초록 ▼

Processes for the recovery of a sulfopolyester polymer from an aqueous dispersion and a sulfopolyester concentrate are provided. Particularly, a sulfopolyester concentrate, from which the sulfopolyester may be recovered and reused, are formed by processes such as evaporation and/or nanofiltration.

Processes for the recovery of a sulfopolyester polymer from an aqueous dispersion and a sulfopolyester concentrate are provided. Particularly, a sulfopolyester concentrate, from which the sulfopolyester may be recovered and reused, are formed by processes such as evaporation and/or nanofiltration. Final recovery of the sulfopolyester may be achieved by further evaporation of water and/or salt precipitation. In addition, the recovered sulfopolyester and articles manufactured from the recovered sulfopolyester are also provided.

대표청구항 ▼

That which is claimed is: 1. A process for recovering a water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprising the steps of: (a) providing an aqueous dispersion comprising said water-dispersible sulfopolyester, wherein said water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic a

That which is claimed is: 1. A process for recovering a water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprising the steps of: (a) providing an aqueous dispersion comprising said water-dispersible sulfopolyester, wherein said water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic acids, (ii) about 2 to about 20 mole %, based on the total moles of diacid or diol residues, of residues of at least one sulfomonomer having 2 functional groups and one or more sulfonate groups attached to an aromatic or cycloaliphatic ring, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof, (iii) one or more diol residues, wherein at least 25 mole %, based on the total diol residues, is a poly(ethylene glycol) having a structure H--(OCH2--CH2)n--OH wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to about 500, and (iv) 0 to about 25 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of a branching monomer having 3 or more functional groups, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof; (b) removing water from said aqueous dispersion thereby forming a sulfopolyester concentrate having a sulfopolyester concentration at least twice that of said aqueous dispersion, wherein said aqueous dispersion comprises less than about 10 weight % of said water-dispersible sulfopolyester, wherein said sulfopolyester concentrate has a sulfopolyester concentration of greater than about 20 weight percent; and (c) recovering at least a portion of said sulfopolyester from said sulfopolyester concentrate to produce a recovered sulfopolyester. wherein said recovered sulfopolyester exhibits an average molecular weight of at least about 50% of the molecular weight of said sulfopolyester present in said aqueous dispersion. 2. A process according to claim 1 wherein said sulfopolyester has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least 25° C. 3. A process according to claim 2 wherein said sulfopolyester comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic acids, (ii) about 4 to about 40 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of at least one sulfomonomer having 2 functional groups and one or more metal sulfonate groups attached to an aromatic or cycloaliphatic ring wherein the functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof; (iii) one or more diol residues, wherein at least 20 mole %, based on the total diol residues, is a poly(ethylene glycol) having a structure H--(OCH2--CH2)n--OH wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to about 500; (iv) 0 to about 25 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of a branching monomer having 3 or more functional groups wherein the functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof. 4. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (b) comprises passing said aqueous dispersion through a nanofiltration element. 5. A process according to claim 4 wherein said nanofiltration element comprises a porous nanofiltration membrane. 6. A process according to claim 5 wherein said nanofiltration membrane having pore sizes of less than about 25 nm. 7. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (b) comprises forming a sulfopolyester concentrate having a sulfopolyester concentration at least five times that of said aqueous dispersion. 8. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (c) comprises evaporating water from said sulfopolyester concentrate. 9. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (c) comprises precipitating at least a portion of said sulfopolyester in said sulfopolyester concentrate to produce said recovered sulfopolyester. 10. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (c) further comprises washing said recovered sulfopolyester to remove salt. 11. A process according to claim 10 wherein step (c) further comprising drying said recovered sulfopolyester. 12. A process according to claim 9 wherein said sulfopolyester is precipitated by adding a quantity of a monovalent metal salt to said sulfopolyester concentrate. 13. A process according to claim 12 wherein said monovalent metal salt is selected from the group consisting of potassium salts, sodium salts, lithium salts and mixtures thereof. 14. A process according to claim 13 wherein said salt is selected from the group consisting of potassium acetate, sodium sulfate, and mixtures thereof. 15. A process according to claim 9 wherein said sulfopolyester is precipitated by non-solvent precipitation. 16. A process according to claim 15 wherein said non-solvent comprises isopropanol. 17. A process according to claim 1 further comprising: (d) reusing said recovered sulfopolyester in the manufacture of an article. 18. A process according to claim 17 wherein said article comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of fibers, multicomponent fibers, nonwoven fabric films, adhesives and clothing. 19. A process according to claim 1 wherein said aqueous dispersion is formed by washing a product comprising said sulfopolyester thereby disassociating at least a portion of said sulfopolyester from said product. 20. A process for recovering a water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprising the steps of: (a) washing an article in an aqueous medium, wherein said article comprises said water-dispersible sulfopolyester, wherein said water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic acids, (ii) about 2 to about 20 mole %, based on the total moles of diacid or diol residues, of residues of at least one sulfomonomer having 2 functional groups and one or more sulfonate groups attached to an aromatic or cycloalirhatic ring, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof, (iii) one or more diol residues, wherein at least 25 mole %, based on the total diol residues, is a poly(ethylene glycol) having a structure H--(OCH2--CH2)n--OH wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to about 500, and (iv) 0 to about 25 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of a branching monomer having 3 or more functional groups, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof, wherein said washing disassociates at least a portion of said water-dispersible sulfopolyester from said article thereby forming an aqueous dispersion comprising said sulfopolyester; (b) passing said dispersion through a nanofiltration element thereby forming a sulfopolyester concentrate having a sulfopolyester concentration that is at least twice that of said dispersion; and (c) recovering at least a portion of said sulfopolyester from said sulfopolyester concentrate to produce recovered sulfopolyester, wherein said recovered sulfopolyester exhibits an average molecular weight of at least about 50% of the molecular weight of said sulfopolyester present in said aqueous dispersion. 21. A process according to claim 20 wherein said aqueous dispersion comprises less than about 10 weight % of said sulfopolyester. 22. A process according to claim 20 wherein said nanofiltration element comprises a porous nanofiltration membrane. 23. A process according to claim 22 wherein said nanofiltration element comprises a porous nanofiltration membrane having an average pore size of less than about 25 nm. 24. A process according to claim 20 wherein said sulfopolyester concentrate has a sulfopolyester concentration of greater than about 10 weight %. 25. A process according to claim 20 wherein step (c) comprises evaporating water from said sulfopolyester concentrate. 26. A process according to claim 20 wherein step (c) comprises precipitating at least a portion of said sulfopolyester in said sulfopolyester concentrate. 27. A process according to claim 26 wherein said sulfopolyester is precipitated by adding a quantity of a monovalent metal salt to said sulfopolyester concentrate. 28. A process according to claim 26 wherein said sulfopolyester is precipitated by non-solvent precipitation. 29. A process according to claim 20 further comprising: (d) reusing said recovered sulfopolyester in the manufacture of an article. 30. A process according to claim 29 wherein said article comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of non-woven fabric, multicomponent fibers, films, adhesives and clothing. 31. A process for recovering a water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprising the steps of: (a) washing an article comprising said sulfopolyester thereby disassociating at least a portion of said sulfopolyester from said article and forming an aqueous dispersion comprising said disassociated sulfopolyester, wherein said water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic acids. (ii) about 2 to about 20 mole %, based on the total moles of diacid or diol residues, of residues of at least one sulfomonomer having 2 functional groups and one or more sulfonate groups attached to an aromatic or cycloalirhatic ring, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof, (iii) one or more diol residues, wherein at least 25 mole %, based on the total diol residues, is a poly(ethylene glycol) having a structure H--(OCH2--CH2)n--OH wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to about 500, and (iv) 0 to about 25 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of a branching monomer having 3 or more functional groups, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof; (b) removing water from said aqueous dispersion to form a sulfopolyester concentrate having a sulfopolyester concentration that is greater than said aqueous dispersion, wherein water is removed from said aqueous dispersion by nanofiltration and/or by evaporation; and (c) recovering at least a portion of said sulfopolyester from said sulfopolyester concentrate to produce a recovered sulfopolyester, wherein said recovered sulfopolyester exhibits an average molecular weight of at least about 50% of the molecular weight of said sulfopolyester present in said aqueous disrersion. 32. A process according to claim 31 wherein said aqueous dispersion comprises less than about 10 weight % of said sulfopolyester. 33. A process according to claim 31 wherein step (b) comprises passing said aqueous dispersion through a nanofiltration element. 34. A process according to claim 33 wherein said nanofiltration element comprises a porous nanofiltration membrane having an average pore size of less than about 25 nm. 35. A process according to claim 31 wherein step (b) comprises forming a sulfopolyester concentrate having a sulfopolyester concentration at least twice that of said aqueous dispersion. 36. A process according to claim 31 wherein said sulfopolyester concentrate has a sulfopolyester concentration of greater than about 10 weight %. 37. A process according to claim 31 wherein step (c) comprises evaporating water from said sulfopolyester concentrate. 38. A process according to claim 31 wherein step (c) comprises precipitating at least a portion of said sulfopolyester in said sulfopolyester concentrate. 39. A process according to claim 38 wherein said sulfopolyester is precipitated by adding a quantity of a monovalent metal salt to said sulfopolyester concentrate. 40. A process according to claim 31 further comprising reusing said recovered sulfopolyester in the manufacture of an article. 41. A process for forming a concentrated sulfopolyester dispersion comprising the steps of: (a) washing an article in an aqueous medium, wherein said article comprises said water-dispersible sulfopolyester, wherein said water-dispersible sulfopolyester comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic acids, (ii) about 2 to about 20 mole %, based on the total moles of diacid or diol residues, of residues of at least one sulfomonomer having 2 functional groups and one or more sulfonate groups attached to an aromatic or cycloalirhatic ring, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof, (iii) one or more diol residues, wherein at least 25 mole %, based on the total diol residues, is a roly(ethylene glycol) having a structure H--(OCH2--CH2)n--OH wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to about 500, and (iv) 0 to about 25 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of a branching monomer having 3 or more functional groups, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof, wherein said washing disassociates at least a portion of said water-dispersible sulfopolyester from said article thereby forming an aqueous dispersion comprising a sulfopolyester; and (b) removing water from said dispersion to form a sulfopolyester concentrate having a sulfopolyester concentration that is at least twice that of said dispersion, wherein said aqueous dispersion comprises less than about 10 weight % of said water-dispersible sulfopolyester, wherein said sulfopolyester concentrate has a sulfopolyester concentration of greater than about 20 weight percent. 42. A process according to claim 41 wherein step (b) comprises passing said aqueous dispersion through a nanofiltration element comprising a porous nanofiltration membrane. 43. A process according to claim 41 further comprising reusing of said sulfopolyester concentrate in manufacture of articles. 44. A concentrated aqueous dispersion comprising at least about 10 weight % of a sulfopolyester recovered from an article, wherein said sulfopolyester comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic acids. (ii) about 2 to about 20 mole %, based on the total moles of diacid or diol residues, of residues of at least one sulfomonomer having 2 functional groups and one or more sulfonate groups attached to an aromatic or cycloalirhatic ring, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof, (iii) one or more diol residues, wherein at least 25 mole %, based on the total diol residues, is a poly(ethylene glycol) having a structure H--(OCH2--CH2)n--OH wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to about 500, and (iv) 0 to about 25 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of a branching monomer having 3 or more functional groups, wherein said functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof. 45. A concentrated aqueous dispersion according to claim 44 wherein said sulfopolyester presents an average particle size of about 50 to about 500 nm. 46. A concentrated aqueous dispersion according to claim 44 wherein said aqueous dispersion comprises at least about 20 weight % of said sulfopolyester. 47. A concentrated aqueous dispersion according to claim 44 wherein said sulfopolyester has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least 25° C. 48. A concentrated aqueous dispersion according to claim 44 wherein said sulfopolyester has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least 25° C. and comprises: (i) residues of one or more dicarboxylic acids; (ii) about 4 to about 40 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of at least one sulfomonomer having 2 functional groups and one or more metal sulfonate groups attached to an aromatic or cycloaliphatic ring wherein the functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof; (iii) one or more diol residues wherein at least 20 mole %, based on the total diol residues, is a poly(ethylene glycol) having a structure H--(OCH2--CH2)n--OH wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to about 500; (iv) 0 to about 25 mole %, based on the total repeating units, of residues of a branching monomer having 3 or more functional groups wherein the functional groups are hydroxyl, carboxyl, or a combination thereof.