Measurement and control of mooney viscosity in the polymerization of conjugated dienes

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF RUBBERY POLYMER COMPRISING CONTACTING A CONJUGATED DIENE IN THE PRESENCE OF A LIQUID DILUENT IN A REACTION ZONE UNDER POLYMERIZATION CONDITIONS WITH AN INITIATOR COMPRISING (A) AN ORGANOMETAL HAVING THE FORMULA RNM, WHEREIN M IS A METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALUMINUM, GALLIUM, INDIUM, BERYLLIUM, MERCURY, ZINC AND CADMIUM, R IS A MEMBER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKYL, CYCLOALKYL, ARYL, ARALKYL AND ALKARYL RADICALS CONTAINING FROM 1 TO 20 CARBON ATOMS PER MOLECULE AND N IS EQUAL TO THE VALENCE OF M, AND (B) A MEMBER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF (1) TITANIUM TETRAIODIDE, (2) MIXTURES OF TITANIUM TETRACHLORIDE AND TITANIUM TETRAIODIDE AND (3) IODINE AND A TINANIUM HALIDE HAVING THE FORMULA TIX4, WHEREIN X IS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CHLORINE AND BROMINE, RECOVERING FROM SAID REACTION ZONE AN EFFLUENT STREAM, ADJUSTING THE CONCENTRATION OF SAID EFFLUENT STREAM AND REMOVING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE UNREACTED CONJUGATED DIENE, RECOVERING A POLYMER PRODUCT STREAM, CONTINUOUSLY DIVERTING A PORTION OF SAID PRODUCT STREAM TO BE MEASURED, MEASURING THE REFRACTIVE INDEX OF SAID PORTION AND PRODUCING A SIGNAL REPRESENTATIVE THEREOF, MEASURING THE SOLUTION VISCOSITY OF SAID STREAM AND PRODUCING A SECOND SIGNAL REPRESENTATIVE THEREOF, COMPUTING THE MOONEY VISCOSITY FROM SAID FIRST AND SECOND SIGNALS, AND PRODUCING A CONTROL SIGNAL REPRESENTATIVE THEREOF, SAID SIGNAL ACTUATING A LOGIC SYSTEM TO CONTROL A PROCESS VARIABLE IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN SAID CONTROL SIGNAL WHEREBY THE DESIRED MOONEY VISCOSITY OF THE POLYMER STREAM IS OBTAINED.