Polyurethane fibers and methods of making the same

Abstract

Fibers including a polyurethane or a protein polyurethane alloy. The fibers include a core defined by the polyurethane or the protein polyurethane alloy. The fibers including a protein polyurethane alloy include a protein dissolved within a polyurethane. In some embodiments, the fibers can be made by wet spinning a blended mixture of the polyurethane or protein polyurethane alloy and an organic solvent. In alternative embodiments, the fibers can be made by wet spinning a blended mixture of the polyurethane or protein polyurethane alloy and an aqueous polyethylene oxide solution.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A protein polyurethane alloy construct, comprising a protein dissolved within a polyurethane, wherein the construct is in the form of a fiber, and wherein a core of the fiber is defined by the protein polyurethane alloy. 
     
     
         2 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber is a wet-spun fiber. 
     
     
         3 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of  claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein the protein is selected from the group consisting of: soy protein, collagen, gelatin, bovine serum albumin, pea protein, egg white albumin, casein protein, peanut protein, edestin protein, whey protein, karanja protein, hemp protein, an enzyme, and cellulase. 
     
     
         4 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of  claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein the protein is a soy protein. 
     
     
         5 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of  claim 4 , wherein the soy protein is soy protein isolate. 
     
     
         6 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-5 , further comprising a dye. 
     
     
         7 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-6 , wherein the fiber has a length of greater than or equal to about 5 millimeters. 
     
     
         8 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-7 , wherein the fiber has an effective diameter ranging from about 1 micrometer to about 1 centimeter. 
     
     
         9 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-8 , wherein the fiber has an aspect ratio of greater than or equal to about 10, the aspect ratio defined as the ratio of a length of the fiber to an effective diameter of the fiber. 
     
     
         10 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of  claim 9 , wherein the aspect ratio ranges from about 10 to about 1000. 
     
     
         11 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-10 , wherein the fiber has a modulus of greater than or equal to about 0.1 cN/tex. 
     
     
         12 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-10 , wherein the fiber has a modulus ranging from about 0.1 cN/tex to about 10 cN/tex. 
     
     
         13 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-12 , wherein the fiber has a maximum elongation of greater than or equal to about 100%. 
     
     
         14 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-12 , wherein the fiber has a maximum elongation ranging from about 100% to about 1000%. 
     
     
         15 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-14 , wherein the fiber has a tenacity of greater than or equal to about 1 cN/tex. 
     
     
         16 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-14 , wherein the fiber has a tenacity ranging from about 1 cN/tex to about 20 cN/tex. 
     
     
         17 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-16 , comprising:
 a dye; and   a dye penetration greater than or equal to about 5% of an effective radius of the fiber.   
     
     
         18 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of  claim 17 , wherein the dye penetration is greater than or equal to about 50% of the effective radius of the fiber. 
     
     
         19 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of  claim 17 , wherein the dye penetration is greater than or equal to about 90% of the effective radius of the fiber. 
     
     
         20 . The protein polyurethane alloy construct of any one of  claims 1-19 , wherein the polyurethane comprises a polyol component selected from the group consisting of: a polyether polyol, a polyester polyol, a polycarbonate polyol, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         21 . A fiber bundle comprising: a plurality of the protein polyurethane alloy constructs according to any one of  claims 1-20 . 
     
     
         22 . A method of making a protein polyurethane alloy fiber, the method comprising:
 extruding a blended mixture into a protein polyurethane alloy fiber, the blended mixture comprising:
 a protein dissolved within a polyurethane; and 
 an organic solvent. 
   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , comprising:
 blending the protein with a polyurethane in an aqueous solution to form the blended mixture comprising the protein dissolved within the polyurethane; and   adding the organic solvent to the blended mixture.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 or claim 23 , wherein extruding the blended mixture into the protein polyurethane alloy fiber comprises wet spinning the blended mixture. 
     
     
         25 . The method of any one of  claims 22-24 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent or an ester-containing solvent. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent and the ether-containing solvent is tetrahydrofuran. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent and the ether-containing solvent is diethyl ether. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent and the ether-containing solvent is a polyether. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the organic solvent is an ester-containing solvent and the ester-containing solvent is butyl acetate. 
     
     
         30 . The method of any one of  claims 22-29 , wherein the blended mixture further comprises a dye. 
     
     
         31 . The method of any one of  claims 22-29 or claims 22-30 , further comprising dyeing the protein polyurethane alloy fiber. 
     
     
         32 . The method of any one of  claims 22-31 , wherein the polyurethane is a water-dispersible polyurethane. 
     
     
         33 . The method of any one of  claims 22-32 , wherein the polyurethane comprises a polyol component selected from the group consisting of: a polyether polyol, a polyester polyol, a polycarbonate polyol, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         34 . A method of wet spinning a polyurethane fiber, the method comprising:
 blending a water-dispersible polyurethane and an organic solvent to form a blended mixture; and   wet spinning the blended mixture to form a polyurethane fiber.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the polyurethane fiber is substantially free of protein. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 or claim 35 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent or an ester-containing solvent. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent and the ether-containing solvent is tetrahydrofuran. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent and the ether-containing solvent is diethyl ether. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the organic solvent is an ether-containing solvent and the ether-containing solvent is a polyether. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the organic solvent is an ester-containing solvent and the ester-containing solvent is butyl acetate. 
     
     
         41 . The method of any one of  claims 34-40 , wherein the blended mixture further comprises a dye. 
     
     
         42 . The method of any one of  claims 34-40 or claims 34-41 , further comprising dyeing the polyurethane fiber. 
     
     
         43 . The method of any one of  claims 34-42 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a length of greater than or equal to about 5 millimeters. 
     
     
         44 . The method of any one of  claims 34-43 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a modulus of greater than or equal to about 0.1 cN/tex. 
     
     
         45 . The method of any one of  claims 34-44 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a maximum elongation of greater than or equal to about 100%. 
     
     
         46 . The method of any one of  claims 34-45 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a tenacity of greater than or equal to about 1 cN/tex. 
     
     
         47 . A method of making a protein polyurethane alloy fiber, the method comprising:
 extruding a blended mixture into a protein polyurethane alloy fiber, the blended mixture comprising:
 a protein dissolved within a polyurethane; and 
 an aqueous polyethylene oxide solution. 
   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , comprising:
 blending the protein with a polyurethane in an aqueous solution to form the blended mixture comprising the protein dissolved within the polyurethane; and   adding the aqueous polyethylene oxide solution to the blended mixture.   
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 47 or claim 48 , wherein extruding the blended mixture into the protein polyurethane alloy fiber comprises wet spinning the blended mixture. 
     
     
         50 . The method of any one of  claims 47-49 , wherein the blended mixture further comprises a dye. 
     
     
         51 . The method of any one of  claims 47-49 or claims 47-50 , further comprising dyeing the protein polyurethane alloy fiber. 
     
     
         52 . The method of any one of  claims 47-51 , wherein the polyurethane is a water-dispersible polyurethane. 
     
     
         53 . A method of wet spinning a polyurethane fiber, the method comprising:
 blending a water-dispersible polyurethane and an aqueous polyethylene oxide solution to form a blended mixture; and   wet spinning the blended mixture to form a polyurethane fiber.   
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53 , wherein the polyurethane fiber is substantially free of protein. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 53 or claim 54 , wherein the blended mixture further comprises a dye. 
     
     
         56 . The method of any one of  claims 53, 54, or 53-55 , further comprising dyeing the polyurethane fiber. 
     
     
         57 . The method of any one of  claims 53-56 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a length of greater than or equal to about 5 millimeters. 
     
     
         58 . The method of any one of  claims 53-57 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a modulus of greater than or equal to about 0.1 cN/tex. 
     
     
         59 . The method of any one of  claims 53-58 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a maximum elongation of greater than or equal to about 100%. 
     
     
         60 . The method of any one of  claims 53-59 , wherein the polyurethane fiber has a tenacity of greater than or equal to about 1 cN/tex.