Process for continuously preparing shaped articles of aromatic oxadiazole or aromatic oxadiazole/N-alkylhydrazide polymers from monomer solutions

A process for preparing a shaped article of a polymer consisting essentially of recurring units of the formula

• -- Ar -- X -- ps
• wherein Ar is a divalent aromatic radical and X is a radical selected from the group consisting of ##STR15## where R is a C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl, with the proviso that in at least 20% of said recurring units X is ##STR16## comprising:
• a. continuously introducing into a continuous reactor an acid solution consisting essentially of monomers from which an oxadiazole polymer is prepared and an acid selected from the group consisting of oleum, chlorosulfonic acid, polyphosphoric acid, and mixtures thereof, said reactor being maintained at a temperature between about 100.degree. C. and 225.degree. C. and at a pressure sufficient to keep the contents thereof in the liquid phase, whereby said monomers polymerize to provide a dope having a Brookfield viscosity ranging from about 8,000 to 80,000 and comprising a polymer having an inherent viscosity of from about 1 to 10, and
• b. continuously extruding said dope into an aqueous coagulating medium to obtain a shaped article of said polymer,
• wherein the residence time of said monomers in the reactor is from about 2 to about 60 minutes.