Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

The Dow Chemical Company

Richard J Elwell

John W Weston

Francois M Casati

Louis L Walker

David Craig Molzahn

Katherine S Clement

Richard Michael Wehmeyer

Robert H Whitmarsh

Carlos M Villa

Raymond A Plepys

David E Laycock

William P Dianis

Jan Willem Verwijs

James P Cosman

Jean-Marie Louis Sonney

Paul D Bettge

Simon Waddington

Antoine Storione

Walter J S Papadopulos

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

The present invention discloses a process for producing a polyurethane product with autocatalytic polyols. These auto-catalytic polyols are based on an initiator of the formula (I): H A-(CH ) &mdash;N(R)-(CH ) -AH where n and p are independently integers from 2 to 6, A at each occurrence is independently oxygen, nitrogen or hydrogen, with the proviso that only one of A can be hydrogen at one time, R is a C to C alkyl group, m is equal to 0 when A is hydrogen, is 1 when A B is oxygen and is 2 when A is nitrogen; or are polyols which contain an alkyl amine of within the polyol chain or a dialkylylamino group pendant to the polyol chain wherein the polyol chain is obtained by copolymerization of at least one monomer containing an alkyl aziridine or N,N-dialkyl glycidylamine with at least one alkylene oxide. These auto-catalytic polyols are reacted with a polyisocyanate in the presence of other additives and/or auxiliary agents known per se to produce polyurethane products.

Low emission polyurethane polymers made with autocatalytic 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

This invention involves several ways for improving a coalescing process for purifying a crude polyether. In one aspect, particulate zirconium dioxide is selected as a coalescing medium. In a second aspect, alkali metal catalyst is recovered and recycled to make additional polyether product. In a third aspect, a polyether stream obtained from the coalescing step is purified by stripping water in at least two phases, the first of which involves moderate conditions so that water but not allyl alcohol or higher molecular weight impurities are removed from the polyether, and the second of which involves more stringent stripping conditions. In a fourth aspect, crude polyether that is subjected to a holding period before undergoing a coalescing step is mixed with water to minimize the formation of impurities that are believed to compatibilize the aqueous and polyether phases. In a fifth aspect, the coalescing process is conducted under a non-oxidizing atmosphere.

Process for purifying polyethers

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Stade, Germany

Richard J Elwell