Process for the preparation of water emulsifiable anionic resins and the resins thus produced

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING AN ANIONIC, WATER-DISPERSIBLE, NON-GELLED, VINYL POLYMER CONTAINING CARBOXYL AND ALCOHOLIC FUNCTIONS WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF: INITIALLY COPOLYMERIZING BY HEATING AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 125*C. AND 200*C. A BLEND OF MONOMERS COMPRISING MALEIC ANHYDRIDE AND A DIFFERENT POLYMERIZABLE A,B-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED COMPOUND IN THE PRESENCE OF A FREE RADICAL INITATOR AND, THEREAFTER, REACTING THE RESULTANT POLYMER WITH AN ALIPHATIC DIOL CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 3 TO 8 CARBON ATOMS AND POSSESSING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY HYDROXYL GROUPS AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 55*C. AND 135*C. FOR A PERIOD OF TIME SUFFICIENT TO OPEN THE ANHYDRIDE RING AND TO FORM THE HALF ESTER OF MALEIC ACID THEREBY PRODUCING AN ANIONIC WATER DISPERSIBLE, NONGELLED, VINYL POLYMER, SAID MONOMERS AND DIOL BEING PRESENT IN AMOUNTS SUFFICIENT TO SUPPLY TO THE RESULTANT OVERALL POLYMER FROM ABOUT 1 TO ABOUT 25% OF THE CARBOXYL FUNCTION AND FROM ABOUT 0.5 TO ABOUT 10% OF THE HYDROXYL FUNCTION, BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF THE OVERALL FINISHED POLYMER, WHEREIN THE THUS FORMED NON-GELLED POLYMER IS SUBSTANTIALLY FREE FROM UNREACTED MONOMER.