Continuous polymerization processes and resulting products

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF POLYMERIZING MONOMERS OF POLYMERIZABLE UNSATURATED ORGANIC COMPOUNDS WHICH COMPRISES CONTINUOUSLY ADDING A POLYMERIZATION CATALYST, A NON-POLYMERIZABLE, INERT LIQUID, A GASEOUS VINYL COMPOUND HAVING A SINGLE VINYL GROUP AND AN UNSATURATED COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF MALEIC ANHYDRIDE, MIXTURES OF MALEIC ANHYDRIDE AND ALKYL ESTERS OF MALEIC ACID, SAID MIXTURES CONTAINING AT LEAST 50% OF MALEIC ANHYDRIDE BY WEIGHT, MIXTURES OF MALEIC ANHYDRIDE AND ACRYLIC ACID AND MIXTURES OF MALEIC ANHYDRIDE AND METHACRYLIC ACID, TO A ZONE WHICH IS AT SUPERATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AND HAS AN ATMOSPHERE OF INERT GAS AND CONTAINS A SLURRY OF A COPOLYMER OF SAID VINYL COMPOUND AND SAID UNSATURATED COMPOUND IN SAID INERT LIQUID, SAID INERT LIQUID BEING A NON-SOLVENT AND SUBSTANTIALLY NONSWELLING MEDIUM FOR SAID COPOLYMER AND BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS HAVING A BOILING POINT ABOVE 50*C. AND CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS HAVING A BOILING POINT ABOVE 50*C., CONTINUOUSLY MAINTAINING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID SLURRY SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO EFFECT COPOLYMERIZATION OF THE MONOMERS OF SAID VINYL COMPOUND AND SAID UNSATURATED COMPOUND IN THE SLURRY, THEREBY FORMING ADDITIONAL COPOLYMER OF SAID VINYL COMPOUND AND SAID UNSATURATED COMPOUND, AND CONTINUOUSLY REMOVING A MINOR PORTION OF THE SLURRY FROM THE BULK OF THE SLURRY.