Solid esteks and method of making

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF FORMING THERMO-SET, IRREVERSIBLY INSOLUBLE, AND IRREVERSIBLY INFUSIBLE PLASTIC COMPOSITIONS, WHICH ARE USEFUL AS COMPOUNDING INGREDIENTS FOR RUBERS AND OTHER ELASTOMERS AND PLASTICS, BY TREATING ESTERS OF UNSUBSTITUTED ALIPHATIC POLYHYDRIC ALCOHOLS CONTAINING AT LEAST 3 HYDROXYL GROUPS PER MOLECULE AND OF UNSATURATED ALIPHATIC ACIDS SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF NATURALLY OCCURRING FATTY ACIDS AND SYNTHETIC ALIPHATIC, MONO-CARBOXYLIC ACIDS OF AT LEAST 11 CARBON ATOMS, WHICH TREATMENT COMPRISES PASSING AN OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS THROUGH SAID ESTERS AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE FROM ABOUT 30* TO ABOUT 200* C. UNTIL THE IRREVERSIBLY THERMO-SET STAGE IS REACHED, AND DISTRIBUTING A MODIFYING AGENT, SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF SULFATED AND SULFONATED DERIVATIVES OF ALIPHATIC ACIDS HAVING FROM 6 TO 24 CARBON ATOMS PER MOLECULE AND OF UNSUBSTITUTED MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL AND UNSUBSTITUTED GLYCOL ETHER ESTERS OF SAID ACIDS IN SAID POLYHYDRIC ALCOHOL ESTERS PRIOR TO THE STAGE AT WHICH SAID POLYHYDRIC ALCOHOL ESTERS HAVE BECOME THERMO-SET, WHEREBY SAID THERMO-SET PLASTIC COMPOSITIONS ARE EFFECTIVELY STABILIZED AGAINST HARDENING CAUSED BY FURTHER POLYMERIZATION AND AGING, AND SAID THERMOSET POLYHYDRIC ALCOHOL ESTERS BEING CHARACTERIZED BY HAVING A HIGHER CHEMICALLY COMBINED OXYGEN CONTENT THAN THAT OF THE POLYHYDRIC ALCOHOL ESTERS AT THE STAGE WHEN THE MODIFYING AGENT IS DISTRIBUTED THEREIN.