Apparatus for producing styrenic/alkenylnitrile copolymers

An apparatus for the continuous mass polymerization of styrenic and alkenylnitrile monomers to produce a styrenic/alkenylnitrile copolymer, comprising:

• a reaction vessel;
• means for continuously introducing a feed comprising a predetermined ratio of styrenic and alkenylnitrile monomers into said reaction vessel to produce a reaction mixture;
• means for subjecting the reaction mixture containing styrenic and alkenylnitrile monomers to conditions of temperature and pressure under which said monomers copolymerize to produce a styrenic/alkenylnitrile copolymer;
• means for subjecting the reaction mixture to agitation sufficient to maintain a substantially uniform composition distribution and a substantially uniform temperature distribution throughout the reaction mixture;
• means for continuously withdrawing styrenic/alkenylnitrile copolymer from the reaction vessel;
• and
• means for cooling the reaction mixture by withdrawing a vapor phase containing vaporized styrenic and alkenylnitrile monomer from the reaction vessel, wherein said cooling means comprises a condenser for condensing the vaporized styrenic and alkenylnitrile withdrawn from the reaction vessel to produce a condensed monomer-containing liquid, means for returning the condensed monomer-containing liquid to the reaction vessel, and means for controlling the amount of vaporized monomers withdrawn from the reaction vessel by including in the condenser, means for selectively varying the amount of cooled surface area available for contact with the withdrawn vaporized monomers in response to the temperature in the reaction vessel, whereby the amount of vaporized monomers condensing is controlled.