Abstract: Polymers derived by copolymerizing a hydrophilic vinyl monomer, such as acrylic acid, with at least one hydrophobic vinyl monomer, such as an acrylic acid ester, a methacrylic acid ester, a vinyl ester of a saturated monocarboxylic acid having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and the like, prepared in a suitable inert, low chain transfer, organic liquid medium, such as n-hexane, cyclohexane, and chlorofluorocarbons such as 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, and neutralized by a suitable base while still slurried in the inert low chain transfer organic liquid medium, perform effectively as water loss additives for drilling fluids under high temperature conditions. Such water loss control additives are especially effective when employed in drilling fluids having high solids content. Also disclosed are drilling fluids employing such water loss control additives as well as a method of drilling a bore hole in the earth using drilling fluids employing such water loss control additives.

Abstract: Polymers derived by copolymerizing a hydrophilic vinyl monomer, such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, with at least one hydrophobic vinyl monomer, such as an acrylic acid ester, a methacrylic acid ester, a vinyl ester of a saturated monocarboxylic acid having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and the like, prepared in a suitable inert, low chain transfer, organic liquid medium, such as n-pentane, n-hexane, cyclohexane, and chlorofluorocarbons such as 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, and neutralized by anhydrous ammonia while still slurried in the inert low chain transfer organic liquid medium, perform effectively as water loss additives for drilling fluids under high temperature conditions. Such water loss control additives are especially effective when employed in drilling fluids having high solids content. Other copolymerization techniques for preparing such polymers are also disclosed.

Abstract: A solution polymer process is made essentially energy-free by employing solvent vapor from steam stripping as the sole heat source during the separation of heavies from recycle solvent.

Abstract: A process of removing solvents from polymer solutions is made more efficient by the use of a prestripping operation during which substantially none of the polymer precipitates from solution.

Abstract: The energy requirements of a solution rubber process are significantly improved by employing solvent which has been removed in subsequent process steps.The invention concerns the separation treatment of the solvents and the polymer solutions produced by solution polymerization. In one embodiment a polymer solution is flashed to remove solvent vapor overhead and a concentrated polymer solution is removed as bottoms. The flashed solvent vapor is divided into at least two streams. A first stream is used as a stripping vapor medium in a zone for stripping a wet solvent to recover a wet solvent vapor overhead from the stripping zone and a dry solvent liquid as bottoms; the second flashed solvent vapor stream is used to preheat the wet solvent feed to the stripping zone by indirect contact heat exchange; a third portion of said solvent vapor can be combined with the second portion downstream of the heat exchange step, and the combined stream can be condensed.

Abstract: A rubber from a solution polymerization process dissolved in a lower boiling cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon is contacted countercurrently in column means with hot higher boiling aromatic hydrocarbon vapor. The lower boiling cycloaliphatic solvent is stripped out overhead and displaced by the higher boiling aromatic which condenses to form a rubber-in-aromatic solvent solution. The rubbery copolymer-in-aromatic solvent can be readily blended with a poly(arylene oxide) solution in aromatic solvent. The resulting rubber/poly(arylene oxide) blend in the higher boiling aromatic solvent can be readily steam-stripped to form a rubber/poly(arylene oxide) polymer mixture crumb. Optionally, the co-mixed polymers in the higher boiling aromatic solvent are flash concentrated prior to steam-stripping.

Abstract: An olefinically unsaturated dinitrile of the formula ##STR1## wherein R and R' are alkylene or alkylidene radicals and Z is an alkyl radical which is converted to the corresponding saturated dinitrile in the presence of hydrogen, a palladium catalyst and at least one alkanol having 1 to 3 carbon atoms. The saturated dinitrile is then converted to the corresponding diamine in the presence of hydrogen, a secondary amine formation suppressant, a ruthenium catalyst and at least one diluent selected from the group consisting of tertiary alkanols having 4 to 12 carbon atoms, saturated hydrocarbons having 4 to 12 carbon atoms, and ethers having 4 to 12 carbon atoms. The at least one alkanol is substantially completely separated from the saturated dinitrile before the saturated dinitrile is converted to the corresponding diamine to avoid N-alkylation reactions which may occur if the at least one alkanol is present when the saturated dinitrile is converted to the corresponding diamine.

Abstract: In preparing a solvent-polymer mixture for a subsequent reaction, e.g., metallation, wherein undesirable components lower boiling than the solvent, such as water, should be removed from the solvent and polymer, the undesirable components are removed by stripping using previously purified solvent, thereby preventing reboiler fouling. The stripping vapors are generated from solvent obtained from a source other than the fractionation column in which the stripping occurs in order to reduce costs. The process of this invention is particularly useful in removing water from a butadiene/styrene copolymer-cyclohexane solvent mixture prior to metallation of the copolymer.

Abstract: An olefinically unsaturated dinitrile of the formula ##STR1## wherein R and R' are alkylene or alkylidene radicals and Z is an alkyl radical which is converted to the corresponding saturated dinitrile in the presence of hydrogen, a palladium catalyst and at least one alkanol having 1 to 3 carbon atoms. The saturated dinitrile is then converted to the corresponding diamine in the presence of hydrogen, a secondary amine formation suppressant, a ruthenium catalyst and at least one diluent selected from the group consisting of tertiary alkanols having 4 to 12 carbon atoms, saturated hydrocarbons having 4 to 12 carbon atoms, and ethers having 4 to 12 carbon atoms. The at least one alkanol is substantially completely separated from the saturated dinitrile before the saturated dinitrile is converted to the corresponding diamine to avoid N-alkylation reactions which may occur if the at least one alkanol is present when the saturated dinitrile is converted to the corresponding diamine.

Abstract: An alpha-methylstyrene polymerization reaction mass is cooled by including therein a component which is readily vaporizable under the conditions of polymerization thereby to remove undesirable or excess heat, thus controlling the reaction temperature to a desired value. In one embodiment a living polymer is produced followed by addition of a second monomer to the living polymer still in solution followed by polymerization onto the living polymer, forming a living block copolymer which is coupled with a linking agent.

Abstract: Dimethyl formamide when used as an absorption solvent to remove acetylenes from olefin-containing gas streams acts as well as a promoter for the oxidative conversion of H.sub.2 S, COS, and/or CS.sub.2, also contained in the feed stream, to elemental sulfur. Thus both acetylenes and sulfur compounds are efficiently removed from such olefin-containing gas streams as coke oven gas. Further, the loss of dimethyl formamide entrained and vaporized by the deacetylenized gas stream leaving the dimethyl formamide absorber is substantially reduced or effectively eliminated by the injection of a stream of liquid selected from the group consisting of paraffinic hydrocarbons having 4-8 carbon atoms per molecule containing at least one tertiary carbon atom per molecule and aromatic hydrocarbons having 6-10 carbon atoms per molecule above the point of injection of the dimethyl formamide solvent stream to the absorption column.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided in a pipeloop reactor system for recovery of soluble catalyst components from polymer slurry effluent into the pipe-loop reactor. The polymer slurry is collected in a wash column attached to the upper run of the loop reactor; the slurry is allowed to settle through a countercurrent flow of wash liquid, the liquid used for wash, being one in which catalyst components are soluble; the washed slurry is collected in a settling leg attached to the wash column; and wash liquid containing catalyst components is overflowed into the reactor loop. In peferred embodiments of the invention the wash liquid is subjected to auto-refrigeration before being admitted into the wash column. In another preferred embodiment unreacted monomer feed is recovered from the polymer slurry, purified, and recycled as wash liquid. In still another embodiment of the invention the flow of polymer from the reactor loop into the wash column is mechanically restricted.

Abstract: Dimethyl formamide when used as an absorption solvent to remove acetylenes from olefin-containing gas streams acts as well as a promoter for the oxidative conversion of H.sub.2 S, COS and/or CS.sub.2, also contained in the feed stream, to elemental sulfur. Thus both acetylenes and sulfur compounds are efficiently removed from such olefin-containing gas streams as coke oven gas. Further, the loss of dimethyl formamide entrained and vaporized by the deacetylenized gas stream leaving the dimethyl formamide absorber is substantially reduced or effectively eliminated by the injection of a stream of liquid selected from the group consisting of paraffinic hydrocarbons having 4-8 carbon atoms per molecule containing at least one tertiary carbon atom per molecule and aromatic hydrocarbons having 6-10 carbon atoms per molecule above the point of injection of the dimethyl formamide solvent stream to the absorption column.

Abstract: A continuous reaction process is provided for producing arylene sulfide polymer in which a dihalo aromatic compound is contacted with a sulfur complex produced by contacting a solution of sodium N-methylamino butyrate, in an organic amide, with a solution of hydrogen sulfide in an organic amide under conditions suitable to produce a particulate polymeric product. In the process of the invention the sulfur complex is contacted with the dihalo aromatic compound in the presence of an organic amide in a series of three reaction vessels in which (1) the temperature of the reaction is held approximately constant and (2) the reaction pressure is reduced seriatiom to provide driving force to carry the reacting mass through the reaction system. The reacting mass is retained in the series of reaction vessels for a time sufficient to carry the polymerization of at least one of the reactants to substantial completion.

Abstract: Separation by distillation and formation of immiscible liquid phases of nearly equal densities which comprises distilling a mixture containing the same in the presence of an added liquid of substantially different density, preferentially soluble in a recycle to the distillation zone and having a volatility under conditions of distillation such that it will vaporize preferentially to a liquid desired to be retained in the distillation zone to be removed as bottoms therefrom, e.g., toluene added to produce gravity separation of a heavy water-rich phase and a light phase containing phenol, cyclohexanone and cyclohexylbenzene and the added toluene which is used as reflux to the drying column in the overall process in which cyclohexanone and phenol are produced from cyclohexylbenzene.