Patent ID: 6090333
Filing Date: 2000-07-18
Classification: B01J

Abstract:
A process for the homogeneous chemical modification of a solid plastic material containing alkyl groups by incorporating polar groups into the plastic material, which process comprises the steps of:(a) providing a starting material comprising a solid plastic material containing alkyl groups in a reaction vessel;(b) heating the starting material to a temperature greater than the melting point of the plastic material to form a melt;(c) mixing or stirring the melt while subjecting the melt to a plasma treatment carried out at a constant frequency in the range of from 10 kHz to 10 GHz, wherein said plasma treatment is carried out in a reaction zone under treating conditions effective to incorporate polar groups into the melt by successively feeding at least one inert gas plasma, followed by at least one reaction gas plasma or by a reaction gas plasma mixture or by a mixture of at least one inert gas and at least one reaction gas; and(d) removing the plasma-treated melt from the reaction vessel, and then cooling the melt to produce a solid plastic material containing a homogeneous distribution of alkyl groups.