Saponification of ethylene copolymers suspended in ketone

Claim 1

In a process for the production of ethylene copolymers comprising by weight (1) more than 60% polyethylene, (2) 0 to 20% polyesters of C 3 to C 12 alkenecarboxylic acids with C 1 to C 8 primary alcohols, (3) 1 to 20% C 3 to C 12 polyalkenecarboxylic acids, ps comprising saponifying a feedstock comprising by weight a granular polymer or (a) at least 50% ethylene, (b) 2 to 50% esters of C 3 to C 12 alkenecarboxylic acids with C 1 to C 8 primary alcohols, (c) 0 to 30% vinyl esters of saturated monobasic, aliphatic carboxylic acids with 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and (d) up to 3% C 3 to C 12 alkenecarboxylic acids, the improvement which comprises said feedstock having a particle size of 0.1 to 8.0 mm, and being suspended in a liquid phase consisting essentially of a ketone, there being 1 part of said feedstock to 1-10 parts of said ketone, said ketone being of the formula ##STR3## wherein R and R 1 are individually a straight or branched chain alkyl radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and carrying out the saponification of the polyester of alkenecarboxylic acids with primary alcohols at 40° to 75° C. in the presence of at least one alkaline saponifying agent, while retaining the granular structure thereof.