Emulsion polymerization of water-soluble with water-insoluble monomers

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HOMOGENEOUS COPOLYMERS WHICH COMPRISES PREPARING A REACTION MIXTURE COMPRISED OF AN AQUEOUS EMULSION CONSISTING OF A MIXTURE OF COPOLYMERIZABLE MONOMERS CONTAINING A MAJOR PROPORTION OF A WATER-SOLUBLE ACRYLIC MONOMER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF AN ACRYLIC ACID AND ITS ALKYL ESTERS, NITRILES, AND AMIDES HAVING A SOLUBILITY IN WATER OF AT LEAST 5% AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 0*C. AND THE BOILING POINT OF SAID AQUEOUS EMULSION AND A MINOR PROPORTION OF A COPOLYMERIZABLE WATER-INSOLUBLE MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED MONOMER HAVING A SOLUBILITY IN WATER OF LESS THAN ABOUT 0.5% AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 0*C. AND THE BOILING POINT OF SAID AQUEOUS EMULSION, FROM ABOUT 0.01% TO ABOUT .10% OF A WATER-DISPERSIBLE SURFACTANT, A CATALYZING AMOUNT OF A WATER-SOLUBLE FREERADICAL CATALYST, AND FROM ABOUT 5% TO ABOUT 80% BY WEIGHT OF AN INORGANIC WATER-SOLUBLE SALT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF NEUTRAL AND ACID SALTS OF ALKALI METALS AND AMMONIUM HALIDES, BASED ON THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF SAID SALT AND WATER IN SAID REACTION MIXTURE, AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 5% TO ABOUT 80% BY WEIGHT OF SAID SALT BEING NON-SOLVENTS FOR SAID HOMOGENEOUS COPOLYMERS AND SAID SALT BEING INERT TO SAID REACTION MIXTURE AND HAVING A SOLUBILITY IN WATER OF AT LEAST 10% AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 25*C., SAID AQUEOUS EMULSION HAVING A RATIO OF AQUEOUS TO NON-AQUEOUS INGREDIENTS FROM ABOUT 10:1 TO ABOUT 1:1, AND POLYMERIZING SAID ACRYLIC MONOMER AND SAID MONOETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED MONOMER WHICH MAINTAINING SAID REACTION MIXTURE AT A TEMPERATURE FROM ABOUT 0*C. TO ITS BOILING POINT UNTIL SAID POLYMERIZATION IS COMPLETED.