Historical material patents

Catalysts. Historically, cmde clays have been used to some extent in petroleum refining (20). More recently, however, processed clays are increasingly used as raw materials and converted to more reactive catalyst products. Various proprietary processes are used and numerous patents have been issued. 

One alternative to PET fiber which did compete historically was poly (1,4-cyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate) (PCT) (Figure 12.5), commercialized under the name Kodel II by Eastman. This polyester gained an early footing because it was not covered by the existing patents, and was able to establish a raw material base from which it could compete both technically and economically. 

The past nearly six decades have seen a chronological progression in molecular sieve materials from the aluminosilicate zeolites to microporous silica polymorphs, microporous aluminophosphate-based polymorphs, metallosilicate and metaHo-phosphate compositions, octahedral-tetrahedral frameworks, mesoporous molecular sieves and most recently hybrid metal organic frameworks (MOFs). A brief discussion of the historical progression is reviewed here. For a more detailed description prior to 2001 the reader is referred to [1]. The robustness of the field is evident from the fact that publications and patents are steadily increasing each year. 

When we have a powerful technology that can make a material with interesting properties, and we can keep out competition for a while with unique technology and patents, we ask which market will appreciate a material with these properties. An ideal market is also one where the potential buyers are numerous and affluent, where this material will help them to fulfill one or more significant needs, where there are no very satisfactory competitive products, where there are no threats to safety and the environment, and where it can be manufactured and make a good profit. What is the search engine that can systematically discover many or all of the major potential markets Let us look at the historic cases mentioned in Chapters 1 and 2. 

Since blends are mainly used as structural materials, the most important properties are mechanical, especially the impact strength, stiffness, and elongation. Historically, blending was developed to improve these properties in the early resins, viz. PS, PVC, PMMA, PET, PA, etc. When blending started to involve mixtures of polymers, the impact modihcation has progressively changed into compatibilization. However, even today, many blends proht from the simultaneous compatibilization and impact modification by addition of multicomponent modifiers. Many patents and papers in the open literature address this question, some of which will be presented in this section and the following one on patented blends. 

Patents for preparing semi-plastic materials from soy protein were first issued in France (Contant Perrot, 1913) and Great Britain (Dodd Humphries, 1913), although S. Satow s U.S. patent of 1919 is credited with first stimulating widespread interest in soy protein plastics. Johnson and Myers (1995) provide a complete historical review on soybean plastics. No discussion of soy protein plastics is complete without at least mentioning the early research and commercialization efforts of H. Ford and the Edison Institute (Fig. 17.2). The Ford Motor Co. and the Edison Institute, headed by R. Boyer, were responsible for extensive protein plastic research, patents, and commercial applications in the late 1930s and 1940s. 

It is easier to characterize unknown material if its historical and technological backgrounds are known. The development of semi-synthetic polymers in the second half of the nineteenth century can be followed using patents (Fernandez-Villa and Moya, 2005). Development of cellulose nitrate was prompted by the need to find substitutes for natural materials including tortoiseshell, ivory and ebony, which were very expensive. By 1858, approximately 8 per cent of British patents concerned the synthesis or moulding of semi-synthetics. 

Health care costs in the United States exceed a staggering trillion dollars per year. Low back pain, urinary incontinence, pressure ulcers (e.g., bed sores), and cardiovascular disease are major contributors to decreased quality of life and increased health care costs. Applications of protein-based materials, briefly noted in this section but discussed more extensively below, have the potential to improve quality of life while lowering health care costs for these and additional medical problems. To provide a historical backdrop and a record of the development of applications. Table 9.1 provides the set of patents resulting from our research efforts,... 

Since PPS is crystalline we should expect it to produce blends with much better chemical resistance than amorphous materials such as PAES. It should also allow very substantial cost reduction and can improve melt flow. Union Carbide filed patents on PEEK/PPS blends as early as 1982 [15]. Kureha has developed materials with improved compatibility, melt flow, formability and mechanical properties [16] Ticona has filed patents on improved PEEK/PPS blends and the most recent patent provides a good summary of the historical developments [17]. Solvay has filed patents on PEEK/PPS blends for use in bearing surfaces - under the conditions tested the blends perform as well as pure PEEK compounds [18]. It is possible that this technology is used in some of Solvay s Avaspire grades. 

Dynamite Alfred Nobel was credited with the invention of dynamite when, on May 26, 1868, he patented his formula of three parts nitroglycerin to one part kieselguhr (kieselguhr is an inert base more commonly known as diatomaceous earth). Historically, dynamites have been the most widely used and recognizable of all commercial explosive materials. Dynamite still is used today, but its use... 

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