Residual monomer reduction in polymer latex products by extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide

The increased awareness for environmental issues as well as for public health, demands "greener" processes as well as products. In the polymer industry, one of the major concerns relate to residual monomer in polymer (latex) products. Low molecular species are toxic. When monomer units diffuse out of their polymeric matrix, they contaminate the surrounding area. Decreasing the residual monomer level in polymer (latex) products is especially of great importance in food packaging, toys for children, etc. Conventional techniques to reduce residual monomer in polymer (latex) products are energy intensive, time consuming and not able to fulfill the increasingly stringent requirements for further reduction of residual monomer in polymer products, i.e.