IN-SITU ALKYLPHENOL-ALDEHYDE RESINS
The invention relates to an in-situ process for preparing an alkylphenol-aldehyde resin. The process comprises the step of providing a raw alkylphenol composition. The raw alkylphenol composition comprises one or more alkylphenol compounds and at least about 1 wt % phenol. Each alkylphenol compound has one or more alkyl substituents. The raw alkylphenol composition is reacted directly, without pre-purification, with one or more aldehydes to form an in-situ alkylphenol-aldehyde resin. The invention also relates to an in-situ alkylphenol-aldehyde resin formed from the in-situ process, and its use in a tackifier composition and rubber composition. The tackifier composition and rubber composition containing the in-situ alkylphenol-aldehyde resin show, inter alia, improved tack performance.
1 . An in-situ process for preparing an alkylphenol-aldehyde resin, comprising:
providing a mixture of two different alkylphenol compositions, either as a mixture of a raw alkylphenol composition and another raw alkylphenol composition, or a mixture of a raw alkylphenol composition and a purified alkylphenol composition, wherein each raw alkylphenol composition comprises (a) one or more alkylphenol compounds having one or more alkyl groups in the ortho, meta, and/or para positions of the phenol, wherein each alkyl group has 4 to 18 carbon atoms, and (b) about 1 wt % to about 10 wt % of phenol; and
reacting, without pre-purifying the raw alkylphenol composition, the mixture of the two different alkylphenol compositions directly with one or more aldehydes to form an in-situ alkylphenol-aldehyde resin.
2 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the alkylphenol-aldehyde resin is a novolak type resin.
3 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the alkylphenol-aldehyde resin is a resole type resin.
4 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the alkylphenol-aldehyde resin further comprises alkylphenol-aldehyde resins prepared from pure alkylphenol.
5 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde is formaldehyde.
6 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the raw alkylphenol composition comprises about 3 wt % to about 10 wt % phenol.
7 . The in-situ process of claim 6 , wherein the raw alkylphenol composition comprises about 5 wt % to about 10 wt % phenol.
8 . The in-situ process of claim 7 , wherein the raw alkylphenol composition comprises about 6 wt % to about 8 wt % phenol.
9 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the raw alkylphenol composition comprises:
about 50 to about 85 wt % para-tert-butylphenol,
about 5 to about 10 wt % phenol,
about 7 to about 14 wt % di-tert-butylphenol,
0 to about 3 wt % ortho-tert-butylphenol, and
0 to about 1 wt % tri-tert-butylphenol.
10 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the raw alkylphenol composition comprises:
about 50 to about 85 wt % para-tert-octylphenol,
about 5 to about 10 wt % phenol,
about 7 to about 14 wt % di-tert-octylphenol,
0 to about 3 wt % ortho-tert-octylphenol, and
0 to about 1 wt % tri-tert-octylphenol.
11 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the alkylphenol compounds comprise para-tert-butylphenol, di-tert-butylphenol, and optionally tri-tert-butylphenol and ortho-tert-butylphenol.
12 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the alkylphenol compounds comprise para-tert-octylphenol, di-tert-octylphenol, and optionally ortho-tert-octylphenol and tri-tert-octylphenol.
13 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the two different alkylphenol compositions are both raw alkylphenol compositions and comprise para-tert-butylphenol, para-tert-octylphenol, di-tert-butylphenol, di-tert-octylphenol, and optionally ortho-tert-butylphenol, tri-tert-butylphenol, ortho-tert-octylphenol and tri-tert-octylphenol.
14 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , further comprising the step of reacting the alkylphenol-aldehyde resin with an amine, forming an amine-modified alkylphenol-aldehyde resin.
15 . The in-situ process of claim 14 , further comprising the step of reacting the amine-modified alkylphenol-aldehyde resin with an epoxide or a chemical reagent for stabilizing the amine moiety in the alkylphenol-aldehyde resin.
16 . The in-situ process of claim 14 , further comprising the step of reacting the amine-modified alkylphenol-aldehyde resin with a salicylic acid.
17 . The in-situ process of claim 14 , wherein the amine is morpholine.
18 . The in-situ process of claim 1 , wherein the mixture of two different alkylphenol compositions is a mixture of an in-situ PTBP composition and an in-situ PTOP composition, the in-situ PTBP composition comprising PTBP as a main alkylphenol component and the in-situ PTOP composition comprising PTOP as a main alkylphenol component, wherein the ratio between the in-situ PTBP composition and the in-situ PTOP composition ranges from about 90:10 to about 10:90.
19 . The in-situ process of claim 18 , wherein the ratio between the in-situ PTBP composition and the in-situ PTOP composition ranges from about 75:25 to about 25:75.
20 . The in-situ process of claim 19 , wherein the ratio between the in-situ PTBP composition and the in-situ PTOP composition ranges from about 60:40 to about 40:60.