Patents by Inventor Joseph B. Snook

Joseph B. Snook has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Bulk reactive extrusion polymerization process producing aliphatic ester polymer compositions
    Patent number: 5969089
    Abstract: A bulk extrusion polymerization process to derive an aliphatic polyester from a suitable ester monomer, preferably .epsilon.-caprolactone. Novel reaction formulations containing less than 100 ppm water and having an acid value less than 0.5 mg KOH/g and preferably less than 0.2 mg KOH/g enable the polymerization of bulk monomer in an extruder in a resident time of less than 2 minutes. Different catalyst and initiator systems, processing protocols, and screw configurations lead to the preferred manufacture of poly(.epsilon.-caprolactone) polymer of number average molecular weight, M.sub.n, greater than 100,000. A novel poly(.epsilon.-caprolactone) intermediate optionally grafted to starch, is described which has significantly different processing and use characteristics as compared to a straight-chain polycaprolactone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Board of Trustees operating Michigan State University
    Inventors: Ramani Narayan, Mohan Krishnan, Joseph B. Snook, Ajay Gupta, Philippe DuBois
  • Bulk reaction extrusion polymerization process producing aliphatic ester polymer compositions
    Patent number: 5906783
    Abstract: A bulk extrusion polymerization process to derive an aliphatic polyester from a suitable ester monomer, preferably .epsilon.-caprolactone. Novel reaction formulations containing less than 100 ppm water and having an acid value less than 0.5 mg KOH/g and preferably less than 0.2 mg KOH/g enable the polymerization of bulk monomer in an extruder in a resident time of less than 2 minutes. Different catalyst and initiator systems, processing protocols, and screw configurations lead to the preferred manufacture of poly(.epsilon.-caprolactone) polymer of number average molecular weight, M.sub.n, greater than 100,000. A novel poly(.epsilon.-caprolactone) intermediate optionally grafted to starch, is described which has significantly different processing and use characteristics as compared to a straight-chain polycaprolactone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1999
    Assignee: Board of Trustees operating Michigan State University
    Inventors: Ramani Narayan, Mohan Krishnan, Joseph B. Snook, Ajay Gupta, Philippe DuBois
  • Bulk reactive extrusion polymerization process producing aliphatic ester polymer compositions
    Patent number: 5801224
    Abstract: A bulk extrusion polymerization process to derive an aliphatic polyester from a suitable ester monomer, preferably .epsilon.-caprolactone. Novel reaction formulations containing less than 100 ppm water and having an acid value less than 0.5 mg KOH/g and preferably less than 0.2 mg KOH/g enable the polymerization of bulk monomer in an extruder in a resident time of less than 2 minutes. Different catalyst and initiator systems, processing protocols, and screw configurations lead to the preferred manufacture of poly(.epsilon.-caprolactone) polymer of number average molecular weight, M.sub.n, greater than 100,000. A novel poly(.epsilon.-caprolactone) intermediate optionally grafted to starch, is described which has significantly different processing and use characteristics as compared to a straight-chain polycaprolactone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1998
    Assignee: Board of Trustees operating Michigan State University
    Inventors: Ramani Narayan, Mohan Krishnan, Joseph B. Snook, Ajay Gupta, Philippe DuBois