Reduction of water-soluble peroxides in a graft copolymerization process

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR GRAFTING A POLYMERIZABLE COMPOUND ONTO A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT CHAIN PERFORMED POLYMERIZING A VINY LIDENE MONOMER WHICH CONSISTS OF POLYMERIZING SAID VINYLIDEN MONOMER IN AQUEOUS EMULSION TO FORM A LATEX OF A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT CHAIN PREFORMED POLYMER, STRIPPING UNREACTED MONOMER FROM SAID LATES, CONTACTING SAID STRIPPED LATEX WITH AN OXIDIZING GAS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF OXYGEN, OZONE AND MIXTURES OF OXYGEN AND OZONE THEREBY TO FORM A PEROXIDE OF SAID STRAIGHT CHAIN PREFORMED POLYMER, DISPERSING SAID POLYMERIZABLE COMPOUNDS CONTAINING A CH2=C< GROUP IN ITS MOLECULAR STRUCTURE THROUGH SAID LATEX OF PEROXIDIZED PREFORMED POLYMER CAUSING SAID PEROXIDIZED PREFORMED POLYMER TO INITATE THE GRAFTNG POLYMERIZATION OF SAID DISPERSED POLYMERIZABLE COMPOUND IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY ADDED COMPOUND CAPABLE OF CAUSING SAID POLYMERIZABLE COMPOUND CONTAINING A CH2=C< GROUP TO POLYMERIZE THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF HOMOPOLYMER FORMED DURING THE GFAFTING POLYMERIZATION BY DEACTIVATING THE WATER-SOLUBLE PEROXIDES FORMED DURING THE OXIDATION STEP BY CONTACTING THE STRIPPED LATEX WITH A WATER-SOLUBLE REDUCING AGENT SUBSEQUENT TO THE OXIDATION STEP BUT PRIOR TO DISPERSING THEPOLYMERIZABLE COMPOUND CONTAINING A CH2=C< GROUP THROUGHOUT SAID LATEX.