schrenk

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS CONVERSION OF RELATIVE LY LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT MONOMERIC LACTAMS TO RELATIVELY HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT FIBER-FORMING SYNTHETIC LINEAR POLYAMIDES OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM QUALITY, WHICH COMPRISES CONTINUOUSLY PASSING SAID MONOMERIC LACTAM IN THE MOLTEN STATE THROUGH A HEATED ELONGATED SPIRAL SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POLYMERIZATION ZONE OF GREAT LENGTH AS COMPARED TO ITS HEIGHT WHILE CONTINUOUSLY SUPPORTED AND IN THE FORM OF A CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING UNINTERRUPTED LAYER OF LIQUID HAVING AN UNCONFINED UPPER SURFACE, AND THERE SUBJECTING SAID LIQUID TO POLYMERIZATION CONDITIONS INCLUDING HEATING, THEREBY ENABLING GASES AND VAPORS INCLUDING WATER AND MONOMERIC LACTAM THAT ARE EVOLVED FROM THE REACTION MASS READILY TO LEAVE THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE FLOWING MOLTEN REACTION MASS WITH A MINIMUM OF DISTURBANCE TO UNIFORM FLOW OF THE MOLTEN MASS THROUGH THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE AND BRINGING ABOUT AT LEAST SUBSTANTIAL POLYMERIZATION OF SAID MONOMERIC LACTAM TO RELATIVELY HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT SYNTHETIC LINEAR POLYAMIDE IN SAID POLYMERIZATION ZONE, THE REACTION BEING CONDUCTED WHILE SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY EXCLUDING FREE OXYGEN FROM THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE, PASSING THE THUSTREATED MOLTEN MATERIAL TO A DISCHARGE ZONE, MAINTAINING THE DISCHARGE ZONE SUBSTANTIALLY FILLED WITH A RELATIVELY LARGE MASS OF THE MOLTEN POLYMERIC MATERIAL, AND REMOVING THE RELATIVELY HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT FIBER-FORMING SYNTHETIC LINEAR POLYAMIDE PRODUCT FROM SAID DISCHARGE ZONE.