General Electric Company

Ge Plastics, L.l.c.

Lynn M Martynowicz

Richard C Bopp

Richard B Allen

William E Gibbs

A process for producing expandable particles of a melt compounded blend of polyphenylene ether resin and polyolefin resin. A melt compounded blend of polyphenylene ether resin and polyolefin resin, a blowing agent and water are mixed in a pressure vessel to form a dispersion; the dispersion is heated in the sealed pressure vessel to impregnate the blowing agent in the melt compounded blend of resin particles; the dispersion is then cooled in the sealed pressure vessel; and a cooled blowing agent-impregnated, melt compounded blend of resin particles is removed from the reactor. A preferred blowing agent is Freon.RTM. 11. The particles are pre-expanded by heating, and the pre-expanded particles can be foamed in a conventional mold when heat is applied thereto. A resin molding composition comprising a melt compounded blend of heat-pre-expanded, low density, resilient polyphenylene ether resin and polyolefin resin particles having about 95.0 weight percent to about 5.0 weight percent polyphenylene ether resin based on the total weight of the polyphenylene ether resin and polyolefin resin, is obtained by the above process.

Expandable polyphenylene ether and polyolefin blend and process of

Method of making expandable polyphenylene ether and polyolefin blend

Expandable thermoplastic resin microparticle compositions comprising low intrinsic viscosity polyphenylene ethers and a method for producing foam therefrom are disclosed.

Polyphenylene ether foams from low I.V. polyphenylene ether expandable

Polyphenlene ether foams from low I.V. polyphenylene ether expandable

A process for producing expandable thermoplastic resin beads which comprises suspending in an aqueous medium interpolymer beads comprising a polyphenylene ether resin and a polymerized vinyl aromatic monomer such as styrene, polymerizing the vinyl aromatic monomer in the presence of a polymerization catalyst to interpolymerize the vinyl aromatic monomer with the polyphenylene ether and, optionally, adding a cross-linking agent, to form interpolymerized thermoplastic resin beads, and introducing a blowing agent under pressure into the thermoplastic resin beads. The resulting resin beads have excellent foamability and molding fusability, and a foamed shaped article having superior thermal stability can be prepared from these beads.

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Pittsfield, MA, United States of America

Lynn M Martynowicz