Continuous process for the production of copolymer dispersions

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR PRODUCING AN AQUEOUS FILMFORMING DISPERSION HAVING A SOLIDS CONTENT OF FROM 45 TO 60% BY WEIGHT WHEREIN A MIXTURE CONSISTING OF 10 TO 30% BY WEIGHT OF ETHYLENE, 20 TO 89% BY WEIGHT OF VINYL CHLORIDE; 0 TO 69% BY WEIGHT OF VINYL ACETATE AND 1 TO 6% BY WEIGHT OF AT LEAST ONE HYDROPHILIC MONOMER CONTAINING AT LEAST ONE -SO3ME, -O-SO3ME, COOME OR -CONH2 GROUP ATTACHED THERETO THROUGH A CARBON ATOM WHEREIN ME IS H, NA, K OR NH4, IS COPOLYMERIZED IN AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION IN AT LAST ONE REACTOR AT A PH OF FROM 3.5 TO 8.5, AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM 40* TO 80*C UNDER A PRESSURE OF FROM 50 TO 200 ATMOSPHERES, THE COPOLYMERIZATION OF THE MONOMERS BEING CARRIED OUT WITH INTIMATE MIXING IN THE PRESENCE OF A. 0.5 TO 2.5% BY WEIGHT OF AT LAST ONE ANIONIC EMULSIFIER, BASED ON THE QUANTITY OF WATER INTRODUCED PER UNIT OF TIME; B. 0.05 TO 1.5% BY WEIGHT OF AT LEAST ONE PROTECTIVE COLLOID, BASED ON THE QUANTITY OF WATER INTRODUCED PER UNIT OF TIME AND C. 0.1 TO 2.5% BY WEIGHT OF AT LEAST ONE RADICAL-FORMING INITIATOR SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF (I) A WATER SOLUBLE PEROXIDE AND (II) A REDOX SYSTEM CONTAINING A WATER SOLUBLE PEROXIDE AND A WATER SOLUBLE REDUCING AGENT, BASED ON THE QUANTITY OF WATER INTRODUCED PER UNIT OF TIME, SAID TEMPERATURE BEING FROM 60* TO 80*C. WHEN (I) IS THE RADICAL-FORMING INITIATOR AND FROM 40 UP TO 70:C. WHEN (II) IS THE INITIATOR AND THE RATIO BY WEIGHT OF SAID PEROXIDE COMPOUND TO SAID REDUCING AGENT IN (II) BEING ADJUSTED SO THAT THERE IS FROM 0.025 TO 0.05% BY WEIGHT OF SAID PEROXIDE COMPOUND IN FINISHED DISPERSION AND D. THE AVERAGE RESIDENCE TIME, DEFINED AS THE RATIO BETWEEN THE QUANTITY BY WEIGHT OF REACTION MIXTURE REMOVED AND THE QUANTITY BY WEIGHT OF REACTION MIXTURE REMOVED PER HOUR BEING FROM 2 TO 30 HOURS; E. THE RATIO BY WEIGHT OF THE QUANTITY OF ETHYLENE INTRODUCED PER UNIT OF TIME TO THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF MONOMERS INTRODUCED PER UNIT OF TIME, INCLUDING ETHYLENE BEING FROM 0.1:1 TO 0.65:1; F. THE RATIO BY WEIGHT OF THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF VINYL CHLORIDE AND VINYL ACETATE INTRODUCED PER UNIT OF TIME TO THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF WATER INTRODUCED PER UNIT OF TIME BEING FROM 0.5:1 TO 1.5:1 AND G. THE RATIO OF VOLUME OF DISPERSION IN THE REACTOR TO TOTAL REACTOR VOLUME BEING FROM 0.5:1 TO 0.99:1.