Gulf Oil Corporation

Champion International Corporation Limited

Clarence R Murphy

Robert E Boehme

Robert E Boehme, Deceased

Edward W Smith

By Helen Boehme, Legal Representative

Jin K Kim

S Paul Thackaberry

S Paul Thackabeery

By Joseph Phelp, Executor

By Helen Boehme, Sole Beneficiary

Improved ethylene polymer fibrils are provided which are characterized in having:

Ethylene polymer fibrils

Paper having improved properties, particularly tear strength, is prepared from a furnish containing at least 90 weight % of cellulose fibers and up to 10 weight % of olefin polymer fibrils. The fibrils are prepared by a differential temperature process of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,751, are refined in isopropanol, and are treated with an aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol to sorb at least 1.0 weight % of polyvinyl alcohol on the fibrils. The fibrils are prepared from an olefin polymer having a weight average molecular weight of at least one (1) million.

Paper products

Apparatus useful in the manufacture of thermoplastic Olefin polymer fibrils are prepared by a process carried out in a disc mill. A hot olefin polymer solution is fed into the working cavity defined by the discs. In passing through the working cavity, the hot polymer solution is broken up into a plurality of uniaxially-oriented liquid streams which follow tortuous liquid paths through the working cavity whereby each of the streams is attenuated to orient the solute polymer molecules in said streams. A coolant liquid is fed into the working cavity and cools the attenuated polymer streams to a temperature sufficiently low so that substantially all of the solute polymer is precipitated in the form of uniaxially-oriented polymer fibrils. The product recovered from the modified disc mill consists of a mixture of uniaxially-oriented polymer fibrils, polymer solvent, and coolant liquid. The fibrils are recovered and refined in subsequent downstream operations.

Method for preparation of fibrils

The invention is directed to an apparatus useful for dissolving high molecular weight olefin polymers in a hot hydrocarbon solvent. The apparatus includes:

Apparatus and process for the manufacture of fibrils

Centrifugal spinning apparatus is provided for the manufacture of fibrils from hot viscous hydrocarbon solutions of olefin polymers having an intrinsic viscosity of at least 3.5. The apparatus consists of an impeller which rotates at high speed in a cylindrical cavity having a discharge port. The impeller has a plurality of blades whose narrow dimensions lie substantially in the plane of the impeller's rotation and whose tips come in close proximity to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical cavity. The blades are arranged in at least two substantially-identical sets. Within each set, the blades are offset substantially equidistant from one another, both in the rotational plane of the impeller and in the plane transverse thereto. Two inlet ports are provided in the peripheral surface of the cylindrical cavity to feed liquids to the cylindrical cavity, each of which port is narrow in a plane transverse to the plane of the impeller's rotation and extends over substantially the entire peripheral surface. The inlet ports are positioned near the discharge port of the cylindrical cavity and upstream thereof viewed with respect to the impeller's rotation, so that the bulk of the liquids entering the cavity from the inlet ports are swept away from the discharge port by the impeller's rotation.

Apparatus for the manufacture of fibrils

A process is disclosed for removing phenols from dilute aqueous solutions thereof. The method consists of contacting the aqueous phenol solution with a mass of olefin polymer fibrils which absorb the phenol from the aqueous solution. Water treated by the method does not give a characteristic phenol color when tested with ferric chloride.

Process for removal of phenols from dilute aqueous solutions thereof

A process for preparing olefin polymer fibrils is disclosed. A high molecular weight ethylene polymer is dissolved in methylene chloride in a first zone that is heated to develop a superatmospheric pressure. The polymer solution is fed to a second zone which is maintained at atmospheric pressure. The polymer solution is discharged into vigorously stirred isopropanol to form fibrils. Polymer solvent is distilled from the resulting slurry. The fibrils are refined in the isopropanol slurry. The polymer solvent and the isopropanol are recycled to the process.

Method for manufacture of olefin polymer fibrils

Process for the manufacture of fibrils

The invention is directed to a process of dissolving a high molecular weight olefin polymer having an inherent viscosity of at least 3.5 in a hot hydrocarbon solvent to form solutions which are totally free of undissolved polymer particles. Apparatus for carrying out the process also is described. The process includes stirring a slurry of fine particles of the polymer and the solvent in a chamber whose inlet and outlet are covered with screens. The outlet screen has a smaller mesh than the inlet screen. The solution is filtered through the outlet screen into a second chamber which is similar to the first one except that the second outlet screen is finer than the first outlet screen. The stirring and filtering through successively finer outlet screens is repeated in a series of chambers until a solution which is free of undissolved polymer particles is obtained. The solution is kept at least 190.degree. C throughout the process.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Clarence R Murphy