Patent ID: 8247597
Filing Date: 2012-08-21
Classification: C07C

Abstract:
1. A method of continuously producing QAP comprising the steps of: continuously feeding reactants into a CSTR, the reactants comprising TAS, water, and an alkylating agent; maintaining conditions in the CSTR such that the pressure in the CSTR remains at 30-100 psi and also such that two distinct liquid phases form, a dense phase comprising more than 80% QAP and less than 20% water, and a light phase, present at greater than about 5 wt.% of the reaction mixture, comprising TAS, and alkylating agent, the dense phase being positioned below the light phase; not allowing the water content of the CSTR to exceed 16% of the reactants continuously added to the CSTR; and separating TAS from QAP within the CSTR while the TAS is reacting with the alkylating agent by continuously removing dense phase liquid from the CSTR, wherein the reactants are fed into the reactor from above the light phase, wherein the reactants form the QAP in the light phase, wherein the produced QAP migrates down into the dense phase, wherein at least a portion of the dense phase undergoes lower shear forces than the shear forces present in the light phase, and wherein the removed dense phase comprises more ppm of QAP than ppm of impurities, said impurities comprising unquaternized amines and acrylic acid, wherein the produced QAP has less than 300 ppm of TAS within it.