Process for increasing the emulsifiability of a polyethylene/isopropanol telomer wax

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR INCREASING THE EMULSIFIABILITY AS MEASURED BY THE TEST DESCRIBED, AND VISCOSITY CHARACTERISTICS AS MEASURED BY STANDARD ASTM TEST D-88-44, OF A POLYETHYLENE-ISOPROPANOL TELOMER WAX HAVING AVERAGE MOLECUULAR WEIGHT IN THE RANGE BETWEEN ABOUT 1,000 AND ABOUT 3,000 AND HARDNESS CORRESPONDING TO PENETRATION OF NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 0.7 MM. AS MEASURED BY THE STANDARD ASTM METHOD D-5-25 WHICH COMPRISES INCORPORATING WITH SUCH WAX BETWEEN ABOUT 1% AND ABOUT 3% OF AN ACIDIC MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF UNSATURATED ALIPHATIC POLYCARBOXY ACIDS HAVING FROM 4 TO 6 CARBON ATOMS AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE CARBONYL GROUP ATTACHED TO A DOUBLY BOUND CARBON ATOM AND ANHYDRIDES OF SUCH OF THE AFOREMENTIONED ACIDS AS FROM ANHYDRIDES, SUBJECTING SUCH MIXTURE IN THE LIQUID PHASE TO THE ACTION OF AN OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURES BETWEEN ABOUT 135*C. AND ABOUT 175* C., PRESSURES BETWEEN ABOUT 50 P.S.I.G. AND ABOUT 1,000 P.S.I.G., CORRELATED AS TO CAUSE THE REACTION WITH THE WAX MIXTURE OF OXYGEN AT THE RATE OF BETWEEN ABOUT 1/2 POUND AND ABOUT 7 POUNDS OF OXYGEN PER 100 POUNDS OF WAX PER HOUR, AND CONTINUING THE OXIDATION UNTIL BETWEEN ABOUT 1/2 POUND AND ABOUT 6 POUNDS OF OXYGEN PER 1100 POUNDS OF WAX HAVE REACTED AND A SAPONIFICATION NUMBER BETWEEN ABOUT 4 AND ABOUT 24 HAS BEEN REACHED.