Abstract: A curative for epoxidized plant-based oils and epoxidized natural rubber is created from the reaction between a naturally occurring polyfunctional acid and an epoxidized plant-based oil is disclosed. The curative may be used to produce at least one of six different materials, wherein each type of material may be configured as a thermosetting elastomer that is crosslinked with ?-hydroxyester linkages. The materials may be configured as a leather-like material, a foam material, a molded elastomer, a coating, an adhesive, and/or a rigid or semi-rigid material. Illustrative articles made from any combination of the six materials may be recycled using a mechano-chemical process to de-crosslink the thermosetting elastomer.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 4, 2022
Date of Patent:
July 26, 2022
Assignee:
Natural Fiber Wielding, Inc.
Inventors:
Aaron Kenneth Amstutz, Luke Michael Haverhals, Isaiah Amstutz, Skylar Clement, Shang-Min Li