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US-12617982-B2 - Water activated adhesive mixture

US12617982B2US 12617982 B2US12617982 B2US 12617982B2US-12617982-B2

Abstract

Described is an adhesive coating that can be applied, for example, to a surface of the insulation product. The adhesive coating includes between about 15-40% by weight of the adhesive coating of at least one of polystyrene-maleic anhydride (SMA) and polyacrylic acid (PAA), between about 15 and 50% by weight of the adhesive coating of a polyvinyl alcohol, between about 0.05% and 1.0% by weight of a homogenizer, and between about 20 and 40% by weight of the adhesive coating of a starch paste. The adhesive is activated with the application of liquid water.

Inventors

  • Thomas John Fellinger
  • Guodong Zheng

Assignees

  • JOHNS MANVILLE

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20230809

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . An insulation product, comprising: an insulating material, and; an adhesive coated on a surface of the insulating material, comprising: a compound chosen from polyacrylic acid (PAA), styrene maleic anhydride (SMA), or combinations thereof, a polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH); at least one starch paste with a pH between 3.7 and 4.7 and a specific gravity between 1.0 and 1.2; and at least one homogenizer that inhibits separation of the adhesive.
  2. 2 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive further comprising an alcohol amine.
  3. 3 . The insulation product of claim 2 , wherein the alcohol amine comprises one or more of monoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEOA), or triethylamine (TEA).
  4. 4 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the polystyrenemaleic anhydride (SMA) and/or polyacrylic acid (PAA), the polyvinyl alcohol, and the at least one starch paste comprise between 70 and 90% by weight of the adhesive.
  5. 5 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the pH of the adhesive is 5.5-7.5.
  6. 6 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive further comprises one or both of urea or ammonia.
  7. 7 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the at least one homogenizer kills biological growth in the adhesive.
  8. 8 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein after agitation, the adhesive remains homogeneous for at least 2 weeks.
  9. 9 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is water activated.
  10. 10 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the PAA, SMA, or combinations thereof is present in an amount from 15 wt. % to 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive.
  11. 11 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the PVOH is present in an amount from 15 wt. % to 50 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive.
  12. 12 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the at least one starch paste is present in an amount from 20 wt. % to 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive.
  13. 13 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the homogenizer is present in an amount from 0.05 wt. % to 1.0 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive.
  14. 14 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the insulating material is fiberglass, mineral wool, slag wool, rock wool, foam, or combinations thereof.
  15. 15 . The insulation product of claim 1 , further comprising a facer material coupled to the insulation material.
  16. 16 . The insulation product of claim 15 , wherein the facer material is coupled to the insulation material by the adhesive.
  17. 17 . The insulation product of claim 15 , wherein the facer material is paperboard, cardboard material, foil, scrim, polymer material, or a combination thereof.
  18. 18 . The insulation product of claim 1 , wherein the homogenizer is present in an amount from 0.1 wt. % to 0.2 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/860,268, filed Jul. 8, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Pre-formed insulation products (batts, blankets, boards, etc.) can be applied to various structures and equipment using a variety of fastening techniques. For example, in wood framed wall applications, faced batt insulation can be pressed into cavities and stapled in place to perimeter framing members of each cavity via a stapling flange on the facing. Similarly, un-faced batt insulation used for framed walls (wood or steel stud) can be held in place with a friction fit and may be later covered with wallboard to prevent fall out. For crawl spaces, lightning rods or other mechanical fastening devices can be used to hold the insulation in place. Foam boards can be glued to framing members and/or fastened with nails or other fasteners. Application to other surfaces, such as HVAC equipment, ducts, and appliances, may be accomplished using adhesives, fastening clips, or a combination of the two. The adhesives are generally applied to the insulation right before installation. Typical adhesives include solvent-based products, hot melts, pressure sensitive adhesives, IR activated adhesives, water-based adhesives, VOC based adhesives, and the like. Unfortunately, these adhesives may be expensive and/or require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect workers from burns, volatile organic compounds (VOC), etc. Moreover, existing self-stick adhesive mixtures have demonstrated impractically high tack times in sheet metal applications. In addition, adhesives often have limited shelf life, separating into layers of their components quickly and have to be mixed prior to use, increasing preparation time and adding to equipment cost. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to an improved tack re-wettable adhesive mixture. Certain embodiments can involve applying insulation products to various substrates after wetting a pre-applied dried surface coating of adhesive on the insulation material with water (or other liquid). For example, water may be misted (such as by spraying) and/or rolled onto a dried adhesive coating and/or the intended application surface (such as a section of sheet metal moving through a coil line). After water application, the adhesive coating can rehydrate in about 1-100 seconds (e.g., 1-50 seconds, 10-100 seconds, or 10-60 seconds) and develops sufficient tack to allow the insulation to be held in place on the intended application surface. Embodiments relate to adhesives, comprising: a compound chosen from polyacrylic acid (PAA), styrene maleic anhydride (SMA), or combinations thereof; a polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH); at least one starch; at least one homogenizer that inhibits separation of the adhesive (e.g., sodium omadine) and optionally: an alcohol amine (e.g., monoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEOA), or triethylamine (TEA)), urea, and/or ammonia. In some embodiments, the polystyrene-maleic anhydride (SMA) and/or polyacrylic acid (PAA), the polyvinyl alcohol, and the at least one starch comprise 70-90% by weight of the adhesive. In some embodiments, the PAA, SMA, or combinations thereof is present in an amount from 15 wt. % to 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive. In some embodiments, the PVOH is present in an amount from 15 wt. % to 50 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive. In some embodiments, the starch is present in an amount from 20 wt. % to 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive. In some embodiments, the homogenizer is present in an amount from 0.05 wt. % to 1.0 wt. %, based on the total weight of the adhesive. In some embodiments, the pH of the adhesive is 5.0-8.0 (e.g., 5.5-7.5 or 5.5-7). In some embodiments, the at least one homogenizer kills biological growth in the adhesive. In some embodiments, after agitation, the adhesive remains homogeneous (for example, as observed visually) for at least 2 weeks (e.g., for at least 3 weeks or for at least 4 weeks). In some embodiments, the adhesive is water activated. Other embodiments involve a method of making insulation, comprising providing a piece of insulation product; applying an adhesive coating to a surface of the insulation product, the adhesive coating comprising at least one of PAA, SMA, or combinations thereof; a polyvinyl alcohol; at least one starch paste; and a homogenizer; and drying the adhesive coating (e.g., passing the coated insulation product through an oven) to form a dry adhesive coating layer on the surface. In some embodiments, the method can also involve, applying water to one or both of the dried adhesive or a surface of an object; and pressing the insulation product against the surface of the object to adhere the insulation product to the object. In some