What is claimed is:
1. A process for making continuous starch filaments, the process comprising steps of:
(a) providing a starch composition comprising having an extensional viscosity from about 50 Pascalsecond to about 20,000 pascalsecond; and
(b) electro-spinning the starch composition, thereby producing the starch filaments having a size from about 0.001 dtex to about 135 dtex.
2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing a starch composition comprises providing a starch composition wherein the starch has a weight-average molecular weight from about 1,000 to about 2,000,000.
3. The process according to claim 1, wherein in the step of electro-spinning, the starch composition has an inherent capillary number of at least 0.05.
4. The process according to claim 2, wherein the starch composition has an inherent capillary number of at least 1.
5. The process according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing a starch composition comprises providing a starch composition wherein from about 20% to about 99% by weight is amylopectin.
6. The process according to claim 5, wherein the starch composition comprises from about 10% to about 80% by weight of the starch and from about 20% to about 90% by weight of additives, and wherein the starch composition has the extensional viscosity from about 100 pascalseconds to about 15,000 pascalseconds.
7. The process according to claim 5, wherein the starch composition comprises from about 20% to about 70% by weight of the starch and from about 30% to about 80% by weight of additives, and wherein the starch composition has the extensional viscosity from about 200 pascalseconds to about 10,000 pascalseconds.
8. The process according to claim 5, wherein the starch composition has the extensional viscosity from about 200 pascalseconds to about 10,000 pascalseconds and an inherent capillary number from about 3 to about 50.
9. The process according to claim 8, wherein the starch composition has the extensional viscosity from about 300 pascalseconds to about 5,000 pascalseconds and a capillary number from about 5 to about 30.
10. The process according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing a starch composition comprises providing a starch composition comprising from about 0.0005% to about 5% by weight of a high polymer having an average molecular weight of at least 500,000, the high polymer being substantially compatible with the starch.
11. The process according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing a starch composition comprises providing the starch composition comprising an additive selected from the group consisting of plasticizers and diluents.
12. The process according to claim 11, wherein the starch composition further comprises from about 5% to about 95% by weight of a protein, the protein comprising a corn-derived protein, a soybean-derived protein, a wheat derived protein, or any combination thereof.
13. The process according to claim 1, further comprising a step of attenuating the starch filaments with streams of air.
14. A process for making a flexible structure comprising starch filaments, the process comprising steps of:
(a) providing a starch composition having an extensional viscosity from about 100 pascalsecond to about 10,000 pascalsecond;
(b) providing a molding member having a three-dimensional filament-receiving side and a backside opposite thereto, the filament-receiving side comprising a substantially continuous pattern, a substantially semi-continuous pattern, a discrete pattern, or any combination thereof;
(c) electro-spinning the starch composition, thereby producing a plurality of starch filaments; and
(d) depositing the plurality of starch filaments on the filament-receiving side of the molding member, wherein the starch filaments conform to the three-dimensional pattern of the filament-receiving side.
15. The process according to claim 14, wherein the step of providing a starch composition comprises providing a starch composition wherein the starch has a weight-average molecular weight from about 1,000 to about 2,000,000 and wherein the starch composition comprises a high polymer having a weight-average molecular weight of at least 500,000.
16. The process according to claim 14, wherein the step of electro-spinning the starch composition comprises electro-spinning the starch composition through a die.
17. The process according to claim 16, further comprising a step of attenuating the starch filaments with air.
18. The process according to claim 14, wherein the step of providing a molding member comprises providing a molding member structured to continuously travel in a machine direction.
19. The process according to claim 14, wherein the step of providing a molding member comprises providing a molding member formed by a reinforcing element disposed at a first elevation, and a resinous framework joined to the reinforcing element in a face-to-face relationship and outwardly extending from the reinforcing element to form a second elevation.
20. The process according to claim 19, wherein the molding member is fluid-permeable and comprises a plurality of interwoven yarns, a felt, or any combination thereof.
21. The process according to claim 20, wherein the resinous framework comprises a plurality of bases outwardly extending from the reinforcing element and a plurality of cantilever portions laterally extending from the bases at the second elevation to form void spaces between the cantilever portions and the reinforcing element, wherein the plurality of bases and the plurality of cantilever portions form, in combination, the three-dimensional filament-receiving side of the molding member.
22. The process according to claim 14, wherein the step of depositing the plurality of starch filaments to the filament-receiving side of the molding member comprises applying a fluid pressure differential to the plurality of starch filaments.
23. The process according to claim 2, wherein the step of providing a starch composition comprises providing a starch composition comprising a high polymer.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method comprising:
passing a gas that includes a gas phase contaminant through a catalytic membrane reactor at a temperature of about 150\xb0 C. to about 300\xb0 C., wherein the catalytic membrane reactor includes a bundle of tubular inorganic membranes, wherein each of the tubular inorganic membranes comprise a macroporous tubular substrate with an oxidative catalyst and a microporous layer disposed on a bore side of the macroporous tubular substrate, and wherein at least about 50% of the gas flows through the tubular inorganic membranes in a Knudsen flow regime; and
oxidizing at least some of the gas phase contaminant with the oxidative catalyst layer, thereby reducing a concentration of the gas phase contaminant in the gas.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein a pressure drop across the bundle of tubular inorganic membranes is about 2 inches of water to about 4.5 inches of water.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the gas includes methane and the gas phase contaminant is a non-methane organic compound.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the gas phase contaminant further comprises a siloxane, and wherein the method further comprises removing at least some of the siloxane before passing the gas through the catalytic membrane reactor.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein removing at least some of the siloxane involves exposing the gas to UV radiation so as to form silica particles, and wherein the method further comprises filtering the silica particles from the gas before passing the gas through the catalytic membrane reactor.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the gas phase contaminant is a chemical warfare compound.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
condensing at least some of the chemical warfare compounds into a liquid phase in a selective surface flow reactor, thereby reducing a concentration of the chemical warfare compounds in the gas.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selective surface flow reactor is upstream of the catalytic membrane reactor.
9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:
passing the gas through an adsorption bed that is downstream of the selective surface flow reactor and the catalytic membrane reactor.
10. A system comprising:
a catalytic membrane reactor comprising a heating element in thermal communication with a bundle of tubular inorganic membranes and a housing having a gas inlet and a gas outlet and containing the bundle of tubular inorganic membranes, wherein the catalytic membrane reactor is configured such that a gas can flow into the housing through the gas inlet, into a bore of the tubular inorganic membranes, through a wall of the tubular inorganic membranes, and out of the housing through the gas outlet, wherein each of the tubular inorganic membranes comprise a macroporous tubular substrate with an oxidative catalyst and a microporous layer disposed on a bore side of the macroporous tubular substrate.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the oxidative catalyst is impregnated in the microporous layer.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein the oxidative catalyst is in a layer disposed between the microporous layer and the macroporous tubular substrate.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein the microporous layer has a thickness of about 1 micron to about 10 microns.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein the microporous layer has a porosity of about 25% to about 50%.
15. The system of claim 10, wherein the microporous layer has an average pore size of about 4 nm to about 50 nm.
16. The system of claim 10 further comprising:
an adsorption bed upstream or downstream of the catalytic membrane reactor.
17. The system of claim 10 further comprising:
a photo-oxidation reactor upstream or downstream of the catalytic membrane reactor, the photo-oxidation reactor comprising a gas flow path and UV source arranged relative to the gas flow path to allow for UV irradiation of a gas contained in the gas flow path.
18. The system of claim 17 further comprising:
a particle filtration unit disposed downstream of the photo-oxidation reactor.
19. The system of claim 10 further comprising:
a selective surface flow reactor upstream or downstream of the catalytic membrane reactor.
20. The system of claim 19 further comprising:
an adsorption bed downstream of the catalytic membrane reactor and the selective surface flow reactor.