Patent ID: 7910689

Claim:
A method for separating polymer from a slurry, said slurry comprising said polymer and unreacted carrier fluid, comprising: (a) heating a slurry to increase the temperature of said slurry to a temperature sufficient to vaporize at least a portion of the unreacted carrier fluid; (b) removing a portion of said unreacted carrier fluid from said slurry in a first extraction to obtain a slurry enriched in polymer, said first extraction occurring at a first pressure of at least 1.52 MPa; (c) heating said enriched slurry to increase the temperature of said enriched slurry to a temperature sufficient to vaporize at least a portion of the unreacted carrier fluid; and (d) removing an additional portion of said unreacted carrier fluid from said enriched slurry in a second extraction to obtain a further enriched slurry, said second extraction occurring at a second pressure of less than 0.1 MPa.