Polyester process using a pipe reactor Number:6,861,494 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent The invention is directed to polyester processes that utilizes a pipe reactor in the esterification, polycondensation, or both esterification and polycondensation processes. Pipe reactor processes of the present invention have a multitude of advantages over prior art processes including improved heat transfer, volume control, agitation and disengagement functions. The pipe reactor processes and apparatus of the present invention are built and operated at a much lower cost than conventional polyester processes. Polyester, reactor, Polyester, process, using, a, pipe, reacto, 6861494.html, Patent, pto, 6861494

Title: Polyester process using a pipe reactor

Abstract: The invention is directed to polyester processes that utilizes a pipe reactor in the esterification, polycondensation, or both esterification and polycondensation processes. Pipe reactor processes of the present invention have a multitude of advantages over prior art processes including improved heat transfer, volume control, agitation and disengagement functions. The pipe reactor processes and apparatus of the present invention are built and operated at a much lower cost than conventional polyester processes.

Patent Number: 6,861,494 Issued on 03/01/2005 to Debruin

Inventors: Debruin; Bruce Roger (Kingsport, TN)

Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company (Kingsport, TN)

Appl. No.: 013318

Filed: December 7, 2001

Current U.S. Class: 528/272; 528/176; 528/300; 528/301; 528/302; 528/307; 528/308; 528/308.6; 526/64; 526/65; 526/67; 526/71; 524/81

Intern'l Class: C08G 063//02

Field of Search: 528/176,272,300,301,302,307,308,308.6 526/64,65,67,71 524/81

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Primary Examiner: Acquah; Samuel A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Owen; Steven A., Graves, Jr.; Bernard J., Carmen; Dennis V.

Parent Case Text

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/254,040, filed Dec. 7, 2000, which application is hereby incorporated by this reference in its entirety.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A process for making an ester from a plurality of reactants comprising:

(a) providiiig an esterification pipe reactor having a first inlet and a first outlet;

(b) adding the reactants under esterification reaction conditions into the esterification pipe reactor proximal to the first inlet and forming a two phase flow so the reactants form a liquid phase and vapor phase through the esterification pipe reactor, wherein the estenfication pipe reactor is operated in at least one flow regime selected from the group consisting of bubble flow, plug flow, stratified flow, wavy flow, slug flow, dispersed flow and froth flow and wherein at least a portion of the reactants form an ester monomer.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the ester monomer is reacted in the esterification pipe reactor to form an ester oligomer.