Water absorbent polymer keeping absorbed water therein in the form of independent grains

A method for the production of water absorbent polymer beads which retain a bead like shape after absorption of water which comprises:

• i) dissolving a copolymer as a dispersing agent in an aliphatic hydrocarbon to form a solution;
• said copolymer comprising the following:
• a) an alkyl acrylate or methacrylate monomer having an alkyl group of eight or more carbon atoms, in the amount of 45 to 70 weight percent,
• b) one or more kinds of monomers selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, diethylaminoethyl acrylate, diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, acryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride, methacryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate, acrylamide, dimethylacrylamide, dimethylaminopropylacrylamide, dimethylaminopropylmethacrylamide, acrylamidepropyltrimethylammonium chloride, and methacrylamidepropyltrimethylammonium chloride in the amount of 5 to 25 weight percent, and
• c) unsaturated monomers having affinity with an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent selected from the group consisting of alkyl methacrylates wherein the alkyl group contains less than 5 carbon atoms and vinyl acetate, being capable of copolymerizing with the above-mentioned (a) and (b) so as to raise the glass transition temperature of said copolymer, in the amount of 20 to 40 weight percent,
• ii) dispersing a solution of an acrylic acid and an alkali metal salt of an acrylic acid obtained by partially neutralizing an acrylic acid, in said solution of said copolymer in said aliphatic hydrocarbon, and then polymerizing the resultant mixture by water/oil suspension polymerization so as to subject said resultant mixture to a self-crosslinking reaction, and
• iii) subjecting said resultant polymer of ii) to a crosslinking reaction in the presence or absence of an inorganic compound by means of crosslinking agent and
• iv) drying to form beads.