Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Limited

Basf Se Corporation

Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation

Gareth Ian Naylor

Jonathan Heath Veal

Simon Broughton

Anne Flisher

Shankara Narayanan Keelapandal Ramamoorthy

Oliver Soetje

Pascal Hesse

Gabriela Eugenia Fonseca Zepeda

John Scott Barratt

Robert Haschick

Aleksandra Jelicic

Robert David Burrows

Martin David Powell

Florian Rainau

David Andrew Houlton

Mark Lebkuecher

Martin William Whitley

Anthony Moran

Christopher Robert Gillett

Marcel Lievre

Lee Raistrick

Mark Lebkucher

Mark LEBKÜCHER

A reverse-phase suspension polymerization process for the manufacture of polymer beads comprising forming aqueous monomer beads comprising an aqueous solution of water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated monomer or monomer blend and polymerizing the monomer or monomer blend, to form polymer beads while suspended in a non-aqueous liquid, and recovering polymer beads, in which the process comprises providing in a vessel () a volume () of non-aqueous liquid wherein the volume of non-aqueous liquid extends between at least one polymer bead discharge point () and at least one monomer feed point (), feeding the aqueous monomer or monomer blend through orifices () into, or onto, the non-aqueous liquid to form aqueous monomer beads, allowing the aqueous monomer beads to flow towards the polymer bead discharge point initiating polymerization of the aqueous monomer beads to form polymerizing beads, wherein the polymerizing beads form polymer beads when they reach the polymer bead discharge point, removing a suspension of the polymer beads in non-aqueous liquid from the vessel at the polymer bead discharge point and recovering, water soluble or water swellable polymer beads from the suspension, in which the aqueous monomer or monomer blend and/or the orifices is/are vibrated such that the frequency multiplied by the weight average droplet diameter is between 150 and 800 mm/s. The invention also relates to the apparatus suitable for carrying out a reverse-phase suspension polymerization and polymer beads obtainable by the process or employing the apparatus. Furthermore, the invention also relates to polymer beads having a weight mean particle size in the range of 0.05 to 5 mm which are held in a container in an amount of at least 300 kg having a standard deviation of particle size less than 20%. In addition, the invention also provides polymer beads having a weight mean particle size in the range 0.05 to 5 mm having a standard deviation of particle size less than 20% and having an amount of residual acrylamide of less than 500 ppm.

Reverse-phase polymerization process

The present invention provides a process for the preparation of polymer which comprises the steps of i) feeding an aqueous mixture comprising a monoethylenically unsaturated monomer or a mixture of monoethylenically unsaturated monomers and an initiator into the top of a reactor ii) polymerizing the monoethylenically unsaturated monomer to form a gel-like aqueous mixture comprising the polymer, iii) squeezing the gel-like aqueous mixture comprising the polymer out of the bottom of the reactor using inert gas, wherein the reactor is either a vertical fully conical reactor having an angle (alpha) between top diameter (d) of the reactor and inner wall of the reactor of smaller than 90&#xb0; but larger than 45&#xb0; or is made up of 2 to 5 connected vertical fully conical parts, which are on top of one another, each having an angle between top diameter of the part and inner wall of the part of smaller than 90&#xb0; but larger than 45&#xb0;.

Production of polymers in a conical reactor

A method of reducing unreacted monomer in a water-soluble or water swellable polymer comprising the steps, i) applying an ultraviolet initiator to the surface of the polymer and ii) irradiating the polymer with ultraviolet light, wherein the ultraviolet initiator is dissolved or dispersed in a liquid medium and in which the liquid medium comprises an organic compound. The method is useful for reducing in the amount of unreacted acrylamide in polyacrylamide. Also claimed is a liquid initiator composition comprising, i) an ultraviolet initiator, and ii) a liquid medium comprising an organic compound. The initiator system is useful for applying to the surface of a polymer, such as polyacrylamide, in the removal of unreacted monomer, such as acrylamide.

Method of treating polymers

A process of preparing a liquid reaction product in a column reactor, which reactor comprises a space between coaxial tubular interior surfaces comprising an inner interior surface and an outer interior surface, comprising the steps, a) feeding the liquid precursor reactant material through an inlet port in the outer interior surface, b) flowing the liquid precursor material through the space between the outer interior surface and the inner interior surface, c) subjecting the liquid precursor material in step (b) to reaction conditions to form the liquid reaction product, d) passing the liquid polymer composition through an outlet port in the outer interior surface, characterised in that the distance of the inner internal surface and the outer interior surface is less than 20 mm and the ratio of the cross-sectional diameter (D') of the inner interior surface to the cross-sectional diameter (D&#x2033;) of the outer interior surface is at least 0.8:1. Also claimed is an apparatus suitable for carrying out chemical reactions. Derisably the apparatus and process can be used to make liquid polymer compositions.

Tubular reactor with coaxial cylinders and process using this reactor

A process of preparing water soluble or water swellable polymer comprising the steps,

Process for reducing residual monomer concentration

Apparatus and method for degassing liquids particularly cationic monomers. Fluid comprising liquid to be degassed together with sweep gas is admitted tangentially into a column () and forced down the column by a tubular baffle () which defines, with the inner wall of the column, an annulus () that is closed at its top (). After passing to the bottom of the annulus the fluid forms an even film over the inner surface of the column and gas disengaging from the liquid can rise up the column while liquid accumulates at the bottom of the column. To assist the disengagement of the gas from the liquid the column is preferably of increasing cross section towards the bottom so that the thickness of the film is also reduced.

Apparatus and method for degassing liquids

Beads are made from water-soluble monomer or monomer blend by reverse phase bead polymerization by extruding aqueous monomer beads into or onto the top of an upflowing column of non-aqueous liquid and the beads polymerise as they float downwardly through the column during a period of at least &frac12; minute. The resultant beads can have a very narrow particle size distribution.

Polymerization processes and products

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Halifax, United Kingdom

Gareth Ian Naylor