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US 2011/0034664 A1Published application
Polyester composition with modifier hydroxyl compound
AssigneeEastman Chemical Company
InventorsBruce Roger DeBruin, Tommy Ray Maddox, II, John Alan Wabshall, JR., Steven Lee Stafford, Stephen Weinhold, Robert Noah Estep, Mary Therese Jernigan, Steven Paul Bellner, Alan George Wonders
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Abstract
A process for producing non-solid-stated polyester polymer particles having one or more properties similar to polyester polymer particles that have undergone solid-state processing.
Claims20
A polyester polymer production process comprising:
- (a) forming polyester polymer particles from a polyester polymer melt in a forming zone, wherein said polyester polymer melt comprises a carboxylic acid component and a hydroxyl component, wherein said carboxylic acid component comprises at least 80 mole percent of the residues of terephthalic acid and/or derivatives thereof, wherein said hydroxyl component comprises at least 80 mole percent of residues of ethylene glycol, wherein said hydroxyl component comprises residues of a modifier hydroxyl compound other than ethylene glycol;
- (b) subsequent to step (a), quenching at least a portion of said particles via contact with a quench liquid in a quenching zone;
- (c) subsequent to step (b), drying at least a portion of said particles in a drying zone;
- (d) subsequent to step (c), crystallizing at least a portion of said particles in a crystallizing zone;
- and
- (e) subsequent to step (d), annealing at least a portion of said particles in an annealing zone,
- wherein at all points during and between steps (b) through (e) the average bulk temperature of said particles is maintained above 165° C.
4 more elements
A polyester polymer production process comprising:
- (a) forming initial polyester polymer particles from a polymer melt having an intrinsic viscosity (It.V.) in the range of 0.70 dL/g to 1.2 dL/g when measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 wt/wt phenol/tetrachloroethane solvent at a polymer concentration of 0.50 g/100 ml, wherein said initial particles comprise a shell and a core, wherein said shell is cooler and more crystalline than said core, wherein at least a portion of said shell exhibits strain-induced crystallinity;
- (b) drying at least a portion of said initial particles to thereby provide dried particles;
- (c) crystallizing at least a portion of said dried particles to thereby provide crystallized particles exhibiting both strain-induced crystallinity and spherulitic crystallinity;
- and
- (d) annealing at least a portion of said crystallized particles to thereby provide annealed particles,
- wherein the average bulk temperature of said initial particles and said dried particles is maintained above the onset-of-melting temperature (Tom) of said core, and wherein said polymer melt comprises a carboxylic acid component and a hydroxyl component, wherein said carboxylic acid component comprises at least 80 mole percent of the residues of terephthalic acid and/or derivatives thereof, wherein said hydroxyl component comprises at least 80 mole percent of residues of ethylene glycol, wherein said hydroxyl component comprises residues of a modifier hydroxyl compound other than ethylene glycol.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.