Polymerization apparatus

Claim 1

A TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLABLE POLYMERIZATION REACTION VESSEL COMPRISING A CLOSED, VERTICALLY DISPOSED CYLINDRICAL JACKET AND UPPER AND LOWER JACKETED DOME CLOSURES FOR SAID CYLINDRICAL JACKET, SAID JACKET ANDDOME CLOSURES CONTAINING INTERCONNECTED INTERIOR SPACES FOR RECEIVING HEAT TRANSFER FLUID IN A CONTINUOUS SPIRAL PATH OF FLOW THERETHROUGH, A MATERIAL APERTURE AT EACH OF THE OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL ENDS OF SAID JACKET, AN AXIALLY ALIGNED, ROTATABLY MOUNTED HEAT TRANSFER AGITATOR-CONVEYOR EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL LENGTH OF THE VESSEL AND REMOVABLE FROM THE TOP OF SAID JACKET, SAID AGITATOR-CONVEYER COMPRISING A HOLLOW CENTRAL CYLINDRICAL SHAFT, A PLURALITY OF HELICOIDAL AND CONCENTRICALLY DISPOSED HELICOIDAL MIXING RIBBONS, AND A PLURALITY OF HOLLOW HELICOIDAL COILS DEFINING CLOSED PASSAGE FOR RECEIVING HEAT TRANSFER FLUID IN ALTERNATE CONCENTRIC ARRANGEMENT WITH SAID RIBBONS FIXED ON SAID SHAFT, SAID SHAFT AND SAID COILS DEFINING A CONTINUOUS PASSAGE FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF HEAT TRANSFER FLUID THROUGH SAID HOLLOW SHAFT AND SAID HOLLOW COILS AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID AGITATOR-CONVEYOR.