Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Solvent-less, Electron Beam-Cured Vinyl Ether Coating Formulations for Flexible Magnetic Media Manufacture
EPA Grant Number: R827121Title: Solvent-less, Electron Beam-Cured Vinyl Ether Coating Formulations for Flexible Magnetic Media Manufacture
Investigators: Nikles, David E.
Institution: The University of Alabama
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: October 1, 1998 through September 30, 2001
Project Amount: $328,209
RFA: Exploratory Research - Environmental Engineering (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Safer Chemicals , Sustainable and Healthy Communities , Land and Waste Management
Objective:
The goal of this project was to eliminate air pollution in coating processes by replacing the organic solvents with a mixture of liquid vinyl ether monomers. The applications are magnetic tape and floppy disk manufacture, which have very exacting requirements for coating uniformity. The vinyl ether monomers will be the solvent for the coating fluid. After coating and electron-beam irradiation, the monomers undergo a cationic polymerization to give the binder polymer for the coating.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Videotape grade, cobalt-modified
-Fe2O3 particles were treated with a commercial, zirconium coupling agent.
The treated
particles were used to prepare a solventless, vinyl ether formulation, fully
loaded with 30-volume percent particles. The viscosity of this formulation
was more than a factor of 100 greater than the viscosity of a conventional,
solvent-based formulation. This formulation showed a decrease in viscosity
with increasing shear rate, a power-law dependence of the viscosity of the
shear rate. This was an important result. It was the first example of a fully
loaded solventless dispersion with workable rheological properties.
New polyester binders were prepared containing vinyl ether side chains. The polymers had thermal decomposition temperatures in the range of 277 to 299°C. Thin films containing these polyesters could be cross-linked by electron beam irradiation, in the presence of a sulfonium sensitizer. Cross-linking by electron irradiation had very little effect on the tensile strength of the films, but Young's modulus increased by 10 to 20 percent. For all of the films, the strain-to-failure increased, indicating that the cross-linking had increased the toughness. These new polymers were used as binders in solventless vinyl ether formulations.
Ethyl lactate was evaluated as a green solvent for magnetic tape manufacture. The commercial binders used in videotape manufacture were not soluble in ethyl lactate, but were soluble in a 50/50 mixture of ethyl lactate and tetrahydrofuran (THF). This mixture of ethyl lactate and THF replaced the mixture of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), THF, and toluene solvents to prepare dispersions with rheological properties similar to those for a conventional magnetic ink. If one could find binders that can dissolve in ethyl lactate, the materials cost of using ethyl lactate as a solvent was 18 percent higher than the conventional formulation. If the price of ethyl lactate could be lowered to $0.57 per pound or if the price of MEK and toluene increased by 20 percent, then the materials cost for using ethyl lactate would be the same as the conventional process.
Journal Articles on this Report : 4 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 15 publications | 4 publications in selected types | All 4 journal articles |
|---|
| Type | Citation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Farahat MS, Nikles DE. On the UV curability and mechanical properties of novel binder systems derived from poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) waste for solventless magnetic tape manufacturing; 1. Acrylated oligoesters. Macromolecular Materials Engineering 2001;286(11):695-704. |
R827121 (2001) R827121 (Final) R826728 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Farahat MS, Nikles DE. On the UV curability and mechanical properties of novel binder systems derived from poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) waste for solventless magnetic tape manufacturing, 2. Methacrylated oligoesters. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering 2002;287(5):353-362. |
R827121 (2001) R827121 (Final) |
not available |
|
|
Nikles SM, Piao M, Lane AM, Nikles DE. Ethyl lactate: a green solvent for magnetic tapecoating. Green Chemistry 2001;3(3):109-113. |
R827121 (2001) R827121 (Final) R826728 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Woo T, Huh JY, Nikles DE. Surface chemistry and dispersion of magnetic pigment for a solventless process. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 2001;37(4):1634-1636. |
R827121 (2001) R827121 (Final) R826728 (Final) |
Exit |
Supplemental Keywords:
air, volatile organic compound, VOC, solvents, pollution prevention, green chemistry, clean technologies, environmentally conscious manufacturing, chemistry, engineering, electronics, solventless formulations, magnetic tape, magnetic tape manufacture, hazardous air pollutants, HAPs, methyl ethyl ketone, MEK, toluene, waste minimization, radiation curing, vinyl ethers, ethyl lactate, green solvent, Clean Air Act Amendments, silane coupling agents, polyester recycle, poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, radiation-curable oligomers, urethanes, rheology., Industry Sectors, Scientific Discipline, Air, Toxics, Sustainable Industry/Business, air toxics, cleaner production/pollution prevention, Manufacturing - NAIC 31-33, Chemistry, HAPS, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, magnetic pigments, cleaner production, emission control technologies, environmentally conscious manufacturing, Toluene, monomer growth, ambient emissions, Methyl ethyl ketone (2-Butanone), treatment, liquid vinyl ether monomers, pollution prevention, alternative coatings, organic solvents, Methyl isobutyl ketone (Hexone), organic contaminants, electron beam radiationProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.