Abstract

In previous articles, (links thereto provided at the end of this article), the author cited a year-to-date list of published patents and patent applications that disclose technology associated with the development of largely bio-based (plant-derived) consumer products. In this article, the author presents patents that issued in the first half of 2015. Patents are chosen that highlight bio-based technology platforms that will lead, in the authors opinion, to materials useful in the development of household and personal care products.  The author will provide examples that include novel household and personal care formulation and packaging patents; and will make succinct comments about them. This section is useful for household and personal care product formulators and makers of packaging materials for identifying new bio-based technology platforms and potential chemical and plastic raw material suppliers. Note that not all new technology platforms are revealed via patents alone and that the reader is encouraged to perform a literature search to uncover additional technologies that focus on ecologically sound consumer product development.Patent data is provided via the European Patent Office database (http://worldwide.espacenet.com). Note that in this database, US application patents numbers have 10 digits. The United States Patent Office application patent numbers are 11 digits. To convert, simply add a “0” after the fourth digit. For example, 2013085285 in the EPO database would become 20130085285 in the USPTO database.In this article, the patent examples will be listed according to bio-based material supply chain, and specific applications involving renewable resources. Patent examples are specified by title, applicant names and patent number as they appear in the EPO database.

GLYCERIN DERIVATIVES AND SOLKETAL

The growth of the biodiesel industry in recent years has resulted in an abundance of glycerin. Biodiesel is made typically by the reaction of methanol and triglycerides of animal (tallow) fat and/or vegetable oils resulting in glycerin as a byproduct. Therefore, the crude glycerin available as a raw material for making other bio-based materials may be of mixed origin and not segregated according to animal or vegetable. A derivative of growing commercial importance is commonly known as solketal which is the ketal formed between glycerin and acetone. The CAS No. for this material is 100-79-8. Rhodia, now part of the Solvay group, developed and commercialized in Brazil, solketal under the brand name Augeo. It is currently based on acetone made via the cumene process, so the economics for solketal would make it competitive with petro-based oxygenated solvents such as glycol ethers u ... ...