Patent ID: 7736565

Claim:
A process for producing a polyphenylene ether (herein after referred to as “PPE”) resin composition containing PPE powder using an extruder comprising: a PPE powder supplying pipe; a vent pipe; an extruder supply hopper comprising having opposing upper and lower parts, an opening on the upper part, and a gear-box side wall with a wall angle of 60° to 85°; an extruder unit; and at an upper part of the PPE powder supplying pipe, an equipment comprising a PPE powder stock hopper, a conveying part, and a loss-in-weight feeder for PPE powder, connected in this order from the upside, wherein the PPE powder supplying pipe has a terminal orifice located in the opening of the extruder supply hopper, which is on the upper part thereof, and is disposed at a gear box-side portion of the extruder supply hopper; and wherein the vent pipe has a terminal orifice located in the opening of the extruder supply hopper, which is on the upper part thereof, and is disposed at a die-side portion, relative to the PPE powder supplying pipe, of the extruder supply hopper, the process comprising: allowing the PPE powder to pass through the PPE stock hopper, the conveying part, the PPE powder loss-in-weight feeder and the PPE powder supplying pipe in this order from upside to downside and supplying the PPE powder to the gear box-side wall of the extruder supply hopper, the wall angle being 60 to 85°; removing a gas accompanying the PPE powder in an effective amount through the vent pipe; and melt-kneading the PPE powder supplied to the extruder unit from the extruder supply hopper at a kneading zone where L is 2D or more and then removing a gas in an effective amount from a vent port disposed at a die side of the kneading zone, wherein the PPE powder stock hopper is regulated to have an oxygen concentration of less than 15% by weight and the extruder supply hopper is regulated to have an oxygen concentration of less than 6% by weight.