Bromination process

A process for preparing a mixture of brominated non-condensed ring polyaromatics having an average of from about 6 to about 8 bromine atoms per molecule, a low melting point range, and a low amount of light end impurities, which process comprises:

• a) adding a first amount of bromine to a reactor initially containing a reaction mass comprising a solvent, a catalytic amount of a first bromination catalyst, and a non-condensed ring polyaromatic of the formula ##STR2## wherein R is an alkylene group of 1 to 10 carbon atoms, an oxygen atoms, a sulfur atom, an oxyalkylene group of up to 6 carbon atoms, an oxyalkyleneoxy group of up to 6 carbon atoms or a carbon single bond;
• b) maintaining the reaction mass during the addition of the first amount of bromine at a first bromination temperature;
• c) terminating the addition of the first amount of bromine when sufficient bromine has been added to obtain the mixture of polyaromatics having an average of about 4 bromine atoms per molecule of polyaromatic;
• d) adding a second bromination catalyst to the mixture;
• e) adding a second amount of bromine to the reaction mass while heating the reaction mass to a second bromination temperature;
• and,
• f) after at least substantially all of the bromine has reacted, recovering the brominated non-condensed ring polyaromatic mixture from the reaction mass, the recovered mixture containing more than about 35%, based on gas chromatographic area percent, of a brominated polyaromatic having about 7 bromine atoms per molecule.