Removal of sulfuric acid compounds

A process for the production of a light colored modified polybutadiene which comprises reacting a polybutadiene in the presence of an acid-reacting sulfur-containing compound with a phenol and heating the reaction product to reduce all of said acid-reacting sulfur containing compounds and form volatilizable reduction products and maintaining the reacted mixture until no more gaseous products are formed at a temperature between about ambient temperature and about 320.degree. C. that is sufficient to substantially reduce, volatilize and remove all of said sulfur containing reduction products to thereby provide an ultimate reaction product that is free of strong discoloring amounts of said color forming sulfur compounds.

A process of removing discoloring amounts of color forming sulfur compounds from the reaction products of a reaction mixture containing a polybutadiene reduceable acid- reacting sulfur-containing ingredient as a reagent, reaction product or catalyst, the improvement comprising (1) reacting the reactants in the reaction mixture, (2) then reacting said acid reacting sulfur containing ingredient in the reacted mixture with an amount of (a) a polybutadiene or (b) a mixture of (a) and an olefinic unsaturated terpene which amount is sufficient to react with and reduce all of said acid-reacting sulfur containing ingredients and form volatilizable reduction products of all of said sulfur containing ingredients at a temperature range from 50.degree. to 320.degree. C. and (3) then heating and maintaining the reacted mixture until no more gaseous products are formed at a temperature between about ambient temperature and about 320.degree. C. that is sufficient to substantially reduce, volatilize and remove all of said sulfur containing reduction products to thereby provide an ultimate reaction product that is free of strong discoloring amounts of said color forming sulfur compounds, wherein one of said reactants in the reactant mixture is colophony, and said sulfur containing compound is sulfuric acid.

A process of removing discoloring amounts of color forming sulfur compounds from the reaction products of a reaction mixture containing a polybutadiene reduceable acid-reacting sulfur-containing ingredient as a reagent, reaction product or catalyst, the improvement comprising (1) reacting the reactants in the reaction mixture, (2) then reacting said reacting sulfur containing ingredient in the reacted mixture with an amount of (a) a polybutadiene or (b) a mixture of (a) and an olefinic unsaturated terpene which amount is sufficient to react with and reduce all of said acid-reacting sulfur containing ingredients and form volatilizable reduction products of all of said sulfur containing ingredients at a temperature range from 50.degree. to 320.degree. C. and (3) then heating and maintaining the reacted mixture until no more gaseous products are formed at a temperature between about ambient temperature and about 320.degree. C. that is sufficient to substantially reduce, volatilize and remove all of said sulfur containing reduction products to thereby provide an ultimate reaction product that is free of strong discoloring amounts of said color forming sulfur compounds, wherein said reactants in the reactant mixture are phenol and ester gum, and said sulfur containing compound is sulfuric acid.