FORMALDEHYDE FREE BINDER COMPOSITIONS WITH UREA-ALDEHYDE REACTION PRODUCTS
Fiber-containing composites are described that contain woven or non-woven fibers, and a cured binder formed from a binder composition that includes (1) a reducing sugar and (2) a crosslinking agent that includes a reaction product of a urea compound and a polycarbonyl compound. Exemplary reaction products for the crosslinking agent may include the reaction product of urea and an α,β-bicarbonyl compound or an α,γ-bicarbonyl compound. Exemplary fiber-containing composites may include fiberglass insulation.
1 . A fiber-containing composite comprising:
woven or non-woven fibers; and
a cured binder formed from a binder composition comprising:
reducing sugar; and
a crosslinking agent comprising a reaction product of a urea compound and an polycarbonyl compound, wherein the reaction product is the exclusive crosslinking agent for the reducing sugar.
2 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the fibers include one or more types of fibers chosen from glass fibers, mineral fibers, and organic polymer fibers.
3 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the reducing sugar is chosen from glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, xylose, and amylose.
4 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the reducing sugar comprises dextrose.
5 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the urea compound comprises H 2 N—CO—NH 2 .
6 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the urea compound has the formula:
wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 are independently chosen from a hydrogen moiety (H), an alkyl group, an aromatic group, an alcohol group, an aldehyde group, a ketone group, a carboxylic acid group, and an alkoxy group.
7 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the polycarbonyl compound comprises an α,β-bicarbonyl compound or an α,γ-bicarbonyl compound.
8 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 7 , wherein the α,β-bicarbonyl compound has the formula:
wherein R 5 and R 6 are independently chosen from a hydrogen moiety (H), an alkyl group, or an aromatic group.
9 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 7 , wherein the α,β-carbonyl compounds include gloxyal, diacetyl, and benzil (i.e., 1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-dione).
10 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 7 , wherein the α,γ-bicarbonyl compound has the formula:
wherein R 7 and R 9 are independently chosen from a hydrogen moiety (H), an alkyl group, or an aromatic group.
11 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 7 , wherein the α,γ-bicarbonyl compound has the formula:
wherein R 9 and R 10 are independently an alkyl group or an aromatic group.
12 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 7 , wherein the α,γ-bicarbonyl compound has the formula:
wherein R′ and R″ are independently a hydrogen moiety (H) or an alkyl group.
13 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 7 , wherein the α,γ-bicarbonyl compound has the formula:
wherein R represents an alkyl group.
14 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the polycarbonyl compound comprises at least one aldehyde group and at least one ketone group.
15 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the reaction product of the urea compound and the polycarbonyl compound is chosen from the group of:
16 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the binder composition further comprises a catalyst to catalyze a crosslinking reaction between the reducing sugar and the reaction product of the urea compound and the polycarbonyl compound.
17 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 16 , wherein the catalyst is chosen from a Lewis acid, a protic acid and a latent acid.
18 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 17 , wherein the Lewis acid is chosen from aluminum sulfate, ferric sulfate, aluminum chloride, ferric chloride, aluminum phosphate, and ferric phosphate.
19 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 17 , wherein the protic acid is chosen from sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, toluene sulfonic acid, methane sulfonic acid, and a carboxylic acid.
20 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 17 , wherein the latent acid is chosen from ammonium sulfate, ammonium hydrogen sulfate, monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, ammonium chloride, and ammonium nitrate.
21 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 16 , wherein the catalyst is an organo-metallic salt chosen from an organo-titanate salt, an organo-zirconate salt, and organo-tin salt, and an organo-aluminum salt.
22 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the binder composition further comprises one or more non-reducing carbohydrates chosen from starch, modified starch, cellulose, modified cellulose, and dextrins.
23 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the fiber-containing composite comprises a fiberglass building insulation.
24 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 1 , wherein the binder composition further comprises one or more additional compounds chosen from polymerization catalysts, adhesion promoters, flame retardants, organic fillers, inorganic fillers, waxes, colorants, and release agents.
25 . A fiber-containing composite comprising:
woven or non-woven fibers; and
a cured binder formed from a binder composition comprising:
reducing sugar; and
a crosslinking agent comprising a reaction product of urea and an glyoxal, wherein a mole ratio of the urea to the glyoxal is either (i) at least 2 moles of the urea per 1 mole of the glyoxal, or (ii) 1 mole or less of the urea per 2 moles of the glyoxal.
26 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 25 , wherein the reaction product is the exclusive crosslinking agent for the reducing sugar.
27 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 25 , wherein the mole ratio of the urea to the glyoxal is at least 2 moles of the urea per 1 mole of the glyoxal, and wherein the reaction product comprises a compound having formula:
28 . The fiber-containing composite of claim 25 , wherein the mole ratio of the urea to the glyoxal is at least 1 mole of the urea per 2 moles of the glyoxal, and wherein the reaction product comprises a compound having formula: