Process for producing polyaminopolyamides containing halohydrin functionality

Claim 1

A process for producing an aqueous solution of a cationic resinous composition suitable as a wet strength agent for paper and containing a polyaminopolyamide having a major portion of halohydrin functionality as substituents on tertiary nitrogen atoms, which process comprises reacting in aqueous medium a water-soluble basic polyaminopolyamide derived from a polyalkylene polyamine having two primary amine groups and at least one secondary amine group and a saturated aliphatic dicarboxylic acid or its ester and having a basicity essentially due to secondary amine groups with from 1 mole to 1.5 moles of allyl halide per mole of secondary amine groups in said basic polyaminopolyamide to form allyl substituted tertiary amine groups, removing unreacted allyl halide, reacting the resulting allyl substituted polyaminopolyamide with hypohalous acid until substantially all of the allyl substituents are converted to the corresponding halohydrin moieties, adjusting the pH of the resulting aqueous solution to at least 7.0 and maintaining the solution at a pH of at least 7.0 until the viscosity of the polyaminopolyamide containing halohydrin functionality reaches at least B on the Gardner-Holdt scale when measured at 24% solids at 25° C.