Rockwool International has filed a patent for a method of draining water using a water drainage device made of man-made vitreous fibers (MMVF) bonded with a cured aqueous binder composition. The device absorbs and releases water to the ground, with the binder composition containing oxidized lignins, cross-linkers, and plasticizers. GlobalData’s report on Rockwool International gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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A method of draining water using a water drainage device
A recently filed patent (Publication Number: US20230202919A1) describes a method of draining water using a water drainage device made of man-made vitreous fibers (MMVF) bonded with a cured aqueous binder composition. The method involves positioning the water drainage device in contact with the ground, where it absorbs water and releases it to a recipient. The aqueous binder composition, before curing, includes oxidized lignins, cross-linkers, and plasticizers.
Component (i) of the aqueous binder composition can be in the form of one or more ammonia-oxidized lignins (AOLs). Component (ii) consists of cross-linkers, which can be selected from ß-hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers and/or oxazoline-cross-linkers. The cross-linkers can include polyethylene imine, polyvinyl amine, fatty amines, fatty amides, dimethoxyethanal, glycolaldehyde, glyoxalic acid, polyester polyols, starch, modified starch, CMC, aliphatic multifunctional carbodiimides, and melamine-based cross-linkers.
Component (iii) of the aqueous binder composition comprises plasticizers, which can be selected from polyethylene glycols, polyethylene glycol ethers, polyethers, hydrogenated sugars, phthalates, acids (such as adipic acid, vanillic acid, lactic acid, and ferullic acid), acrylic polymers, polyvinyl alcohol, polyurethane dispersions, ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, lactones, lactams, lactides, acrylic-based polymers with free carboxy groups, and polyurethane dispersions with free carboxy groups. Plasticizers can also include fatty alcohols, monohydroxy alcohols, alkoxylates, propylene glycols, glycol esters, adipates, acetates, benzoates, cyclobenzoates, citrates, stearates, sorbates, sebacates, azelates, butyrates, valerates, phenol derivatives, silanols, siloxanes, sulfates, sulfonates, phosphates, hydroxy acids, monomeric amides, quaternary ammonium compounds, vegetable oils, hydrogenated oils, acid methyl esters, alkyl polyglucosides, gluconamides, aminoglucoseamides, sucrose esters, sorbitan esters, and polyethylene glycols.
The aqueous binder composition may also include a component (iv) in the form of one or more coupling agents, such as organofunctional silanes, and a component (v) in the form of ammonia, amines, or salts thereof. Urea can be optionally included in the composition. The binder composition can consist essentially of components (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and optionally (v), urea, more reactive or non-reactive silicones, hydrocarbon oil, one or more surface active agents, and water.
The water drainage device can have a first conduit for conveying water into the device and a second conduit for conveying air out of the device. It can also include a passage that extends from one end to the other, allowing water from the conduits to enter. The device can absorb water from groundwater, guttering, or draining systems of buildings or streets. The recipient of the drained water can be the ground, a reservoir, a tank, a drain pipe, a conduit, a passage, a water collection point, a gutter, or a sewer.
The water drainage device can have MMVF with a geometric fiber diameter of 1.5 to 10 microns. Its volume can range from 10 liters to 300 liters. The device does not contain any wetting agent and has a contact angle with water of less than 90° and a hydraulic conductivity of 5 m/day to 300 m/day.
The patent also describes an array of two or more water drainage devices, as well as a method of producing the water drainage device by spraying man-made vitreous fibers with the aqueous binder composition, collecting and consolidating the fibers, and curing the binder composition.
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