Process for simultaneously dispersing and saponifying ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer
AssigneeNational Distillers and Chemical Corporation
InventorDorothee M. McClain
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Abstract
A process is disclosed for simultaneously dispersing and saponifying ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer to provide saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer of a desired degree of saponification in finely divided form by employing soap dispersants for said copolymer in a saponification medium comprising a strong base.
Claims7
A process for simultaneously dispersing and saponifying ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer to provide saponified copolymer of desired degree of saponification in finely-divided form which comprises agitating in molten state an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer in an aqueous dispersion system comprising an alkali metal soap together with an alkali metal hydroxide in an amount sufficient to saponify the copolymer to a predetermined degree;
- and cooling the resulting hot dispersion to obtain the saponified copolymer in solid, finely divided form said dispersion being formed in the absence of discharge of the hot dispersion through a restricted orifice into a zone of reduced pressure, the particles comprising the cooled dispersion having a number average diameter ranging from about 20 microns up to about 500 microns, with the majority of particles being less than 250 microns.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.