Patent ID: 7994373

Claim:
A process of producing high assay reaction-derived decabromodiphenylethane product, which process comprises feeding (i) diphenylethane or (ii) partially brominated diphenylethane having an average bromine number less than about two, or (iii) both of (i) and (ii), into a reaction mixture below a surface of a liquid phase of the reaction mixture, which reaction mixture is: a) formed from components comprised of excess liquid bromine and aluminum-based Lewis acid bromination catalyst, and into which at least (i), (ii), or (iii) is fed, and b) maintained at one, or at more than one, elevated reaction temperature in the range of about 45° C. up to about 90° C., and at least when elevated pressure is needed in order to keep a liquid state in the reaction mixture at the temperature(s) used, the reaction mixture is at elevated pressure sufficient to keep a liquid state in the reaction mixture at the temperature(s) used, so that ar-bromination occurs; and c) wherein the feeding is conducted at a rate slow enough to form high assay reaction-derived decabromodiphenylethane product, such that at a one liter reaction scale and at a reaction temperature of 60° C., each feed has a feed rate of no more than about 0.5 grams per minute; and d) wherein the feeding is in the form of two or more individual spaced-apart feeds into the liquid phase of the reaction mixture from jets or orifices disposed in one or more feeding devices or dip tubes such that each of the resulting two or more individual flows of (i) diphenylethane or (ii) partially brominated diphenylethane having an average bromine number less than about two, or (iii) both of (i) and (ii) emanating or issuing from these jets or orifices into the reaction mixture comes into contact with excess bromine and aluminum-based catalyst in a portion of the overall reaction mixture which is sufficiently separate or isolated from the other individual flow or flows of diphenylethane and/or partially brominated diphenylethane having an average bromine number less than about two from the one or more other jets or orifices so that two or more individual spaced-apart localized reaction zones are created and maintained within the liquid phase of the reaction mixture.