Patent 7951417 was granted and assigned to UNITED ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY, LLC on May, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An adhesive product and method of making the product replaces asphalt in the manufacture of roofing shingles. The method comprises steps of forming a mixture of oil comprising fatty acids and a powdered catalyst operable to catalyze the polymerization of the oil; maintaining the oil to powdered catalyst weight ratio in the mixture between 1 to 0.01 and 1 to 4.9; heating the mixture to a reaction temperature greater than 100 degrees Centigrade; maintaining the reaction temperature for at least five minutes; and, injecting air into the mixture while maintaining the reaction temperature. In making a roofing shingle, the method includes additional steps of: applying the heated mixture to a fiberglass mat sheet from an upstream roll to form a tacky coated strip; and, adding a layer of granules to the tacky coated strip. The adhesive material of this method comprises polymerized oil and the powdered catalyst.