Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Incorporated

Toyo Engineering Corporation

Tetsuyuki Matsubara

Norifumi Ito

Mune Iwamoto

Toshihiko Ando

Kazuo Sugazaki

Yuzuru Ishida

Tetsuo Maeda

Kouzo Ichikawa

Yasuo Furuta

Hitoshi Ozawa

Susumu Fukawa

Kozo Ichikawa

Kouichi Arahari

Sugazaki: Kazuo

A process for preparing rubber modified high impact resins by dissolving a rubbery polymer in a monomer containing an aromatic vinyl monomer or a mixture of an aromatic vinyl monomer and a vinyl cyanide monomer followed by polymerizing the monomer, the two steps being carried out in at least two polymerization reactors with a particle disperser placed between the first and second reactors. High impact resins having excellent surface properties are obtained with a savings in a power consumption by controlling:

Continuous process for preparing rubber modified high impact resin

The present invention relates to rubber-modified styrene copolymer that exhibits excellent rigidity, impact strength, external appearance and fluidity, while retaining rigidity, impact properties and external appearance, and when prepared by copolymerizing a maleimide monomer, has high heat resistance and therefore is suitable for materials for components of electric equipments, electronic equipments, automobiles and business machines.

Block-copolymerized-rubber-modified styrene copolymers

A transparent heat-resistant styrene-base copolymer comprising specific amounts of units derived respectively from (a) a styrene-type monomer, (b) a (meth)acrylonitrile monomer and/or (meth)acrylic ester type monomer and (c) a phenylmaleimide monomer, in which the weight ratio (b)/(c) and the ratio of the weight average molecular weight to the number average molecular weight fall within their respective specific ranges and the amount of the phenylmaleimide-type monomer still remaining in the copolymer is below a certain specific concentration.

Transparent heat-resistant styrene-base copolymer

Disclosed herein is a rubber-modified styrene copolymer which contains as an impact strength modifier a rubbery polymer having a viscosity of 2-250 centipoises as measured at 25.degree. C. as a 5 wt. % styrene solution and a styrene insoluble content lower than 0.1 wt. %, produced by anionic polymerization and dispersed in a continuous phase of a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer. The rubbery polymer contains small particles of the same styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer occluded in the form of cells. The areas of particles in each of which the maximum cell diameter is smaller than 0.1 .mu.m are at least 40% of the area of all the particles of the rubbery polymer and the volume average particle size of these particles is 0.1-0.4 .mu.m. The weight ratio of the monomers in the styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer is 90/10.gtoreq.styrene/acrylonitrile.gtoreq.55/45. Per 100 parts by weight of the copolymer, the proportions of polymers having a molecular weight greater than 1,000,000 is smaller than 0.5 part by weight while the proportion of polymers having a molecular weight greater than 1,200,000 is smaller than 0.01 part by weight.

Anionically-polymerized-rubber-modified styrene copolymers

The invention provides a rubber dispersed copolymer resin having excellent heat resistance, impact strength and moldability and composed of (1) a dispersed phase formed of a rubbery polymer and copolymerized styrene-type, acrylonitrile-type and maleimide-type monomers, said rubbery polymer specificaly controlled occluding the copolymer of monomers, being grafted with the copolymer and/or forming a multicomponent gel together with copolymers, and (2) a continuous phase formed at least of a specifically controlled copolymer of the styrene-type, acrylonitrile-type and maleimide-type monomers. The resin is useful as a molding material for electric appliances, electronic equipment and cars.

Rubber dispersed copolymer resin

The invention provides a rubber dispersed copolymer resin having excellent heat resistance, impact strength and moldability and composed of (1) a dispersed phase formed of a rubbery polymer and copolymerized styrene-type, acrylonitrile-type and maleimide-type monomers, said rubbery polymer specifically controlled occluding the copolymer of monomers, being grafted with the copolymer and/or forming a multicomponent gel together with copolymers, and (2) a continuous phase formed at least of a specifically controlled copolymer of the styrenetype, acrylonitrile-type and maleimide-type monomers. The resin is useful as a molding material for electric appliances, electronic equipment and cars.

Upon transportation of synthetic rubber chips through a piping or by means of a conveyor, 2 wt. %-50 wt. % based on the weight of the synthetic rubber chips of steam of 160.degree. C. or lower, water or both steam of 160.degree. C. or lower and water is added to the synthetic rubber chips upon their transportation.

Transportation method of synthetic rubber chips

A bromostyrene composition having overcome the unstability of bromostyrenes and being stable at the time of its storage and transportation is provided, which composition comprises 100 parts by weight of a styrene substituted with one, two or three bromine atoms on the benzene nucleus thereof or a mixture of the foregoing, 20 to 3,000 parts by weight of an aromatic vinyl compound such as styrene and 0.001 to 0.05 part by weight of a polymerization inhibitor.

Bromostyrene composition

Disclosed is a continuous treating process of a rubber modified styrenic polymer composition produced by bulk or solution polymerization and containing at least 1% by weight of a rubber component and at least 16% by weight of the total amount of an unreacted monomer and solvent which process comprises treating the polymer composition in two-step volatile component separation apparatuses, each of which comprises a multi-tube preheater and a volatilizer, to remove the unreacted monomer and other volatile components wherein the first treated composition contains 3-15% by weight of the unreacted monomer and solvent.

Continuous process for the treatment of polymer composition to remove

A process for producing a styrene-base resin having improved moldability and a good hue by continuously adding a specific higher fatty acid amide in a dissolved or molten state, and/or a mixture of a specific higher fatty acid amide and a specific metallic soap in a molten state, to a styrene-base resin in the course of its production by continuous bulk or solution polymerization. The above process is particularly effective for rubber-modified styrene-acrylonitrile resins.

Continuous production process of styrene-base resin

In a continuous bulk or solution polymerization process for producing rubber modified high-impact resins which comprises continuously feeding a raw material solution comprising a mixture of an aromatic vinyl monomer and a vinyl cyanide monomer and a rubber component dissolved in the mixture, together with a radical polymerization initiator, to a first reactor, polymerizing the raw material solution under high-shear agitation to a conversion required to transform the rubber component phase into dispersed particles, withdrawing the reaction mixture continuously from the first reactor at a rate corresponding to the feed rate of the raw material solution, and feeding the reaction mixture to a second or more reactors for further polymerization, rubber modified high-impact resins exhibiting excellent chemical resistance, thermal resistance and rigidity and having a good surface gloss can be produced by properly determining the weight ratio of the aromatic vinyl monomer to the vinyl cyanide monomer present in the raw material solution, the content of the rubber component in the raw material solution, the content of the solvent in the raw material solution, the property of the rubber component, the property of the radical polymerization initiator and the amount of initiator used, as well as the conversion of the monomers at the first reactor.

Continuous process for producing rubber modified high-impact resins

A continuous process for the preparation of polymer compositions having low volatile content which comprises passing a styrene polymer-containing polymerization fluid composition obtained by solution polymerization or bulk polymerization through a volatile component separator comprising vertical foaming preheaters and vacuum vessels directly connected therewith and thereby removing volatile components continuously from the polymerization fluid composition in three stages to obtain a polymer composition having low volatile content, the process being characterized in that each of three stages includes at least one vertical foaming preheater and one vacuum vessel, the first stage is carried out under such pressure and temperature conditions that the polymerization fluid composition leaving this stage contains said styrene polymer in an amount of 60 to 80% by weight and the temperature of the polymerization fluid composition passing through this stage lies between 70.degree. and 120.degree. C., the second stage is carried out under such pressure and temperature conditions that the molten polymer composition leaving this stage has a volatile content of not greater than 1% by weight and can retain good fluidity, and the third stage is carried out in such a way that devolatilization is effected at a pressure of 50 Torr or less in the presence of a highly volatile foaming agent.

Process for the preparation of polymer compositions having low volatile

Disclosed is a continuous bulk polymerization reactor comprising a cylindrical reaction vessel elongated in the direction of the reacting fluid and a shaft installed within the reaction vessel. A plurality of flow of double helical-ribbon agitators are attached to the shaft in such a way that they face in the same direction, and a plurality of baffles having a relative open area of 5 to 40% based on the cross-sectional area of the internal space of the reaction vessel, are disposed between any adjacent ones of the agitators. Thus the formation of stagnant fluid pockets is avoided and excellent piston flow properties are achieved.

Continuous bulk polymerization reactor

Disclosed is a process for continuously producing rubber modified styrene resins wherein the rubbery phase including a rubber-like polymer is transformed into dispersed particles by using a reactor having both a helical-blade agitator mounted in a draft tube and an auxiliary agitator, by establishing a specified agitating force and a specified degree of circulation of the fluid within the reactor, and by maintaining a specified relation between the weight percentages, based on the total amount of all components within the reactor, of the rubber-like polymer and the monomer converted to polymer. According to this process, various grades of high-impact rubber modified styrene resins having excellent surface properties can be obtained without any adhesion of rubber-like matter to the reactor and without any formation of fisheyes in final products.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Tetsuyuki Matsubara