METHOD FOR PRODUCING WATER-ABSORBENT RESIN

• US 20170267793A1
• Filed: 12/03/2015
• Published: 09/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nippon Shokubai Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nippon Shokubai Company Limited
• Inventors: IMURA, Motohiro, FUJINO, Shin-ichi, WAKABAYASHI, Ryota, NOGI, Kozo, HONDA, Koji, KATADA, Yoshiki, KADONAGA, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 10,640,591 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/1812 Tubular reactors
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/24 Stationary reactors without moving elements inside
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 120/06 Acrylic acid; Methacrylic acid; Metal salts or ammonium salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 2/14 Organic medium
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 20/06 Acrylic acid; Methacrylic acid; Metal salts or ammonium salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 220/06 Acrylic acid; Methacrylic acid; Metal salts or ammonium salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 222/102 of dialcohols, e.g. ethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate or 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 2810/20 leading to a crosslinking, either explicitly or inherently
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2333/02 Homopolymers or copolymers of acids; Metal or ammonium salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 3/245 Differential crosslinking of one polymer with one crosslinking type, e.g. surface crosslinking
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 33/02 Homopolymers or copolymers of acids; Metal or ammonium salts thereof

Abstract

[Object] To provide a method for stably producing a water-absorbent resin in powder form or particle form, which has excellent physical properties such as water absorption performance and the like, without any production trouble.

[Solution] A method for producing a water-absorbent resin includes mixing a monomer composition, which contains at least a monomer and a pyrolytic polymerization initiator, with an organic solvent, a temperature of the organic solvent is not lower than 70° C. at time of mixing, and when a mass per unit time of the monomer in the monomer composition to be mixed with the organic solvent is expressed as an amount per unit volume of the organic solvent, a lower limit is 0.01 g/ml/min, and an upper limit is 0.2 g/ml/min.

Claims

1. A method for producing a water-absorbent resin comprising mixing a monomer composition, which contains at least a monomer and a pyrolytic polymerization initiator, with an organic solvent,

wherein a temperature of the organic solvent is not lower than 70°

C. at time of mixing, and

wherein, when a mass per unit time of the monomer in the monomer composition that is mixed with the organic solvent per unit time is expressed as an amount per unit volume of the organic solvent, a lower limit is 0.01 g/ml/min and an upper limit is 0.2 g/ml/min.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monomer composition is mixed dropwise with the organic solvent, and a dripping time is within 180 seconds.

3. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the monomer composition is supplied continuously to mix with the organic solvent stored in a reaction portion of a reaction device, and a temperature of a reaction composition obtained after mixing is not lower than 70°

C., and

wherein a lower limit of a ratio that is a monomer flow rate/an organic solvent flow rate, which is expressed as a ratio of the monomer flow rate (a monomer composition flow rate (mass/time)×

monomer concentration (% by mass)) per the organic solvent flow rate in the reaction portion (volume/time), is 0.01 g/ml, and an upper limit is 0.2 g/ml.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein a space velocity (LHSV) of the reaction portion is 2 to 120 hr⁻

1.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a dispersing agent is not added to the organic solvent, or when the dispersing agent is added to the organic solvent, a concentration of the dispersing agent is not greater than 0.2% by mass.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monomer composition before mixed with the organic solvent is kept at a temperature that is lower than a 10-hour half-life temperature of the pyrolytic polymerization initiator contained in the monomer composition and that does not exceed 70°

C.

7. A water-absorbent resin in particle form obtained by the method according to claim 1.

11. The reaction device according to claim 8, which is used in the method for producing the water-absorbent resin according to claim 3.

8. A reaction device for a water-absorbent resin comprising a supply portion, a reaction portion and a discharge portion,

wherein the supply portion has at least one supply port for a monomer composition, and at least one supply port for an organic solvent composition, and

wherein the discharge portion has at least one or more discharge ports through which a reaction solvent and a hydrous gel in particle form are discharged.

9. The reaction device according to claim 8, wherein the supply portion is connected to the reaction portion, and the reaction portion is connected to the discharge portion.

10. The reaction device according to claim 8, wherein the reaction portion is a tubular reaction portion having a tubular structure, and a ratio of an inner diameter D (mm) and a length L (mm) of the reaction portion (L/D ratio) is from 2 to 100,000.

12. A hydrous gel production system comprising:

the reaction device according to claim 8;

a separation device;

a hydrous gel-containing matter transfer line connecting a discharge portion of the reaction device to the separation device;

a heat exchanger;

a residue transfer line connecting the separation device to the heat exchanger;

an organic solvent composition supply line connected to the residue transfer line;

a liquid-feeding pump connected on the residue transfer line in between the separation device and a portion to which the organic solvent composition supply line is connected;

a supply device;

an organic solvent composition transfer line connecting the heat exchanger to the supply device and/or the supply portion of the reaction device;

a mixing device;

a monomer composition transfer line connecting the mixing device to the supply device;

a monomer aqueous solution supply line connected to the mixing device; and

a polymerization initiator supply line connected to the mixing device.

13. The hydrous gel production system according to claim 12, which is used in the method for producing the water-absorbent resin according to claim 3.