Art of producing polymers of acrylonitrile

Claim 1

THE METHOD WHICH COMPRISES PREPARING A REACTION MASS COMPRISING A POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL IN AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM HAVING A PH NOT HIGHER THAN ABOUT 4.0 AND HAVING A CONTENT OF SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL NOT GREATER THAN 50%, SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF (1) ACRYLONTRILE (2) MIXTURES CONTAINING MORE THAN 50% BY WEIGHT OF ACRYLONITRILE, THE BALANCE BEING AT LEAST ONE OTHER DIFFERENT COMPOUND WHICH IS COPOLYMERIZABLE WITH ACRYLONTRILE AND WHICH CONTAINS A CH2=C> GROUPING; INTRODUCING INTO SAID REACTION MASS A REDOX-CATALYST SYSTEM COMPRISING CHLORATE IONS AND SULFITE IONS THE AMOUNT OF THE CHLORATE IONS BEING WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOUT 3% AND THAT OF THE SULFITE IONS WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOUT 9%, SAID PERCENTAGES BEING BY WEIGHT OF THE SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL; POLYMERIZING THE REACTION MASS CONTAINING THE SAID REDOX-CATALYST SYSTEM AND POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL; AND AT ANY NORM OF CHLORATE IONS AND OF SULFITE IONS WITHIN THE AFOREMENTIONED RANGES OF PERCENTAGE PROPORTIONS OF SAID IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL AND WHILE KEEPING THE SAID REACTION MASS AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT TEMPERATURE AND AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT PH NOT HIGHER THAN ABOUT 4.0, INCREASING THE CONVERSION OF THE SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL TO POLYMER OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM AVERAGE MOLECULAR WEIGHT BY INCREASING ABOVE SAID NORM THE RATIO OF MOLAR EQUIVALENTS OF SULFITE IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL TOGETHER WITH AN INCREASE IN THE RATIO OF MOLAR EQUIVALENTS OF CHLORATE IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL THAT IS GREATER THAN THE INCREASE ABOVE SAID NORM IN THE RATIO OF MOLAR EQUIVALENTS OF SULFITE IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL, THE AMOUNTS OF THE CHLORATE AND SULFITE IONS AFTER SAID INCREASE REMAINING HOWEVER, WITHIN THE AFORESAID RANGES OF FROM ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOTU 3% OF CHLORATE IONS AND ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOUT 9% OF SULFITE IONS BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL.

Claim 2

THE METHOD WHICH COMPRISES PREPARING A REACTION MASS COMPRISING A POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL IN AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM HAVING A PH NOT HIGHER THAN ABOUT 4.0 AND HAVING A CONTENT OF SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL NOT GREATER THAN 50%, SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF (1) ACRYLONTRILE (2) MIXTURES CONTAINING MORE THAN 50% BY WEIGHT OF ACRYLONITRILE, THE BALANCE BEING AT LEAST ONE OTHER DIFFERENT COMPOUND WHICH IS COPOLYMERIZABLE WITH ACRYLONTRILE AND WHICH CONTAINS A CH2=C> GROUPING; INTRODUCING INTO SAID REACTION MASS A REDOX-CATALYST SYSTEM COMPRISING CHLORATE IONS AND SULFITE IONS THE AMOUNT OF THE CHLORATE IONS BEING WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOUT 3% AND THAT OF THE SULFITE IONS WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOUT 9%, SAID PERCENTAGES BEING BY WEIGHT OF THE SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL; POLYMERIZING THE REACTION MASS CONTAINING THE SAID REDOX-CATALYST SYSTEM AND POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL; AND AT ANY NORM OF CHLORATE IONS AND OF SULFITE IONS WITHIN THE AFOREMENTIONED RANGES OF PERCENTAGE PROPORTIONS OF SAID IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL AND WHILE KEEPING THE SAID REACTION MASS AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT TEMPERATURE AND AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT PH NOT HIGHER THAN ABOUT 4.0, INCREASING THE CONVERSION OF THE SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL TO POLYMER OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM AVERAGE MOLECULAR WEIGHT BY INCREASING ABOVE SAID NORM THE RATIO OF MOLAR EQUIVALENTS OF SULFITE IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL TOGETHER WITH AN INCREASE IN THE RATIO OF MOLAR EQUIVALENTS OF CHLORATE IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL THAT IS GREATER THAN THE INCREASE ABOVE SAID NORM IN THE RATIO OF MOLAR EQUIVALENTS OF SULFITE IONS TO SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL, THE AMOUNTS OF THE CHLORATE AND SULFITE IONS AFTER SAID INCREASE REMAINING HOWEVER, WITHIN THE AFORESAID RANGES OF FROM ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOTU 3% OF CHLORATE IONS AND ABOUT 0.1% TO ABOUT 9% OF SULFITE IONS BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF SAID POLYMERIZABLE MATERIAL.