General Electric Company

Sabic Innovative Plastics IP B.v.

Massimo Messori

Corrado Berti

Martino Colonna

Maurizio Fiorini

Francesco Pilati

Elisabetta Marianucci

Timothy Edward Banach

Maurizio Toselli

Daniel Joseph Brunelle

Bimal Ramesh Patel

Laura Sisti

Annamaria Celli

Paola Marchese

Martino Collona

Poly(1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate)s, especially poly(1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate), are prepared from at least one relatively non-volatile diol, such as 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, and cyclohexane-1,4-dicarboxylic acid by an esterification process in the presence of a catalyst, at a maximum temperature of about 260&deg;. In one embodiment the procedure employs a two-step process, the second of which may be performed in the melt or in the solid state. A volatile diol such as ethylene glycol may also be present.

Method for preparing poly(cyclohexane-1,4-dicarboxylate)s from cyclohexane-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, and composition

Polyesters are prepared by the reaction of a dicarboxylic acid, preferably an aromatic acid such as terephthalic acid, or an ester or ester-forming derivative thereof with a dihydroxy compound such as 1,4-butanediol in the presence of a catalyst composition comprising the combination of a titanium-based compound such as tetra-n-butyl titanate, a zirconium-based compound such as zirconium tetrakis(2,4-pentanedionate) and a phosphate-forming compound such as sodium dihydrogen phosphate. This catalyst composition affords polyesters having relatively low melt viscosities in short reaction times and does not produce an excessive level of undesirable reaction by-products.

Phosphate-containing catalyst composition for the preparation of

A catalyst composition for use in the preparation of a polyester or copolyester is disclosed. The catalyst composition comprises the combination of (a) a titanium-based compound or zirconium-based compound, and (b) a lanthanide series compound or hafnium. Various titanium-based compounds and lanthanide-based compounds are described. Moreover, in some embodiments, the catalyst composition may further comprise a phosphate-forming compound. Another aspect of this invention is an improved method for preparing a polyester, based, for example, on the two-stage process of ester interchange and polycondensation. The method is carried out in the presence of the catalyst composition described above.

Catalyst composition for the preparation of polyesters, and related

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Modena, Italy

Massimo Messori