Patent ID: 7740938

Claim:
A process for preparing spherical polyamide particles having a mean diameter of less than 1mm, comprising the following steps: a) preparing a dispersion of a first liquid which comprises a solution of polyamide monomers in a solvent, in a second inert liquid thereby forming a reaction medium, the reaction medium comprising two phases, a continuous phase formed by the second liquid, and a dispersed phase formed by the first liquid, the first and second liquids are essentially immiscible, wherein the ratio between the volume of the first liquid and the volume of the second liquid is greater than or equal to 0.5; b) polymerizing the monomers by polycondensation and/or polyaddition by heating the reaction medium and maintaining the heating at a temperature below the melting point of the polyamide with the desired degree of polymerization; c) optionally, decompressing the reaction medium to atmospheric pressure; d) optionally, gradually cooling the reaction medium; and e) recovering the spherical polyamide particles therefrom.