Eco-Friendly Strength with Green Resin Innovation

Introduction

As industries strive to meet sustainability goals, the need for eco-friendly materials has never been more important. Traditional epoxy resins, widely used in construction, manufacturing, and coatings, are typically derived from petrochemical sources, making them environmentally unsustainable. Our patented green epoxy resin, made with a biobinder from manure, offers a breakthrough solution by providing a sustainable alternative that doesn’t compromise on strength or durability.

Challenges with Conventional Resins

Epoxy resins are vital in numerous industries, providing strong, durable coatings, adhesives, and structural materials. However, the petrochemical base of most resins contributes to environmental issues, including non-biodegradability and reliance on finite resources. Furthermore, the production process often emits harmful chemicals and increases carbon footprints, making traditional epoxy resins incompatible with today’s focus on green manufacturing and sustainability.

As industries face increasing pressure to reduce their environmental impact, there is a growing need for materials that perform just as well as their conventional counterparts while being eco-friendly. This is where green resin technology comes into play, offering a way to meet sustainability demands without sacrificing performance.

The Benefits of Green Resin Innovation

Our patented green epoxy resin provides the perfect solution by using a biobinder derived from manure, transforming waste into a valuable resource. This innovative resin offers high-strength, durability, and versatility, making it suitable for a wide range of applications in construction, manufacturing, and product development. Its biodegradable nature reduces the environmental impact of its disposal, making it an ideal choice for companies committed to sustainability.

The production process is also more environmentally friendly, utilizing renewable resources and reducing reliance on petrochemicals. This makes the green resin not only a better choice for the environment but also a cost-effective alternative for industries looking to lower their carbon footprint and adhere to stricter environmental regulations.

Key Benefits

Eco-Friendly: Made from renewable resources, significantly reducing environmental impact.
Biodegradable: Offers a sustainable option for disposal, minimizing waste.
Strong and Durable: Performs as well as conventional resins, ideal for industrial applications.
Versatile Applications: Suitable for construction, manufacturing, and product development.

Innovate Sustainably with Green Resin Innovation

Licensing this green resin technology offers a unique opportunity to embrace sustainability in construction, manufacturing, and other industries. With its powerful combination of eco-friendliness, strength, and cost-effectiveness, this green epoxy resin is set to drive the future of sustainable material innovation.

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Abstract
Claims

A curable green epoxy resin composition is described. More particularly, the curable green epoxy resin composition includes a biobinder isolated from bio-oil produced from animal waste, such as from swine manure. The biobinder can act as a curing agent for an epoxy resin component in the resin composition. Cured green epoxy resins, prepregs containing the curable green epoxy resin, and related composite materials are described. In addition, methods of preparing the curable green epoxy resin composition and of curing the curable green epoxy resin.

What is claimed is:

1. A curable epoxy resin composition comprising:

(a) an epoxy resin component; and

(b) a biobinder isolated from a bio-oil produced from animal waste, optionally beef manure, dairy manure, swine manure, sheep manure, poultry manure, or a combination thereof.

2. The curable epoxy resin composition of claim 1, wherein the epoxy resin component comprises one or more of epichlorohydrin, bisphenol A, and Bisphenol F.

3. The curable epoxy resin composition of claim 1, wherein the biobinder is isolated from a bio-oil produced from swine manure.

4. The curable epoxy resin composition of claim 3, wherein the biobinder is free of compounds having a boiling point at 3 mm Hg of 60° C. or less.

5. The curable epoxy resin composition of claim 1, wherein the curable epoxy resin composition comprises at least about 15% by weight of biobinder.

6. The curable epoxy resin composition of claim 5, wherein the curable epoxy resin composition comprises about 30% by weight of the biobinder.

7. The curable epoxy resin composition of claim 1, further comprising one or more additional performance enhancing or modifying agents, optionally wherein the one or more additional performance enhancing or modifying agents are selected from the group consisting of a non-epoxy resin, a flexibilizer, a stabilizer, a flow promoter, a toughening agent, an accelerator, a core shell rubber, a flame retardant, a wetting agent, a colorant, a UV absorber, an antioxidant, an antimicrobial agent, a filler, a conducting particle, and a viscosity modifier.

8. An article comprising a cured epoxy resin prepared by curing the curable epoxy resin of claim 1.

9. A kit for providing the curable epoxy resin composition of claim 1, wherein the kit comprises:

(a) a first sealable container containing the one or more epoxy resin component; and

(b) a second sealable container containing the biobinder,

10. The kit of claim 9, further comprising one or more additional performance enhancing or modifying agents, optionally wherein the one or more additional performance enhancing or modifying agents are selected from the group consisting of a non-epoxy resin, a flexibilizer, a stabilizer, a flow promoter, a toughening agent, an accelerator, a core shell rubber, a flame retardant, a wetting agent, a colorant, a UV absorber, an antioxidant, an antimicrobial agent, a filler, a conducting particle, and a viscosity modifier.

11. A method of preparing a cured epoxy resin composition, the method comprising contacting biobinder isolated from a bio-oil produced from animal waste with at least one epoxy resin component, to provide a curable epoxy resin composition; and curing the curable epoxy resin composition.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one epoxy resin component comprises one or more of epichlorohydrin, bisphenol A, and Bisphenol F.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising contacting the biobinder, epoxy resin, or combination thereof with one or more additional performance enhancing or modifying agents, optionally wherein the one or more additional performance enhancing or modifying agents are selected from the group consisting of a non-epoxy resin, a flexibilizer, a stabilizer, a flow promoter, a toughening agent, an accelerator, a core shell rubber, a flame retardant, a wetting agent, a colorant, a UV absorber, an antioxidant, an antimicrobial agent, a filler, a conducting particle, and a viscosity modifier.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the curable epoxy resin composition comprises at least about 15% by weight of biobinder.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

providing a bio-oil derived from animal waste;

(ii) distilling the bio-oil to remove a light liquid fraction, wherein the distilling occurs at a vacuum pressure of between about 1 mm Hg and about 80 mm Hg while heating to a temperature of up to about 60° C.; and

(iii) isolating a biobinder from the bio-oil.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the curing comprises heating the curable green epoxy resin, optionally to a temperature of at least about 80° C. or more for a period of time.

17. A prepreg comprising:

(a) one or more epoxy resin component;

(b) a biobinder isolated from a bio-oil produced from animal waste, optionally beef manure, dairy manure, swine manure, sheep manure, poultry manure, or a combination thereof; and

(c) a fiber reinforcement, comprising one or more fibers and wherein the fiber reinforcement is in contact with one or both of (a) and (b).

18. The prepreg of claim 17, wherein the fiber reinforcement comprises one or more of glass, carbon or aramid fibers.

19. A composite material comprising a cured prepreg of claim 17.

Title

Green epoxy resin with biobinder from manure

Inventor(s)

Lifeng Zhang, Elham H. Fini, Sidharth Reddy Karnati

Assignee(s)

North Carolina A&T State University

Patent #

20190233638

Patent Date

August 1, 2019