Patent ID: 8729321

Claim:
A process for producing a C 6 F 13 I fluoroalkyl iodide telomer, comprising: telomerizing tetrafluoroethylene (CF 2 CF 2 ) taxogen with a fluoroalkyl iodide telogen R f I selected from the group consisting of C 2 F 5 I, C 4 F 9 I, and mixtures thereof, as a liquid phase mixture, in which the molar ratio of R f I/TFE in the liquid phase mixture is from 20 to 200, by supplying a homogeneous liquid mixture of the telogen and the taxogen into the lower portion of a vertically aligned tubular reactor; moving the reaction mixture from the lower portion of the reactor towards the upper portion of the reactor in the presence of a peroxide or azo radical initiator over a retention time of at least 10 minutes while the reaction system in the reactor is kept in the liquid phase state under conditions such that no gas-liquid separation takes place and the taxogen supplied to the reactor is substantially consumed by the reaction in the reactor; and withdrawing the reaction product from the upper portion of the reactor; where the internal temperature of the tubular reactor is kept at a temperature of 40 to 100° C., no more than 0.05% TFE taxogen remains in the reaction product withdrawn from the upper portion of the reactor, the concentration of the taxogen dissolved in the liquid telogen in said homogeneous liquid mixture does not exceed the saturated concentration in the liquid telogen, and the ratio of C 8 F 17 I/C 6 F 13 I in the reaction product at the outlet of the tubular reactor is at most 10%.