PROCESS FOR PRODUCING FIBER-POLYMER-COMPOSITES

• Main Authors: KÄLLSTRÖM, Johan, BERGSTRÖM, Roger, KÄLLSTRÖM, Fredrik, MALMQVIST, Martin, KARLSSON, Sofi, TÖRNBLOM, Maria, JOHANSSON, Conny
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 11.01.2023
• Subjects: IMPREGNATING OR COATING OF PAPER; INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; MANUFACTURE BY DRY PROCESSES OF ARTICLES, WITH OR WITHOUTORGANIC BINDING AGENTS, MADE FROM PARTICLES OR FIBRES CONSISTINGOF WOOD OR OTHER LIGNOCELLULOSIC OR LIKE ORGANIC MATERIAL; NAILING OR STAPLING MACHINES IN GENERAL; PAPER NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PAPER-MAKING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BESHAPED; PREPARATION THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES D21C OR D21D; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE; PULP COMPOSITIONS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIALCONTAINING PLASTICS; TEXTILES; TRANSPORTING; TREATMENT OF FINISHED PAPER NOT COVERED BY CLASS B31 OR SUBCLASS D21G; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL; WORKING OR PRESERVING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL

The present invention relates to a process for the manufacturing of composite materials from natural fibers and thermoplastic polymers. Examples of fibers are wood fibers originating from pulping processes known as refiner pulp (RMP), thermomechanical pulp (TMP) or chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP), but the process can also be applied to other kinds of natural fiber containing raw materials. In the process according to the present invention, fibers are introduced from the blowline or the housing of a refiner into a flash tube dryer, separated from humid air in a cyclone, introduced into a compounder and mixed with at least one thermoplastic polymer and the product is subsequently pelletized. The process according to the present invention is advantageously run as a continuous process.