Patent ID: 7087693

Claim:
Process comprising the steps of: producing an aqueous mixture comprising a diacyl peroxide of formula (I) wherein R 1 –R 4 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, and saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched alkyl, alkaryl, and aralkyl moieties optionally substituted with one or more halogen atoms, provided that if R 1 and/or R 2 are hydrogen, then R 3 and/or R 4 are not hydrogen and, vice-versa, that if R 3 and/or R 4 are hydrogen, then R 1 and/or R 2 are not hydrogen, in which process R 1 —C—R 2 and/or R 3 —C—R 4 can be part of a ring structure that can be saturated or unsaturated and substituted with one or more independently chosen groups R 1 , or one of R 1 —C(R 2 )H and R 3 —C(R 4 )H represents an, optionally substituted, aromatic ring structure, with the further proviso that diacyl peroxides of formula (I) wherein R 2 is halogen and R 4 is hydrogen, and both R 1 and R 3 are long chain alkyl groups having about 10 to about 16 carbon atoms, are excluded, by reacting, in a so-called peroxidation step, one or more acid halides of formula wherein X is halide, preferably chloride or bromide, most preferably chloride, with i) MOOH/M 2 O 2 , wherein M is any metal or ammonium-containing group that will react with H 2 O 2 to form MOOH/M 2 O 2 without decomposing one or more of the peroxides present in the process, preferably M is selected from the group consisting of ammonium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and lithium, and optionally ii) one or more peracids of formula (III) or the M salts thereof, in an aqueous phase, in which process the acid halide, or mixture of acid halides, is essentially only brought into contact with water containing MOOH/M 2 O 2 and/or one or more peracids or peracid salts, preferably M 2 O 2 or the M salt of the peracid, optionally introducing one or more solvents for the acid halide in any part of the process, optionally introducing one or more salts in any part of the process, optionally introducing one or more colloids and/or surfactants, before, during, or after the peroxidation step, optionally purifying the aqueous mixture in one or more purification steps, optionally homogenizing the aqueous mixture in one or more homogenization steps, transferring the product from the previous steps that comprises the diacyl peroxide of formula (I) to a polymerization reactor, and thermally decomposing said diacyl peroxide, to generate organic free radicals, in the presence of one or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers, to polymerize said monomers in said polymerization reactor.