Methods of making styrenic polymeric compositions and methods of using same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9012568-B2
Application number	US-201113267032-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 6, 2011
Priority date	Jul 10, 2006
Publication date	Apr 21, 2015
Grant date	Apr 21, 2015

Abstract

A method of preparing a reaction mixture comprising a styrene monomer, an antioxidant, and a reaction rate improving additive, contacting the reaction mixture with an antioxidant reactive compound, and placing the reaction mixture under conditions suitable for polymerization of the styrene monomer to a styrenic polymer wherein the polymerization occurs at an overall reaction rate that is increased by equal to or less than 20% when compared to an otherwise similar polymerization process carried out in the absence of the reaction rate improving additive. The reaction rate improving additive can be a sodium or calcium salt of an organic acid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
preparing a reaction mixture comprising a styrene monomer, an antioxidant, a reaction rate improving additive, and an antioxidant reactive compound, wherein the reaction rate improving additive is calcium stearoyl lactylate; and
placing the reaction mixture under conditions suitable for polymerization of the styrene monomer to a styrenic polymer and monitoring the reaction rate during polymerization, wherein the polymerization occurs at an overall reaction rate that is increased by greater than 20% when compared to an otherwise similar polymerization process carried out in the absence of the reaction rate improving additive;
wherein the styrene monomer comprises a virgin styrene monomer and an unreacted styrene monomer, wherein the virgin styrene monomer and the unreacted styrene monomer have a ratio of virgin styrene monomer:unreacted styrene monomer of from 8:1 to 2:1.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the reaction rate improving additive is present in an amount of from 200 ppm to 2500 ppm.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the styrene comprises a substituted styrene, a ring-substituted styrene, a disubstituted styrene, an unsubstituted styrene, or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the styrene is present in an amount of from 1 wt. % to 99.9 wt. %.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture further comprises an elastomer.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the elastomer is a polymer or copolymer of an aliphatic conjugated diene.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the aliphatic conjugated diene is a butadiene.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the elastomer is present in an amount of from 2 wt. % to 18 wt. %.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the antioxidant comprises a phenol, a phosphite, tris-nonylphenylphosphite, 2,6 ditertiarybutyl-4-methyl phenol, octadecyl 3,5-di-(tert)-butyl-4-hydroxyhydrocinnamate, 4-bis[(octylthio)methyl]-o-cresol, or combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the antioxidant is present in an amount of from 250 ppm to 5000 ppm.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the antioxidant reactive compound comprises an acid neutralizer, air, an initiator, or combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the acid neutralizer comprises metallic stearate, zinc stearate, calcium stearate, synthetic neutralizer, synthetic hydrotalcite, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the acid neutralizer is present in an amount of from 0 ppm to 3000 ppm.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the initiator comprises diacyl peroxides, peroxydicarbonates, monoperoxycarbonates, peroxyketals, peroxyesters, dialkyl peroxides, hydroperoxides, ethyl 3,3-d(t-butylperoxy)butyrate, or combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein an activity of the initiator is increased by from 25% to 70% when compared to an otherwise similar reaction carried out in the absence of a reaction rate improving additive.

16. A method comprising:
preparing a reaction mixture comprising a styrene monomer, an elastomer, an antioxidant, calcium stearoyl lactylate, and an initiator; and
placing the reaction mixture under conditions suitable for polymerization of the styrene monomer to a styrenic polymer, wherein the calcium stearoyl lactylate protects the initiator such that an activity of the initiator during polymerization is increased from 25% to 60% when compared to an otherwise similar polymerization reaction carried out in the absence of the calcium stearoyl lactylate;
wherein the styrene monomer comprises a virgin styrene monomer and an unreacted styrene monomer, wherein the virgin styrene monomer and the unreacted styrene monomer have a ratio of virgin styrene monomer:unreacted styrene monomer of from 8:1 to 2:1.

17. A method comprising:
preparing a reaction mixture comprising a styrene monomer, an antioxidant, a reaction rate improving additive, and an antioxidant reactive compound, wherein the reaction rate improving additive is calcium stearoyl lactylate; and
placing the reaction mixture under conditions suitable for polymerization of the styrene monomer to a styrenic polymer;
wherein the styrene monomer comprises a virgin styrene monomer and an unreacted styrene monomer, wherein the virgin styrene monomer and the unreacted styrene monomer have a ratio of virgin styrene monomer:unreacted styrene monomer of from 8:1 to 2:1.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the styrenic polymer is polystyrene homopolymer.

Assignees

• Knoeppel David
• Fina Technology

Inventors

• Knoeppel David

Classifications

• C08F279/02 Primary

  on to polymers of conjugated dienes · CPC title

• C08L51/04

  grafted on to rubbers · CPC title

• C08F212/08

  Styrene · CPC title

• C08K5/098

  Metal salts of carboxylic acids · CPC title