Water-repellant wax compositions and applications thereof
Compositions and methods for treating a cellulosic substrate to impart water resistance are disclosed herein. The compositions are waxy solids that include a mixture of a fluorowax and a hydrocarbon wax. The compositions are applied to cut edges of a cellulosic substrate, such as a wood-based flooring material, to impart water resistance to the cellulosic substrate. The compositions and methods are useful on a wide range of wood-based flooring materials, including hardwood, laminate, and engineered wood flooring.
1. A treated substrate comprising a wax blend and a cellulosic substrate, wherein the wax blend comprises a fluorowax and a non-fluorinated wax, wherein the fluorowax comprises a fluorinated fatty acid ester, wherein the fluorinated fatty acid ester comprises a compound of Formula I
wherein is a single bond or a double bond, x is 3-13, and y is 4-10, and wherein the wax blend penetrates into a surface of the cellulosic substrate.
2. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein x is 5-7 and y is 8.
3. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the fluorinated fatty acid ester comprises a compound of Formula II
wherein n is 3-13 and m is 8-20.
4. The treated substrate of claim 3 , wherein n is 5-7 and m is 16.
5. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the fluorowax has a melting point from 35° C. to 85° C.
6. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the fluorowax has a melting point from 40° C. to 55° C.
7. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the non-fluorinated wax is a paraffin wax, montan wax, beeswax, carnauba wax, or a synthetic wax.
8. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the non-fluorinated wax is a hydrocarbon wax.
9. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the non-fluorinated wax has a melting point from 35° C. to 65° C.
10. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the melting point of the wax blend is from 35° C. to 65° C.
11. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the fluorowax present in the wax blend in an amount from 1% to 99% by weight and the non-fluorinated wax is present in the wax blend in an amount from 99% to 1% by weight.
12. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the wax blend comprises a weight ratio of fluorowax to non-fluorinated wax of 1:3 to 1:1.
13. The treated substrate of claim 8 , wherein the hydrocarbon wax is a paraffin wax.
14. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the wax blend further comprises a hydrophobic polymer.
15. The treated substrate of claim 14 , wherein the hydrophobic polymer comprises polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or polyvinyl chloride.
16. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the wax blend further comprises a mineral selected from calcium carbonate, talc, kaolinite, and silica.
17. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic substrate comprises a cut edge and wherein the cut edge comprises the surface penetrated by the wax blend.
18. The treated substrate of claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic substrate comprises a wood-based flooring material.
19. The treated substrate of claim 18 , wherein the wood-based flooring material comprises hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, or engineered wood flooring.
20. The treated substrate of claim 18 , wherein the wood-based flooring material comprises low density fiberboard, medium density fiberboard, high density fiberboard, particle board, or oriented strand board.