Impact resistant alkenyl aromatic resins such as polystyrene containing reinforcing rubber therein are highly desirable items of commerce and are used for many end use applications. Oftentimes such impact resistant styrene polymer is employed for housings, liners, molded articles, vacuum formed _' articles and the like which are exposed to oily contaminants. For example, a refrigerator liner may be vacuum formed from an impact resistant poly¬ styrene and give excellent service until the sur¬ face of the liner has been contaminated with a material such as butter. In general, it is rather difficult to prevent the occasional contact of an oily foodstuff with a refrigerator liner when the refrigerator is used in the normal household manner. Impact polystyrene in general is easily and quickly formed into such liners and has satisfactory resis- tance to physical abuse. In some instances, refri¬ gerator liners have been prepared from a two-layer sheet where the principal component of the sheet is impact polystyrene and a thinner surface layer of a polymer which is more resistant to oils and

solvent is provided on the side which ultimately would be exposed to possible food or oil contami¬ nation.

It would be desirable if there were avail- able an improved impact resistant styrene polymer.

It would be desirable if there were avail¬ able an impact resistant styrene polymer having improved stress crack resistance.

It would also be desirable if there were an improved impact resistant styrene polymer which showed a reduced tendency toward cracking under stress when in the presence of an oily material.

These benefits and advantages in accor¬ dance with the present invention are achieved in a process for the preparation of an impact resistant alkenyl aromatic polymer wherein a stream is"pro¬ vided, the stream containing a polymerizing alkenyl aromatic monomer, a reinforcing rubber dissolved therein, initiating polymerization of the alkenyl aromatic monomer in the presence of dissolved rubber to cause the rubber to form a plurality of rubber particles, therein subsequently polymerizing an additional amount of the alkenyl aromatic monomer to form alkenyl aromatic resinous polymer having a desired amount of rubber dispersed therethrough • as a plurality of particles, and subsequently re¬ moving from the stream at least a major portion of the unreacted alkenyl aromatic monomer and organic solvent, the improvement which comprises employing as the solvent an aliphatic hydrocarbon composition

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selected from the C-6 to C-10 aliphatic hydrocarbons and mixtures thereof.

By the term "alkenyl aromatic monomer" is meant an alkenyl aromatic compound having the general formula

R Ar-C=CH ₂

wherein Ar represents an aromatic hydrocarbon radical, or an aromatic hydrocarbon radical of the benzene series, and R is hydrogen or the methyl radical and containing up to 12 carbon atoms. Examples of such alkenyl aromatic monomers are styrene, α-methyl- styrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methyl- styrene, ar-ethylstyrene, ar-vinylxylene, ar-chloro- styrene or ar-bromostyrene, and the like. Such polymerizations may be catalyzed or uncatalyzed and conducted under conventional temperatures and conditions and are readily controlled as to the particle size of the rubber in accordance with the present invention. Comonomers polymerizable with the alkenyl aromatic monomer and anhydride are methyl- methacrylate, methylacrylate, ethylmethacrylate, ethylacrylate, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile acrylic acid and the like. Beneficially, such monomers are employed in a proportion of from about 1 to 40 weight percent of the polymer composition, and advantageously from about 20 to 35 weight per¬ cent of the polymer composition.

Suitable rubbers for the practice of the present invention are diene rubbers or mixtures of diene rubbers; i.e., any rubbery polymers (a polymer ^" having a glass temperature not higher than 0°C, and preferably not higher than -20°C, as determined by

ASTM Test D-746-52T) of one or more conjugated 1,3 dienes; e.g., butadiene, isoprene, piperylene, chloroprene, etc. Such rubbers include homopolymers, interpolymers and block copolymers of conjugated l _f 3 dienes with up to an equal amount by weight of one or more copolymerizable monoethylenically un- saturated monomers, such as monovinylidene aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., styrene; an aralkylstyrene, such as the o-, m- and p-methylstyrenes, 2,4-di- methylstyrene, the ar-ethylstyrenes, p-tertbutyl- styrene, etc.; an or-alkylstyrene, such as α-methyl¬ styrene, α-ethylstyrene, a-methyl-p-methylstyrene, etc.; vinyl naphthalene, etc.); ar-halo monovinyliden aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., the o-, m- and p-chloro- styrenes, 2,4-di-bromostyrene, 2-methyl-4-chloro- styrene, etc. ); acrylonitrile; methacrylonitrile; alkylacrylates (e.g., methylacrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, etc.); the corresponding • alkyl methacrylates; acrylamides (e.g., acrylamide, methacrylamide, N-butyl acrylamide, etc.); unsat- urated ketones (e.g., vinyl methyl ketone, methyl isopropenyl ketone, etc.); α-olefins (e.g., ethylene, propylene, etc.); pyridines; vinyl esters (e.g., vinyl acetate, vinyl stearate, etc.); vinyl and vinylidene halides (e.g., the vinyl and vinylidene chlorides and bromides, etc.); and the like.

Although the rubber may contain up to about 2 percent of a cross-linking agent, based on the weight of the rubber forming monomer or monomers, cross-linking may present problems in dissolving the rubber in the monomers for the graft polymeri¬ zation reaction, particularly for a mass or bulk polymerization reaction. In addition, excessive

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cross-linking can result in loss of the rubbery characteristics. The cross-linking agent can be any of the agents conventionally employed for cross- -linking diene rubbers; e.g., divinylbenzene, di- allyl malleate, diallyl fu arate, diallyl adipate, allyl acrylate, allyl methacrylate, diacrylates and dimethacrylates of polyhydric alcohols; e.g., ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, etc.

A ^" preferred group of rubbers are those consisting essentially of-65 to 100 percent by weight of butadiene and/or isoprene and up to 35 percent by weight of a monomer selected from the group con¬ sisting of alkenyl aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., styrene) and unsaturated nitriles (e.g., acrylo- nitrile), or mixtures thereof. Particularly advan¬ tageous substrates are butadiene homopolymer or an interpolymer or A-B block copolymers of from 70 to 95 percent by weight butadiene and from 5 to 30 percent by weight of styrene.

The rubbers or rubbery reinforcing agents employed in the present invention must also meet the following requirements: an inherent viscosity from about 0.9 to 2.5 and preferably 0.9 to 1.7 grams per deciliter (as determined at 25°C employing 0.3 grams of rubber per deciliter of toluene).

Advantageously, the amount of such rubbery reinforcing agent can be from 5 to 35 weight percent of the final product, and beneficially from 10 to 25 percent, and most advantageously from 15 to 25 percent.

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Suitable solvents for use in the practice of the present invention are aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents which are generally nonreactive in the polymerizing system and have a solubility parameter of from about 6.0 to 7.7 and beneficially the solu¬ bility parameter is from about 7.0 to 7.6. Such solvents are generally used in a quantity such that in the polymerizing stream the solvent is present at a level of from about 2 to 20 weight percent based on the total weight of the stream, and pre¬ ferably from about 5 to 15 weight percent of the total weight of the stream. Such solvent may be a single compound or be a mixture of many compounds; for example, V.M. & P naphtha, white gasoline normal octane, and various C-6 to C-10 mixtures such as are sold under the trade designation of Isopar E and Isopar C by Exxon Corporation. Practical limitations in selecting a suitable aliphatic solvent are the vapor pres.sure it will generate in the polymerizing system, and the ease with which it can be removed during the devolitilization of the polymerizing stream. When 10 weight percent ethyl benzene is employed as a solvent in a stream containing 8.75 weight percent of rubber commercially designated as Diene 55 and 81.25 weight percent styrene, phase inversion occurs at about 22.4 percent solids. When the ethyl benzene is replaced with 10 weight percent of Isopar C, the phase inversion point is 24.8 per¬ cent. The resultant rubber particles obtained with Isopar C which has a solubility parameter of 7.1 show less occluded polystyrene than the particles obtained when ethyl benzene is- employed as solvent. It is believed that as the amount of occluded poly¬ styrene in the rubber particles is decreased for a

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fixed rubber content of the styrene polymer, environ¬ mental stress crack resistance is improved.

Polymerization of the polymerizable mix¬ ture may be accomplished by thermal polymerization generally between temperatures of 60°C to 170° and preferably from 70° to 140°C, or alternately any free radical generating catalyst may be used in the practice of the invention, including actinic radiation. It is preferable to incorporate a suitable catalyst system for polymerizing the monomer, such as the conventional monomer-soluble peroxy and perzao com- .pounds. Exemplary catalysts are di-tert-butyl peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide, oleyl peroxide, toluyl peroxide, di-tert-butyl diperphthalate, tert- -butyl peracetate, tert-butyl perbenzoate, dicumyl peroxide, tert-butyl peroxide, isopropyl carbonate, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(tert-butylperoxy)hexane, 2,5- -dimethyl-2,5 di(tert-butylperoxy) hexyne-3, terty-butyl hydroperoxide, cumene hydroperoxide, p-methane hydroperoxide, cyclopentane hydroperoxide, diisopropylbenzene hydroperoxide, p-tert-butyl-cumene hydroperoxide pinane hydroperoxide, 2,5-dimethyl- hexane-2,5-dihydroperoxide, 2,2 ^! -azobisisobutyro- nitrile, etc., and mixtures thereof.

The catalyst is generally included within the range of 0.001 to 1.0 percent by weight, and preferably on the order of 0.005 to 0.5 percent ^" by weight of the polymerizable material depending upon the monomers and the desired polymerization cycle.

If desired, small amounts of antioxidants

•are included in the feed stream, such as alkylated phenols; e.g., 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol, phosphites

εuch as trinonyl phenyl phosphite and mixtures con¬ taining tri (mono and dinonyl phenyl) phosphites. Suc materials in general may be added at any stage during polymerization.

Plastifiers or lubricants such as butyl stearate, polyethylene glycol, polybutenes and minera oil may also be added if desired. Polymers prepared accordance with the present invention are well suited for extrusion into sheet or film. Such sheet is bene ficially employed and thermally formed into container packages, refrigerator liners, housings and the like. Alternatively the polymer is employed with benefit of injection molding of a wide variety of components suc as containers, ducts, racks and the like.

The figure schematically depicts apparatus suitable for continuing polymerization in accordance with the present invention. In the Figure there is a apparatus generally designated by the numeral 10. Th apparatus 10 comprises in cooperative combination a feed tank 11, connected to a first reactor 12 of a li or conduit 14 having a metering pump 15 therein. The reactor 12 has an agitator not shown driven by a moto The reactor 12 has an upper end adjacent motor 16 and lower end remote from motor 16, a recirculation line conduit 17 having a pump 18 therein is connected betw the upper end and lower end of the reactor 12. A line or conduit 19 is connected to the lower end of reacto 12 and to an upper end of a generally like reactor 12 Reactor 12A has an agitator, not shown, driven by a motor 16A. The lower end of reactor 12A is connected by means of line 21 to an upper end of a third re¬ actor 12B, the reactor 12B which has an agitator is

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driven by motor 16B. A discharge line 22 is connected to the bottom of reactor 12B and with a heat exchanger 2?- The heat exchanger 23B discharges to a devolatizer or chamber 24, the devolatizer has a lower outlet line 25 having a pump 26 therein and an overhead discharge line 27 having pump 28 therein. Flow direction polymerization apparatus is indicated by the arrowheads. The numerals 1 through 7 indicate individual temperature control zones thereof. The first reactor 12 has two temperature control zones thereof. The first reactor 12 has two temperature control zones 1 and 2, the second reactor has 3 and the third reactor two zones.

In operation of the apparatus for the practice of the method of the present invention, the polymerizable monomer, for example styrene, a desired quantity of reinforcing rubber diluent, the free radical initiator, and other optional additives are added to• the feed tank 11 to provide "a homogeneous solution. The feed pump 15 forwards the feed material tank 11 into the upper portion of the reactor 12 to fill the reactor 12. The pump 18 removes material from the bottom of the reactor 12 and returns it to the top of the reactor 12, making the reactor 12 a back-mixed reactor. The effluent from the reactor 12 passes through the line 19 into the reactor 12A in which generally plug flow is maintained. The effluent from the reactor 12A passes to the reactor 12B which is also of plug flow variety. Effluent from the reactor 12B passes through the line 22 into a heat exchanger 23 where the polymerizing stream is heated to devolatilizing temperature and the stream discharges into devola¬ tilizing chamber 24. The pump 28 is a vacuum pump

which carries away all or almost all of the volatile materials remaining in the stream. Molten polymer is discharged therethrough the line 25 and the pump 26. In practice of the method of the present inven- tion employing apparatus such as illustrated in the figure, generally it is desirable to maintain a solids level of from about 20 to 40 precent in the first or recirculated reactor. Discharge from the second reactor is from about 40 to 55 percent, and the discharge ^' into the heat exchanger 23 being at a level of from about 60 to 95 percent solids. In ^• the first reactor a relatively high rate of agitation is maintained. The second reactor is operating at about one-half the shear rate of the first reactor and minimum agitation employed in the third reactor. The method of the invention can also be readily practiced batch wise wherein a partial addition of the feed mixture is added with agitation at about the rate of the alkenyl aromatic monomer polymeri- zation. The rate of addition of the polymerizable feed mixture containing rubber and the desired solvent should be such that only gradual phase inversion occurs; that is, separation of the rubber particles in the polymerizing mass. It is desirable that after the addition of all of the feed mixture to the reactor, the solids be from about 25 to 35 percent.

The invention is further illustrated but not limited by the following examples:

Example ^" 1

A plurality of impact resistant poly¬ styrenes were prepared employing various solvents .

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The feed consisted of 7.2 parts by weight of a poly- butydiene rubber, sold under the trade designation of Diene-55, 63.2 parts styrene and 9.6 parts by weight of solvent. An apparatus generally as depicted in the figure was employed for the polymerization. The reactors each were elongated cylinders having a bar agitator extending almost full length; each of the cylindrical reactors had a volume of 72 cubic inches. About 75 weight percent of the feed was introduced "through the equivalent of line 14 and the remainder in¬ troduced into the equivalent of zone 4 of reactor 12a. Effluent from the first stage was 35 weight percent solids and the agitator of the first stage rotated at about 110 revolutions per minute. Effluent from the second stage was about 45 weight percent solids and the second stage agitator corresponding to the motor 16a rotated at about 65 revolutions per minute.

All parts are parts by weight unless other¬ wise specified.

The agitator in the third vessel corres¬ ponding to the vessel 10B rotated at 4 revolutions per minute, and the effluent entering line 22 was 70 percent solids. Temperatures in zones 1 through 7 were about 102, 117, 119, 118, 124, 133, 153°C, respectively. The pump 18 provided a recirculation rate of about 225 percent per hour based on the volume of reactor 12. The feed mixture was fed at a rate of about 550 grams per hour. The heat ex¬ changer raised the temperature of the stream being processed to about 246°C and the polymer stream was discharged into the devolatilizer 24 as a strand and the pressure within the devolatilizer was about 23 mm of mercury absolute. In each polymerization, it was attempted to obtain a rubber particle size

as determined by phase contrast microscopy of betwee about 2 and 5 microns and a rubber level of about 10 percent. The polymer was cooled, pelletized and sub¬ sequently molded into test specimens. The weight average molecular weight of the polymers was determin by gel permeation chromatography. Particle size was determined by phase contrast microscopy. The environ mental stress crack resistance was determined by coat a molded specimen with a 1 to 1 by weight mixture of cottonseed oil and oleic acid thickened with about 20 weight percent fumed silica based on the weight of oi plus acid. The test specimens were stressed to 1,000 pounds per square inch and the approximate time of breaking recorded. The results are set forth in the Table I.

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TABLE I

Particle Solubility ESCR*

Sample M.w Size Diluent ² Parameter @ 1000 PSI

Set A: 1. 200,000 4.9 μ Ethyl benzene 8.8 20,000 sec

2. 220,000 3.8 μ n-Octane 7.55 80,000 sec 3. 204,000 2.4 μ Isopar E 7.1 60,000 sec 4. (1) 203,000 1.9 μ Isopar C 7.1 40,000 sec Set B: 5. 284,000 2.0 μ Ethyl benzene 8.8 50,000 sec 6. 293,000 1.7 μ VM&P ,,. 7.3 90,000 sec

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* ESCR = Environmental Stress Crack Resistance (1) ESCR improvement of sample no. 4 is not maximized due to small gel particle size compared to sample no. 1. t )

¹ ' ESCR improvement (by fracture time) is from 2 to 4 times depending on linear aliphatic solvent compared to ethyl benzene

(3) Boiling range 118°C to 139°C, 10% aromatic content, Western Eaton Solvents.

Footnote following Table I: Isopar-C is an isoparaf finic hydrocarbon fraction with a narrow boiling ran of about 97° to 105°C; Aromatics, Vol. % 0.02; Satu¬ rates, Wt. % 2,3-dimethylpentane 3.5; 3-methylhexane 0.5; 2,2,4-trimethylpentane 84.4; 2,2,3-trimethylpen tane 2.2; 2 ,3,4-trimethylpentane 1.6; 2,3,4-trimethy pentane 1.6; 2,3,3-trimethylpentane 1.0; 2,2,3-tri- methylbutane 2.3; methylcyclopentane 0.1; 2-methyl- hexane 0.6; 2-methylheptane 2.2.; 4-methylheptane 1. total sulfur 1 pp ; peroxides 0 ppm; chlorides 1 pp Isopar-E is an isoparaffinic fraction having a boili range of about 115° to 142°C.

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In a manner similar to the foregoing example, other resins of improved environmental stress crack resistance may be prepared employing principally aliphatic solvents boiling at a tem- perature from about 90°C to about 260°C.

As is apparent from the foregoing speci¬ fication, the present invention is susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modi¬ fications which may differ particularly from those that have been described in the preceding speci¬ fication and description. For this reason, it is to be fully understood that all of the foregoing is intended to be merely illustrative and is not to be construed or interpreted as being restrictive or otherwise limiting of the present invention, excepting as it is set forth and defined in the hereto-appended claims.