# US 11,298,853 B2 · Processes and apparatuses for conditioning polymer particles for an SSP reactor

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- Number: US 11,298,853 B2
- Document ID: US11298853B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/130,947
- Filed: 2020-12-22
- Published: 2021-04-15
- Granted: 2022-04-12
- Earliest claimed: 2016-06-21
- Assignees: Uop LLC
- Applicants: Uop LLC
- Inventors: Raymond Shih; Jan De Ren
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11298853B2

## CPC

- B29B 9/065: {under-water, e.g. underwater pelletizers}
- B29B 9/16: Auxiliary treatment of granules
- C08F 2/01: characterised by special features of the polymerisation apparatus used
- C08G 63/183: Terephthalic acids
- C08G 63/88: Post-polymerisation treatment
- F26B 5/08: by centrifugal treatment
- B29B 2009/165: {Crystallizing granules}
- B29B 2013/002: {Extracting undesirable residual components, e.g. solvents, unreacted monomers, from material to be moulded}
- B29B 2013/005: {Degassing undesirable residual components, e.g. gases, unreacted monomers, from material to be moulded}
- B29B: PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
- C08F: MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
- C08G: MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS
- F26B: DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM (drying devices for combines A01D41/133; racks for drying fruit or vegetables A01F25/12; drying foodstuffs A23; drying hair A45D20/00; body-drying implements A47K10/00; drying household articles A47L; drying gases or vapours B01D; chemical or physical processes for dewatering or like separating liquids from solids B01D43/00; centrifugal apparatus B04; drying ceramics C04B33/30; drying yarns or fabrics in association with some other form of treatment D06C; drying frames for laundry without heating or positive air circulation, domestic laundry-or spin-driers, wringing or hot pressing laundry D06F; furnaces, kilns, ovens F27)

## Abstract

Processes and apparatuses for producing polymer particles with a solid state polycondensation reactor and an underwater pelletization unit. The apparatuses use a pre-conditioning zone to adjust a temperature, crystallization in addition to dust, acetaldehyde and water content of the particles from a crystallization bin. Various inert gas streams can be provided from a purification unit to remove dust, acetaldehyde, water and adjust temperature and crystallinity of the particles, as also move the particles. The precondition zones have stages that allow for the particles to accurately achieve the desired SSP reactor inlet conditions.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A pre-conditioning zone operating under a bubbling or slugging regime of fluidization for a solid-state polymerization reactor configured to provide polymerized solid polymer particles at a desired solid-state polymerization reactor inlet conditions, the pre-conditioning zone comprising:
a particle inlet for a stream of semi-crystallized solid polymer particles,
at least one gas inlet for a stream of an inert gas,
a particle outlet for a stream of conditioned solid polymer particles having a different temperature, or a different crystallinity, or a different acetaldehyde content, or a different water content, or a different dust content, or a combination of the foregoing compared with the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles;
a gas outlet for a stream of the inert gas; and,
a plurality of stages between the particle inlet and the particle outlet, wherein the stages of the plurality of stages are arranged along a flow path for the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles so that the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles pass from an upstream stage to a downstream stage.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 1, wherein the stages from the plurality of stages are arranged at different heights along the flow path.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 2, wherein each stage from the plurality of stages comprises a distributor for the inert gas.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 3, wherein each stage from the plurality of stages comprises a tray, and wherein the trays overlap.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 4, wherein the flow path comprises a spiral shape.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 2, wherein each stage from the plurality of stages comprises a sloped baffle.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 6, wherein the sloped baffles comprise, when viewed from above, a circular shape.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 1, wherein each stage from the plurality of stages comprises a distributor for the inert gas.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 8, wherein the stages of the plurality of stages are separated by vertical walls between adjacent stages from the plurality of stages.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The pre-conditioning zone of claim 9, wherein the vertical walls have different heights.

### Claim 11

A process for transferring semi-crystallized solid polymer particles from a crystallization bin to a solid-state polymerization reactor, the process comprising:
passing polymer particles to a crystallization bin to increase a level of crystallization of the polymer particles, a temperature of the polymer particles, or both, and provide semi-crystallized solid polymer particles;
passing, with a stream of inert gas, the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles from the crystallization bin to a pre-conditioning zone configured to adjust one or more of a temperature, a crystallinity, an acetaldehyde content, a water content, a dust content, or a combination of the foregoing of the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles and provide conditioned solid polymer particles; and,
passing the conditioned solid polymer particles from the pre-conditioning zone to the solid-state polymerization reactor to increase a level of Intrinsic Viscosity of the conditioned solid polymer particles,
wherein the pre-conditioning zone receives an inert gas stream, the inert gas stream comprising a portion of the stream of inert gas which passes the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles to the pre-conditioning zone and a portion of a gas stream from the solid-state polymerization reactor.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The process of claim 11 further comprising:
passing a stream of contaminated inert gas to a purification zone configured to remove one or more contaminants from the contaminated inert gas and provide a purified stream of inert gas.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The process of claim 12 further comprising:
providing a portion of the purified stream of inert gas to the pre-conditioning zone.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The process of claim 13 further comprising:
passing a stream of inert gas from the pre-conditioning zone to the purification zone.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The process of claim 12 further comprising:
providing a portion of the purified stream of inert gas to the solid-state polymerization reactor.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The process of claim 15 further comprising:
passing a stream of inert gas from the pre-conditioning zone to the purification zone.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The process of claim 11, wherein the pre-conditioning zone comprises a plurality of stages between a particle inlet and a particle outlet, and
wherein the stages from the plurality of stages are arranged along a flow path for the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles so that the semi-crystallized solid polymer particles pass from an upstream stage to a downstream stage within the pre-conditioning zone.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The process of claim 17, wherein each stage plurality of stages comprises an inert gas inlet for a stream of the inert gas.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The process of claim 18, wherein the streams of inert gas are passed to the stages plurality of stages of the pre-conditioning zone from a purification zone.

### Claim 20 (depends on 18)

The process of claim 18 wherein each stage from the plurality of stages comprises a tray, and wherein the trays overlap.