Preparation of latex from aqueous emulsion of solvent/polymer solution

Claim 1

A METHOD OF PREPARING A LATEX FROM AN AQUEOUS EMULSION OF SOLVENT.POLYMER SOLUTION OF PRECURSOR LATEX PARTICLE SIZE, THE SOLVENT OF THE POLYMER SOLUTION BEING AN ORGANIC SOLVENT FOR THE POLYMER AND ITSELF OR AS AZEOTROPE WITH WATER HAVING A BOILING POINT BELOW THAT OF WATER AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, THE POLYMER BEING ESSENTIALLY ORGANIC SOLVENT SOLUBLE OR DISPERSIBLE AND ESSENTIALLY WATER AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, HAVING BEEN PREPARED WITH THE AID OF AN EMULSIFYING AGENT, WHICH METHOD CONSISTS ESSENTIALLY OF: A. CONVERTING SAID EMULSION TO AN AEROSOL OF LATEX PHASE IN AN AQUEOUS AND SOLVENT VAPOR PHASE BY DISPERSING SAID EMULSION INTO A FLOW OF GAS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF STEAM AT A TEMPERATURE SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO VAPORISE SOLVENT FROM SAID EMULSION AND NOT SO HIGH AS TO BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE STABILITY OF THE EMULSION AND SUFFICIENT IN QUANTITY TO VAPORIZE ESSENTIALLY ALL OF THE SOLVENT FROM SAID EMULSION INTO SAID VAPOR PHASE, B. EFFECTING SEPARATION OF THE LATEX PHASE AND THE VAPOR PHASE FROM STEP (A) IN A VACUUM SEPARATOR, C. ADDING TO THE LATEX PHASE FROM STEP 8B) MONOMER MATERIAL CONTAINING AND POLYMERIZABLE THROUGH AT LEAST ONE ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED GROUP, IN THE AMOUNT OF 0.1 TO 100 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF THE POLYMER CONTENT OF THE LATEX PHASE, AND SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF I. THE MONO-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBON MONOMERS CONTAINING FROM 8 TO 18 CARBON ATOMS, II. THE CONJUGATED DIENE HYDROCARBON MONOMERS CONTAINING NOT MOERE THAN 12 CARBON ATOMS, III. THE NON-CONJUGATED DIENE HYDROCARBON MONOMERS CONTAINING NOT MORE THAT 18 CARBON ATOMS. IV. THE MONO-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED MONOMERS CONTAINING POLAR GROUPS AND HAVING NOT MORE THAN 18 CARBON ATOMS, AND V. THE NON-CONJUGATED DIENE AND TRIENE MONOMERS CONTAINING POLAR GROUPS AND HAVING NOT MORE THAN 22 CARBON ATOMS, THE POLAR GROUPS OF (IV) AND (V) BEING SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF CARBOXY, HYDROXYL, CARBONYL, ESTER, ETHER, NITRILE, AMINE QUATERNARY AMMONIUM, AMIDE, TRIAZINE, AND HALOGEN GROUPS, D. ADDING TO THE LATREX PHASE POLYMERIZATION CATALYST OF THE FREE RADICAL GENERATING TYPE IN THE RANGE OF FROM 0.8 TO 20 PARTS PER 100 PARTS OF THE ADDED MONOMER MATERIAL BE WEIGHT, E. FLOWING THE LATEX PHASE CONTAINING THE MONOMER MATERIAL AND CATALYST THROUGH A CONSTRICTION AT A PRESSURE IN THE RANGE OF 1,000 TO 10.000 P.S.I. AND F. SUBJECTING THE LATEX PHASE CONTAINING THE ADDED MONOMER MATERIAL AND CATALYST TO A TEMPERATURE BELOW THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR STABILITY OF THE LATEX BUT SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO POLYMERIZE THE MONOMER MATERIAL,

Claim 2

A METHOD OF PREPARING A LATEX FROM AN AQUEOUS EMULSION OF SOLVENT.POLYMER SOLUTION OF PRECURSOR LATEX PARTICLE SIZE, THE SOLVENT OF THE POLYMER SOLUTION BEING AN ORGANIC SOLVENT FOR THE POLYMER AND ITSELF OR AS AZEOTROPE WITH WATER HAVING A BOILING POINT BELOW THAT OF WATER AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, THE POLYMER BEING ESSENTIALLY ORGANIC SOLVENT SOLUBLE OR DISPERSIBLE AND ESSENTIALLY WATER AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, HAVING BEEN PREPARED WITH THE AID OF AN EMULSIFYING AGENT, WHICH METHOD CONSISTS ESSENTIALLY OF: A. CONVERTING SAID EMULSION TO AN AEROSOL OF LATEX PHASE IN AN AQUEOUS AND SOLVENT VAPOR PHASE BY DISPERSING SAID EMULSION INTO A FLOW OF GAS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF STEAM AT A TEMPERATURE SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO VAPORISE SOLVENT FROM SAID EMULSION AND NOT SO HIGH AS TO BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE STABILITY OF THE EMULSION AND SUFFICIENT IN QUANTITY TO VAPORIZE ESSENTIALLY ALL OF THE SOLVENT FROM SAID EMULSION INTO SAID VAPOR PHASE, B. EFFECTING SEPARATION OF THE LATEX PHASE AND THE VAPOR PHASE FROM STEP (A) IN A VACUUM SEPARATOR, C. ADDING TO THE LATEX PHASE FROM STEP 8B) MONOMER MATERIAL CONTAINING AND POLYMERIZABLE THROUGH AT LEAST ONE ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED GROUP, IN THE AMOUNT OF 0.1 TO 100 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF THE POLYMER CONTENT OF THE LATEX PHASE, AND SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF I. THE MONO-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBON MONOMERS CONTAINING FROM 8 TO 18 CARBON ATOMS, II. THE CONJUGATED DIENE HYDROCARBON MONOMERS CONTAINING NOT MOERE THAN 12 CARBON ATOMS, III. THE NON-CONJUGATED DIENE HYDROCARBON MONOMERS CONTAINING NOT MORE THAT 18 CARBON ATOMS. IV. THE MONO-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED MONOMERS CONTAINING POLAR GROUPS AND HAVING NOT MORE THAN 18 CARBON ATOMS, AND V. THE NON-CONJUGATED DIENE AND TRIENE MONOMERS CONTAINING POLAR GROUPS AND HAVING NOT MORE THAN 22 CARBON ATOMS, THE POLAR GROUPS OF (IV) AND (V) BEING SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF CARBOXY, HYDROXYL, CARBONYL, ESTER, ETHER, NITRILE, AMINE QUATERNARY AMMONIUM, AMIDE, TRIAZINE, AND HALOGEN GROUPS, D. ADDING TO THE LATREX PHASE POLYMERIZATION CATALYST OF THE FREE RADICAL GENERATING TYPE IN THE RANGE OF FROM 0.8 TO 20 PARTS PER 100 PARTS OF THE ADDED MONOMER MATERIAL BE WEIGHT, E. FLOWING THE LATEX PHASE CONTAINING THE MONOMER MATERIAL AND CATALYST THROUGH A CONSTRICTION AT A PRESSURE IN THE RANGE OF 1,000 TO 10.000 P.S.I. AND F. SUBJECTING THE LATEX PHASE CONTAINING THE ADDED MONOMER MATERIAL AND CATALYST TO A TEMPERATURE BELOW THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR STABILITY OF THE LATEX BUT SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO POLYMERIZE THE MONOMER MATERIAL,

Claim 3

A method of preparing a latex from an aqueous emulsion of solvent/polymer solution of precursor latex particle size, the solvent of the polymer solution being an organic solvent for the polymer and itself or as an azeotrope with water having a boiling point below that of water at atmospheric pressure, the polymer being essentially organic solvent soluble or dispersible and essentially water insoluble, and said emulsion having been prepared with the aid of an emulsifying agent, which method consists essentially of: a. converting said emulsion to an aerosol of latex phase in an aqueous and solvent vapor phase by dispersing said emulsion into a flow of gas consisting essentially of steam at a temperature sufficiently high to vaporise solvent from said emulsion and not so high as to be detrimental to the stability of the emulsion and sufficient in quantity to vaporize essentially all of the solvent from said emulsion into said vapor phase, b. effecting separation of the latex phase and the vapor phase from step (a) in a vacuum separator, c. adding to the latex phase from step (b) monomer material containing and polymerizable through at least one ethylenically unsaturated group, in the amount of 0.1 to 100 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polymer content of the latex phase, and selected from the class consisting of i. the mono-ethylenically unsaturated aromatic hydrocarbon monomers containing from 8 to 18 carbon atoms, ii. the conjugated diene hydrocarbon monomers containing not more than 12 carbon atoms, iii. the non-conjugated diene hydrocarbon monomers containing not more that 18 carbon atoms. iv. the mono-ethylenically unsaturated monomers containing polar groups and having not more than 18 carbon atoms, and v. the non-conjugated diene and triene monomers containing polar groups and having not more than 22 carbon atoms, the polar groups of (iv) and (v) being selected from the class consisting of carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, ester, ether, nitrile, amine, quaternary ammonium, amide, triazine, and halogen groups, d. adding to the latex phase polymerization catalyst of the free radical generating type in the range of from 0.8 to 20 parts per 100 parts of the added monomer material be weight, e. flowing the latex phase containing the monomer material and catalyst through a constriction at a pressure in the range of 1,000 to 10.000 p.s.i., and f. subjecting the latex phase containing the added monomer material and catalyst to a temperature below the maximum temperature for stability of the latex but sufficiently high to polymerize the monomer material.

Claim 4

A method of preparing a latex from an aqueous emulsion of solvent/polymer solution of precursor latex particle size, the solvent of the polymer solution being an organic solvent for the polymer and itself or as an azeotrope with water having a boiling point below that of water at atmospheric pressure, the polymer being essentially organic solvent soluble or dispersible and essentially water insoluble, and said emulsion having been prepared with the aid of an emulsifying agent, which method consists essentially of: a. converting said emulsion to an aerosol of latex phase in an aqueous and solvent vapor phase by dispersing said emulsion into a flow of gas consisting essentially of steam at a temperature sufficiently high to vaporise solvent from said emulsion and not so high as to be detrimental to the stability of the emulsion and sufficient in quantity to vaporize essentially all of the solvent from said emulsion into said vapor phase, b. effecting separation of the latex phase and the vapor phase from step (a) in a vacuum separator, c. adding to the latex phase from step (b) monomer material containing and polymerizable through at least one ethylenically unsaturated group, in the amount of 0.1 to 100 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polymer content of the latex phase, and selected from the class consisting of i. the mono-ethylenically unsaturated aromatic hydrocarbon monomers containing from 8 to 18 carbon atoms, ii. the conjugated diene hydrocarbon monomers containing not more than 12 carbon atoms, iii. the non-conjugated diene hydrocarbon monomers containing not more that 18 carbon atoms. iv. the mono-ethylenically unsaturated monomers containing polar groups and having not more than 18 carbon atoms, and v. the non-conjugated diene and triene monomers containing polar groups and having not more than 22 carbon atoms, the polar groups of (iv) and (v) being selected from the class consisting of carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, ester, ether, nitrile, amine, quaternary ammonium, amide, triazine, and halogen groups, d. adding to the latex phase polymerization catalyst of the free radical generating type in the range of from 0.8 to 20 parts per 100 parts of the added monomer material be weight, e. flowing the latex phase containing the monomer material and catalyst through a constriction at a pressure in the range of 1,000 to 10.000 p.s.i., and f. subjecting the latex phase containing the added monomer material and catalyst to a temperature below the maximum temperature for stability of the latex but sufficiently high to polymerize the monomer material.