Patent ID: 8883961

Claim:
A process for producing water-absorbing polymer particles, comprising polymerizing a monomer solution or suspension, comprising a) at least one ethylenically unsaturated monomer which bears an acid group and may be at least partly neutralized, b) at least one crosslinker, c) at least one initiator, d) optionally one or more ethylenically unsaturated monomer copolymerizable with the monomer mentioned under a) and e) optionally one or more water-soluble polymer, drying, grinding, and classifying the resulting polymer gel, applying of at least one postcrosslinker onto the water-absorbing polymer particles, thermal postcrosslinking, and cooling, wherein the application of the postcrosslinker is performed in a mixer with moving mixing tools, the thermal postcrosslinking is performed in a contact dryer, the cooling is performed in contact cooler, and the outer surfaces of the contact dryer are external heated.