Controlling heat of reaction by refluxing in the butadiene-diisobutylene copolymerization

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR COPOLYMERIZING OLEFINIC MATERIALS WHICH COMPRISES ADMIXING TOGETHER A MAJOR PROPORTION OF BUTADIENE AND A MINOR PROPORTION OF DIISOBUTYLENE, TOGETHER WITH COLD LIQUID PROPANE IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO OBTAIN AT ALL TIMES DURING THE REACTION A MIXED BOILING POINT OF THE TOTAL REACTION MIXTURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT +10* C. TO -40* C., COPOLYMERIZING THE MIXED OLEFINS AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT +10* C. TO -40* C. WHICH IS PARTIALLY MAINTAINED BY THE CONTINUOUS, SLOW ADDITION OF LIQUID PROPANE, CATALYZING THE COPOLYMERIZATION BY THE SLOW, CONTINUOUS ADDITION BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE REACTION MIXTURE OF THE COLD MIXED OLEFINS AND LIQUID PROPANE OF A STREAM OF LIQUID CATALYST SOLUTION OF ALUMINUM CHLORIDE DISSOLVED IN AN ALKYL CHLORIDE AND ETHYL CHLORIDE, THE SISTING OF METHYL CHLORIDE AND ETHYL CHLORIDE, THE RATE OF ADDITION OF SAID CATALYST SOLUTION BEING ADJUSTED IN PROPORTION TO THE QUANTITY OF MIXED OLEFINS REMAINING UNPOLYMERIZED, SUBSTANTIALLY MAINTAINING THE TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT +10* C. TO -40* C. DURING THE COPOLYMERIZATION BY THE RETURN TO THE REACTION MIXTURE AS COLD CONDENSED REFLUX OF SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE PROPANE AND OLEFINIC MATERIAL VOLATILIZED DURING THE COPOLYMERIZATION BY THE HEAT OF REACTION, AJUSTING THE REFLUX RETURN RATE TO CORRESPOND TO THE RATE OF EVOLUTION OF HEAT OF THE COPOLYMERIZATION REACTION, CONTINUING SAID COPOLYMERIZATION UNTIL FROM 60% TO 80% OF THE MIXED BUTADIENE AND DIISOBUTYLENE ARE COPOLYMERIZED, WHEREBY THERE IS PRODUCED A FLUID SOLUTION OF COPOLYMER IN PROPANE AND RESIDUAL UNREACTED OLEFINS, WHICH SOLUTION OF COPOLYMER, AT THE POLYMERIZATION TEMPERATURE, IS OF SUFFICIENTLY LOW VISCOSITY TO BE A FREE FLOWING FLUID, QUENCHING THE COPOLYMERIZATION REACTION, AND ISOLATING THE COPOLYMER OF BUTADIENE AND DIISOBUTYLENE FROM THE SOLUTION OF PROPANE AND RESIDUAL UNREACTED OLEFINS TO OBTAIN A POLYMER WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY SOLIDITY, LOW ELASTICITY, A STAUDINGER MOLECULAR WEIGHT IN THE RANGE BETWEEN 500 AND 100,000, AN IODINE NUMBER IN THE RANGE BETWEEN 30 AND 275, A MELTING POINT NEAR THE BOILING POINT OF WATER, AND THE PROPERTY OF BEING THERMOSETTING.