. Thus, the hydrophilic porous polymeric material with high porosity and stable structure is rapidly mass produced.

Abstract: The invention describes hydrophilically acting shaped objects, in particular semipermeable membranes for pyrogen retention, comprising a synthetic polymer component and an additive made from a copolymer made from vinylpyrrolidone and a vinylimidazole compound, and furthermore processes for manufacturing the shaped objects. The shaped objects of the invention exhibit such a high pyrogen retention capacity that the pyrogen concentrations present in the filtrates are in part below the detection limit of the gel clot LAL test.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to processes for preparing extruded foam products and more particularly to a process for producing such products wherein surface defects are minimized. There has been a movement to replace conventional halo-carbon blowing agents in favor of purportedly more environmentally safe halo-carbon free blowing agents such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, water, air, nitrogen, and helium. However, these halo-carbon free blowing agents, in particular carbon dioxide, have higher foaming rates and higher volatility leading to greater surface defects in the extruded foam. The present invention employs polyethylene wax to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of surface defects where halo-carbon free blowing agents are employed in an extruded foam manufacture process.