Composite article

Abstract

A fiber-reinforced composite article useful for contaminant removal comprising at least one single layer of a fiber-reinforced composite having (a) at least one first polymer fiber-free region containing material adapted for removing contaminants, (b) at least one second polymer fiber-rich region containing fiber reinforcement material; and (c) at least one third polymer boundary region containing a portion of the first polymer fiber-free region and a portion of the second polymer fiber-rich region; a process for manufacturing the fiber-reinforced composite article; and a process for removing contaminants from a liquid fluid using the fiber-reinforced composite article.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fiber-reinforced composite article useful for contaminant removal comprising at least one single layer of a fiber-reinforced composite including the following regions in said at least one single layer:
 (a) at least one first polymer fiber-free region containing material adapted for removing contaminants, said contaminant removal material integrated into the first polymer fiber-free region; said first polymer fiber-free region including an inner surface and an outer surface;   (b) at least one second polymer fiber-rich region containing fiber reinforcement material; said second polymer fiber-rich region including an inner surface and an outer surface; and   (c) at least one third polymer boundary region containing a portion of the first polymer fiber-free region and a portion of the second polymer fiber-rich region;   wherein the outer surface of the first polymer fiber-free region is integrally bonded to the inner surface of the second polymer fiber-rich region forming the at least one third polymer boundary region disposed between the first polymer fiber-free region and the second polymer fiber-rich region; wherein the third polymer boundary region further comprises a contiguous boundary of a non-delineated width between the first polymer fiber-free region and the second polymer fiber-rich region; and wherein the first polymer fiber-free region is integrally attached to the second polymer fiber-rich region such that the first polymer fiber-free region and second polymer fiber-rich region are infused together forming the at least one third polymer boundary region.   
     
     
         2 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein there fiber reinforced region contains fiber reinforcement is glass, carbon, aramid, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber in the fiber-reinforced region is continuous reinforcing fibers or discontinuous reinforcing fibers. 
     
     
         4 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber orientation in the fiber-reinforced region is any orientation in a three-dimensional coordinate frame. 
     
     
         5 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer of the fiber-free region is a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer of the fiber-reinforced region is a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber-reinforced composite includes multi-functional materials, in addition to the contaminant removal materials, for increasing the mechanical, chemical, thermal and electrical properties of the fiber-reinforced composite. 
     
     
         8 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the composite includes a plurality of fiber-free regions. 
     
     
         9 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the composite includes a plurality of fiber-reinforced regions. 
     
     
         10 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the composite includes a plurality of fiber-free regions and fiber-reinforced regions in any layered order in the composite. 
     
     
         11 . The composite of  claim 1 , wherein the material adapted for removing contaminants is BaSO 4 , MnO 2  or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The composite of  claim 1  comprising a conduit, pipe, or piping. 
     
     
         13 . A process for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced composite article useful for contaminant removal at least one single layer of a fiber-reinforced composite comprising the steps of:
 (i) providing a formulation for forming at least one first polymer fiber-free gel layer;   (ii) applying the first polymer fiber-free gel layer formulation of (i) onto a mandrel of a filament winding process such that the polymer fiber-free gel layer formulation forms a polymer fiber-free gel layer of a predetermined thickness on the mandrel;   (iii) providing a formulation for forming at least one second polymer fiber-rich layer;   (iv) applying the second polymer fiber-rich layer formulation of (iii) onto the surface of the polymer fiber-free gel layer produced in step (ii) such that the second polymer fiber-rich layer formulation forms a second polymer fiber-rich layer of a predetermined thickness disposed on the first polymer fiber-free gel layer which is disposed on the mandrel; and   (v) curing the first polymer fiber-free gel layer and second polymer fiber-rich layer to form at least one single layer of a fiber-reinforced composite; wherein the at least one single layer of a fiber-reinforced composite includes the following regions in said single layer:
 (a) at least one first polymer fiber-free region containing material adapted for removing contaminants, said contaminant removal material integrated into the first polymer fiber-free region; said first polymer fiber-free region including an inner surface and an outer surface; 
 (b) at least one second polymer fiber-rich region containing fiber reinforcement material; said second polymer fiber-rich region including an inner surface and an outer surface; and 
 (c) at least one third polymer boundary region containing a portion of the first polymer fiber-free region and a portion of the second polymer fiber-rich region; 
 wherein the outer surface of the first polymer fiber-free region is integrally bonded to the inner surface of the second polymer fiber-rich region forming the at least one third polymer boundary region disposed between the first polymer fiber-free region and the second polymer fiber-rich region; wherein the third polymer boundary region further comprises a contiguous boundary of a non-delineated width between the first polymer fiber-free region and the second polymer fiber-rich region; 
   and wherein the first polymer fiber-free region is integrally attached to the second polymer fiber-rich region such that the first polymer fiber-free region and second polymer fiber-rich region are infused together forming the at least one third polymer boundary region.   
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein the fiber-free region is applied to the fiber-reinforced region by a manual lay-up method or an automated lay-up method. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein the fiber-reinforced composite is produced by a composite fabrication method including injection molding, compression molding, pultrusion, and filament winding.