High strength lignin-acrylonitrile polymer blend materials
A polymer blend material comprising: (i) a lignin component; (ii) a nitrile butadiene rubber component; and (iii) divalent or trivalent metal salt; wherein: component (i) is present in an amount of about 5 wt. % to about 95 wt. % by weight of components (i) and (ii); component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains having a size of up to 1000 nm; component (iii) is present in an amount of 0.1-10 wt. % by weight of components (i) and (ii); and the polymer blend material has a tensile failure strength of at least 10 MPa, and an elongation at break of at least 20%. Methods for producing the polymer blend, molded forms thereof, and articles thereof, are also described.
1. A polymer blend material comprising:
(i) a melt-stable sinapyl alcohol-rich hardwood lignin component containing at least 50 wt % of syringyl (S) component relative to total lignin components;
(ii) a nitrile butadiene rubber component having an acrylonitrile content of 40-55 mol %; and
(iii) zinc chloride;
wherein components (i), (ii), and (iii) are blended at a temperature of 150-190° C. to produce the polymer blend material;
wherein:
component (i) is present in an amount of about 50 wt % by weight of components (i) and (ii);
component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains, wherein at least 80% of the domains have a size of up to 200 nm;
component (iii) is present in an amount of 0.5-4 wt. % by weight of components (i) and (ii); and
the polymer blend material has a tensile failure strength of at least 10 MPa, and an elongation at break of at least 20%.
2. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein said nitrile butadiene rubber component has an acrylonitrile content of 50-55 mol %.
3. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains having a size of up to 100 nm.
4. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains having a size of up to 50 nm.
5. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains having a size of up to 20 nm.
6. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains having a size of up to 10 nm.
7. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains having a size of up to 500 nm.
8. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein component (iii) is present in an amount of 0.5-3 wt. % by weight of components (i) and (ii).
9. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein component (iii) is present in an amount of 1-3 wt. % by weight of components (i) and (ii).
10. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein the melt-stable sinapyl alcohol-rich hardwood lignin is derived from an organosolv process.
11. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein the melt-stable sinapyl alcohol-rich hardwood lignin is derived from a Kraft or soda process.
12. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein the polymer blend material has a tensile failure strength of at least 10 MPa and an elongation at break of 20%-100%.
13. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein the polymer blend material has a tensile failure strength of at least 10 MPa and an elongation at break of 20%-50%.
14. The polymer blend material of claim 1 , wherein the melt-stable sinapyl alcohol-rich hardwood lignin component contains at least 60 wt % of syringyl (S) component relative to total lignin components.
15. A polymer blend material consisting of:
(i) a melt-stable sinapyl alcohol-rich hardwood lignin component containing at least 50 wt % of syringyl (S) component relative to total lignin components;
(ii) a nitrile butadiene rubber component having an acrylonitrile content of 40-55 mol %; and
(iii) zinc chloride;
wherein:
component (i) is present in an amount of about 50 wt % by weight of components (i) and (ii);
component (i) is dispersed in component (ii) in the form of domains, wherein at least 80% of the domains have a size of up to 200 nm;
component (iii) is present in an amount of 0.5-4 wt. % by weight of components (i) and (ii); and
the polymer blend material has a tensile failure strength of at least 10 MPa, and an elongation at break of at least 20%.