Agglomerated polymer particles of finely divided, water-soluble or water-swellable polymers, the preparation thereof and the use thereof

A dust-free powder formed by isolating polymer particles from a water-in-oil emulsion of a water-soluble or water-swellable polymer, wherein the water-in-oil polymer emulsion is azeotropically dewatered in the presence of from 1 to 40% by weight, based on the polymer, of a polyalkylene glycol which,

• (a) is synthesized by an addition reaction of a C.sub.2 -C.sub.4 -alkylene oxide with an alcohol, phenol, amine or carboxylic acid;
• and
• (b) contains not less than 2 polymerizable alkylene oxide units;
• wherein said polyalkylene glycol is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycols, polypropylene glycols, block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, polyethylene glycols esterified at one or both ends with C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 -alcohols, and addition products of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide with ethylene diamine,
• wherein the particles of said polymer have a mean diameter of from 20 to 5,000 .mu.m, and
• the particles of said powder comprise primary particles having a mean diameter of from 0.1 to 15 .mu.m.