Abstract: A method of preparing a fiber reinforced elastomer by forming fibers therein in-situ and an elastomer made thereby are provided. In the method, a fiber forming material, preferably a high performance polymer, is dissolved in a compatible solvent to form a solvent/polymer mixture, and the mixture is added to the elastomer during compounding or mixing. The polymer is quickly dispersed into the elastomer, and the solvent rapidly evaporates. The shear of the mixer causes elongation of the polymer into fibers. The fibers may also be oriented by the shear of the mixer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for improving the modulus of a rubber without sacrificing other properties. By utilizing the process of this invention, rubber compositions having increased modulus are prepared by the formation of polypropylene fibrils randomly dispersed throughout the rubber matrix. The present invention includes (1) forming a blend of (a) a polymer alloy containing polypropylene and (b) an unvulcanized rubber stock wherein said polypropylene is present in said blend in an amount ranging from about 5 phr to about 25 phr; and (2) vulcanizing the rubber stock in said blend after orienting said polypropylene by the application of heat and flowing said blend within a mold cavity.

Abstract: This invention relates to polyethylene terephthalate and copolymers thereof having high clarity and process for making the same. The invention provides a process for making PET using protonic acid catalysts which result in a polymer having a level of haze which is lower than has heretofore been attainable, using conventional metallic catalysts. Further, the polyesters so produced have a lower melt temperature which improves the processability.

Abstract: The invention is a process for esterifying organic dicarboxylic acid and diol at elevated temperatures and thereafter transesterifying the esterification product in the presence of a diol and a diester at elevated temperatures thereafter polymerizing the transesterification product in a condensation stage to form a polycondensed copolyester having an intrinsic viscosity from 0.2 to 0.9.

Abstract: This invention relates to polyethylene isophthalate (PEI) and copolymers thereof having low cyclic dimer content and process for making same. The invention provides a process for making PEI using protonic acid catalysts which result in a polymer having lower amounts of ring dimer of ethylene isophthalate than has heretofore been known. Strong protonic acids such as sulfuric or phosphoric are utilized as polymerization catalysts to thereby lower the amount of cyclic dimerization which occurs during the polymerization process. Polymers so produced are of a high purity and have reduced manufacturing costs due both to a smaller amount of material being lost as cyclic dimer and because of lower processing costs associated with cleaning cyclic dimer from the processing equipment.

Abstract: A polyester resin having a low intrinsic viscosity and suitable for use as a powdered resin is modified by being capped with organic acids. The resins are made from the reaction of diesters with diols with up to 30 mole percent of the diester being replaced with various diacids. The polyester is capped following the condensation reaction stage, but before any finishing stage. The polyester resins have an acid number of from 1 to 100 and allow greater flexibility in the type of acid functionality than previously available.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for preparing high molecular weight polyester resin by reacting ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid in the absence of a catalyst and polymerizing the product under solid state polymerization conditions to form high molecular weight polyester.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for preparing catalyst-free high molecular weight polyester resin by preparing a low polymer having an intrinsic viscosity of from about 0.1 to 0.4 said low polymer being essentially free of catalyst and polymerizing the low polymer under solid state polymerization conditions to form high molecular weight polyester.