Continuous process for polymerizing bisphenols and phosgene

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR PREPARING A HIGHLY POLYMERIC LINEAR POLYCARBONATE OF A BISPHENOL, SAID BISPHENOL BEING DEVOID OF OLEFINIC UNSATURATION, SAID PROCESS COMPRISING PROGRESSIVELY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY INTRODUCING TOP MATERIALS AT A POINT NEAR THE TOP OF AT LEAST ONE VERTICALLY DISPOSED PACKED COLUMN HAVING A RECEIVER AT THE BOTTOM AND HAVING AS THE ONLY TOP OPENINGS MEANS FOR INTRODUCTING SAID TOP MATERIALS AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 5* TO ABOUT 50*C., THE SAID TOP MATERIALS BEING (1) 1 MOLE PROPORTION PER MINUTE OF SAID BISPHENOL DISSOLVED IN FROM 2 TO 8 TIMES ITW WEIGHT OF WATER CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 1.1 TO ABOUT 1.35 MOLECULAR EQUIVALENTS OF A HYDROXIDE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF SODIUM AND POTASSIUM HYDROXIDES PER MOLE OF SAID BISPHENOL, (2) FROM 3 TO 30 ML. PER GRAM MOLE OF SAID BISPHENOL PER MINUTE OF AN INERT ORGANIC SOLVENT WHICH IS A LIQUID AT THE TEMPERATURES EMPLOYED AND IS COMPOSED OF AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS AND HALOGENATED HYDROCARBONS WHICH ARE CAPABLE OF DISSOLVING SAID POLYCARBONATE AS IT IS FROMED, (3) FROM ABOUT 1.0 TO 1.1 MOLE KPROPORTION OF PHOSGENE PER MINUTE, SAID INTRODUCED TOP MATERIALS HAVING AN AVERAGE TOTAL DEWELL TIME FROM ABOUT 20 TO ABOUT 240 SECONDS IN SAID COLUMN, AND PROGRESSIVELY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY INTRODUCING A CATALYST AT A POINT FROM ABOUT 10-60% OF THE TOTAL DISTANCE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE COLUMN TO THE POINT OF INTRODUCING SAID TOP MATERIALS, WHEREBY SAID CATALYST HAS AN AVERAGE CATALYST DWELL TIME IN SAID COLUMN OF FROM ABOUT 15 TO 150 SECONDS, THE MAJOR AMOUNT OF SAID CATALYST BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TRIALKYLAMINES AND HYDROHALIDES THEREOF, SAID ALKYL RADICALS CONTAINING FROM 2 TO 20 CARBON ATOMS FOR EACH ALKYL RADICAL, AND COLLECTING AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID COLUMN A MIXTURE OF AN AQUEOUS PHASE AND AN ORGANIC PHASE, SAID ORGANIC PHASE CONTAINING SAID INERT ORGANIC SOLVENT IN WHICH IS DISSOLVED THE POLYCARBONATE HAVING AN INHERENT VISCOSITY AS MEASURED IN CHLOROFORM AS A 0.25% BY WEIGHT SOLUTION AT 25*C. OF FROM 0.5 TO 4.0.