Conservation of ethylene feedstock for the commodity polymer market through the radiation induced production of polyketones and polysulfones

Because of the increase in cost of foreign oil, ethylene costs have increased markedly within the last several years. There is presently a sizable incentive to reduce raw material cost for basic polymer manufacture. The polyketones, synthesized from ethylene and CO, and the polysulfones, synthesized from ethylene and SO2, utilizing high energy radiation, offers one such possibility. The process has the additional advantage in that CO and SO2 usually considered as wastes and pollutants from fossil fuel burning power plants are converted to useful materials. The polyketones and polysulfones formed from the gas phase below 1000C have been found to be high molecular weight polymers which, depending on composition either melt with difficulty, or decompose at temperatures of 2500C or higher. The higher temperature (greater than 1000C) catalyst-induced reaction produces low molecular weight waxes. Design calculations indicate that for a G value of 10,000 and 50 percent energy deposition efficiency, it would take 331 M Ci of 60Co to conserve 2 billion pounds of ethylene or 25 percent of the overall U.S. market by substituting CO and SO2. This savings amounts to as much as $280 million at today's market price. Electron machine radiation with a 25 percent energy deposition efficiency requires a total beam power of 9800 KW. The use of machine radiation is preferred because of safety, availability, and initial investment. The challenge presented by the development of the described substituted polymer systems, depends on (1) the determination of the uniqueness of the radiation process, and confirming the yields with electron machine radiation, (2) the processability and market acceptability of the substituted polymers, and (3) the ability to design an efficient radiation process reactor