Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

Covestro LLC

John W Weston

Carlos M Villa

Jean-Paul Masy

David A Babb

Richard J Elwell

Kevin C Seavey

Pradeep Jain

Louis L Walker

David Craig Molzahn

Katherine S Clement

Richard Michael Wehmeyer

Marlin E Walters

Robert H Whitmarsh

David E Laycock

William P Dianis

Jan Willem Verwijs

Myriam Linke

Walter J S Papadopulos

Leigh H Thompson

Walter C Moore

Sweta Somasi

Kevin Christopher Seavey

Carlos Mario Villa

Walter Clifton Moore

Polyether polyols are made by a process that includes a continuous addition of starter and alkylene oxide. The feed of starter is discontinued when 80 to 95% of the alkylene oxide has been fed to the reactor. This process produces a product with a narrow molecular weight distribution.

Process for preparing polyether polyol using DMC catalyst and continuous addition of starter

1,2-butylene oxide is homopolymerized or randomly copolymerized in the presence of a double metal cyanide catalyst such as a zinc hexacyanocobaltate catalyst complex. The polymers unexpectedly contain significant amounts of monofunctional impurities, which can be partially controlled through selection of polymerization conditions.

Method for making poly(butylene oxide) polyols

Organic materials are stripped and dried in a single column having two contact zones. A stripping gas is introduced into an upper contact zone and flows through the organic material in that zone. A drying gas is introduced into a lower contact zone. The drying gas contacts the organic material in both the upper and lower contact zones, and is removed from the top of the column together with the stripping gas. This process permits very efficiently removal of volatile organic compounds as well as efficient drying, while requiring on low levels of the stripping and drying gasses.

Single column stripping and drying process

Polyether polyols having equivalent weights of up to 500 are continuously prepared in the presence of a double metal cyanide catalyst. A first step of the reaction is performed at a temperature of at least 150&#xb0; C., while controlling the hydroxyl content and unreacted alkylene oxide content of the reaction mixture to within certain ranges. A portion of that reaction mixture is withdrawn and permitted to react non-isothermally to consume the unreacted alkylene oxide. This process is highly efficient, does not result in catalyst deactivation, as is commonly seen in previous processes, and does not produce a significant ultra high molecular weight tail.

Method for continuously producing low equivalent weight polyols using double metal cyanide catalysts

The present disclosure relates, according to some embodiments, to compositions, apparatus, methods, and systems that may be used to produce polyols, for example, polyether polyols with a narrow range of molecular weights, with little if any unsaturated byproducts, in a sustained and/or continuous reaction, with efficient heat transfer, and/or at high production rates. For example, in some embodiments, teachings of the disclosure may be used to produce polyether polyols in a continuous loop flow process. A continuous loop flow process may be practiced such that heat is effectively transferred and/or product properties (e.g., range of molecular weights) are controllable. For example, a continuous loop flow process may use one or more continuous flow loops comprising a heat exchanger, a means to move material around each loop, inlets for catalyst, monomer, initiator or starter, and an outlet for polyol product.

Continuous loop flow process for polyether polyol production

A continuous process and system for producing polyether polyols that allows for continuously adding an unreacted oxide to a loop reactor while adding at least one thermally deactivating catalyst capable of thermally deactivating prior to decomposition of polyether polyol which can allow for greater concentrations of unreacted oxides and/or a rate of reaction in the loop reactor is at a rate at least two times faster than a rate of reaction in a loop reactor containing less than 14 weight percent unreacted oxide. In a preferred embodiment, the catalyst is a double metal cyanide catalyst and a plug flow reactor is formed in series with the loop reactor wherein neither reactor contains a vapor space.

Continuous process and system of producing polyether polyols

Ethoxylations of various initiator compounds are performed in the presence of metal cyanide catalysts. The catalysts surprisingly form a wide variety of polyether products that in most cases contain only small amounts of high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide).

Polymerization of ethylene oxide using metal cyanide catalysts

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Sugar Land, TX, United States of America

John W Weston