Process for production of the maleic anhydride adduct of a liquid polymer

Claim 1

A process for the production of the maleic anhydride adducts of a liquid polymer having a maleic anhydride addition amount of 2 to 70% by weight, which comprises reacting a liquid polymer having a molecular weight of 150 to 5,000 and a viscosity of 2 to 50,000 centipoise at 30° C., said liquid polymer being selected from the group consisting of liquid polybutadienes, liquid polyisoprenes and liquid copolymers comprising units of butadiene or isoprene and units of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of other diolefins, olefins and aromatic vinyl compounds, with maleic anhydride in the presence of at least one compound, as a gelatin inhibitor, selected from the group consisting of: (a) organic salts of iron, organic complexes of iron, chelate compounds of iron and inorganic compounds of iron; (b) chlorides, bromides and iodides of the elements belonging to Groups (III), (IV), (V) or (VI) of the Periodic Table, and ether complexes, ester complexes and aldehyde complexes thereof; and (c) alkyl metal halides of the formula: R.sub.n M'Y.sub.m-n wherein M' is a metal belonging to Group (III) or (IV) of the Periodic Table, R is alkyl having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, Y is chlorine, bromine or iodine, m is an atomic valence of the metal M', and n is a positive integer smaller than m.