Process of oxidizing mixture of microcrystalline wax, an ester of monocarboxylated polyethylene and polyethylene, and product produced thereby

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF OXIDIZING A THREE-COMPONENT MIXTURE CONSISTING OF (A) REFINED TANK BOTTOM-DERIVED MICROCRTSTALLINE WAX HAVING A CARBON ATOM RANGE OF APPROXIMATELY 35 TO 100; SAID WAX BEING CHARACTERIZED BY THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS; (AA) OXIDATION SUSCEPTIBLE IN CONVENTIONAL GASEOUS OXYGEN-CONTAINING OXIDATION PROCEDURE; (BB) IMMISCIBLE WITH POLYSTYRENE OF MOLECULAR WEIGHT RANGE OF 5,000 TO 10,000 AT APPROXIMATELY 160* C, AND (CC) HAS NOT BEEN RENDERED OXIDATION SUSCEPTIBLE BY SUBJECTING TO TREATMENT WITH A MEMBER OF THE CLASS CONSISTING OF A METALLIC HALIDE, HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND CHLORINATED HYDROCARBON; (B) ESTERS OBTAINED BY REACTION BETWEEN A LOW MOLAL MONOCARBOXYLATED POLYETHYLENE HAVING A MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF APPROXIMATELY 2,000; SAID POLYETHYLENE BEING PRODUCED BY POLYMERIZING ETHYLENE UNDER 425-475 ATMOSPHERES AT TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 140-200* C. IN THE PRESENCE OF ISOPROPANOL AND A PEROXIDE, FOLLOWED BY OXIDATION; AND MIXED ALCOHOLS AND ESTER THEREOF HAVING A SAPONIFICATION VALUE BETWEEN 35 AND 100 AND OBTAINED BY OXIDATION OF A MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX AS DESCRIBED IN (A) ABOVE; (C) A NORMAL COMMERCIAL POLYETHYLENE DEFINED BY THE SMALL SHADED RECTANGULAR BAND OF FIGURE 4; IN SUCH WEIGHT PROPORTIONS SO THAT THE AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF SAID INITIAL REACTANTS LIES APPROXIMATELY WITHIN THE PARALLELOGRAM A, B, C, D, OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING, FIGURE 1; SAID OXIDATION COMPRISING OXIDIZING WITH AN OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS IN PRESENCE OF NOT OVER 2% OF A CONVENTIONAL OXIDATION-PROMOTING CATALYST AT A TEMPERTURE ABOVE 212* F. WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 240* F. TO 300* F. FOR A PERIOD OF TIME OF ABOUT 55 TO ABOUT 75 HOURS IN GAS FLOW RATE TO CAUSE FORMATION OF (A) HYDROXYL CONTAINING MOLECULES; (B) CARBOXYL CONTAINING MOLECULES, FOLLOWED BY (C) ESTERIFICATION, AND (D) SUBSEQUENT REACTIONS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING, ALCOHOLYSIS AND ESTER-INTERCHANGE; SAID RESULTANT PRODUCT HAVING AN ACID NUMBER OF NOT LESS THAN 12, AND A SAPONIFICATION NUMBER OF NOT LESS THAN 35, AND HAVING A COMBINED OXYGEN CONTENT OF NOT LESS THAN 2%; WITH THE PROVISO THAT THE INITIAL RATIO OF HIGH MOLAL POLYETHYLENE, LOW MOLAL CARBOXYLATED POLYETHYLENE, AND ALL REFINED TANK BOTTOM-DERIVED MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX ENTERING INTO THE FINAL REACTION MASS BE WITHIN THE LIMITS DEFINED BY THE PARALLELOGRAM E, F, G, H, IN FIGURE 5.