The invention relates to a cyclical method for producing a nitrogen fraction, the purity of which is greater than or equal to 95 mol %, and a hydrocarbon-enriched fraction from a filler containing nitrogen and a hydrocarbon, said method using a specific class of porous hybrid solids as an adsorbent in a pressure-swing adsorption (PSA) process. The invention also relates to equipment for implementing said method.

The present invention relates to a process for producing water-absorbing polymer particles having an improved profile of properties, comprising thermal surface postcrosslinking in the presence of a salt of a polyvalent metal cation and a complexing anion and subsequent aftertreatment, the aftertreatment comprising coating with a salt of a polyvalent metal cation and a non-complexing anion, and remoisturization with further drying.

The present invention is directed to a process for the production of graft copolymer compositions which are based on acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) graft copolymers. The graft copolymers compositions are obtained by emulsion polymerization and afterwards precipitation, dewatering, drying and optionally cooling of the dried graft copolymer powder, wherein the graft copolymer B powder obtained is mixed with an aeration gas, preferably air and/or nitrogen, wherein the bulk density of the graft copolymer B powder is equal or less than 98.5% of the bulk density of the non-aerated graft copolymer B, during the whole aeration step. The graft copolymer powders show higher powder flowability and less tendency of caking during storage, for example in a silo.

The present invention relates to water and solvent-free polymers, in particular water and solvent-free synthetic rubber products like non-halogenated and halogenated butyl rubber products as well as a process for the production thereof. The invention further relates to a device suitable to accomplish said process.

Process for producing aqueous compositions of water-soluble polymers from aqueous polymer gels by comminuting and mixing the aqueous polymer gel with an aqueous liquid by means of a comminution unit comprising a flow-chamber, a sheet-like molding tool and rotating cutting means, wherein a stream of an aqueous liquid flows through the flow chamber, aqueous polymer gel is pressed through the sheet-like molding tool, cutting the thus formed gel strands into slices, dispersing them in the aqueous liquid and homogenizing the thus obtained mixture.

The present invention relates to vapour-solids separations, and in particular provides a process for the separation of a stream comprising vapour and a stream comprising solids from a stream comprising vapour and solids using a separation vessel, said separation vessel having: a. a first inlet for the stream to be separated, b. a liquid outlet, c. a vapour outlet, d. a demister located on the vapour outlet, and e. a second inlet by which liquid can be passed to the demister said process comprising (i) passing the stream comprising vapour and solids through the first inlet and in to the separation vessel, (ii) recovering from the vapour outlet a vapour stream which comprises vapour from the stream comprising vapour and solids and which vapour stream has passed through the demister in the separation vessel, (iii) passing to the separation vessel, via the second inlet, a first liquid stream which contacts the vapour stream in the demister, and (iv) recovering from the liquid outlet a second liquid stream which comprising the solids from the stream comprising vapour and solids, and liquid from the first liquid stream.

The invention provides a process to form a composition comprising at least one ethylene-based polymer and at least one oil, said process comprising the following: polymerizing a mixture comprising ethylene, and optionally one or more comonomers, in a reactor system, comprising at least one reactor and at least one mixer, located downstream from the reactor, to form the ethylene-based polymer; and wherein the oil is added to the ethylene-based polymer upstream of the mixer. The invention also provides a reactor system for a process to form a composition comprising at least one ethylene-based polymer and at least one oil, said reactor system comprising at least one reactor, at least one mixer, and an oil feed into the ethylene-based polymer, and wherein the oil feed is located after the reactor and before the mixer.

A photovoltaic module comprising: (a) a photovoltaic laminate including: two or more electrically conducting dements extending through the photovoltaic laminate so that power is moved from one photovoltaic module towards another photovoltaic module or towards an inverter; and (b) one or more connectors connected to each of the two or more electrically conducting elements by a connection joint, each of the one or more connectors include: two or more opposing terminals that each are connected to and extend from one of the two or more electrically conducing elements; wherein a dielectric space is located between the two or more opposing terminals and the dielectric space blocks material used to form a connection joint from passing from a first terminal to a second terminal, the material from the connection joint cools before the material passes from one terminal to a second terminal, the material fails to travel from the first terminal to the second terminal, or a combination thereof.

An apparatus (1) and method for drying polymer powders is described. The apparatus has an inlet (2) and an outlet (3) for the polymer powder, heat registers (5) installed in the interior space (4) and lines (7) for a heated gas (6a) for drying the polymer powder. The lines open into the interior space (4) and are connected to heat exchangers (9) for heating gas (6). The heat exchangers (9) are connected to a plant for the preparation of 1,2-dichloroethane (15) and/or for the preparation of vinyl chloride from 1,2-dichloroethane so that thermal energy from the plant can be utilized for heating the gas (6). The method comprises treatment of a polymer powder with a heated gas (6a) in the drying apparatus (1).

The present invention relates to a process for producing water-absorbent polymer particles by polymerizing droplets of a monomer solution comprising less than 0.3% by weight of persulfate and at least 0.05% by weight of azo initiator and thermal aftertreatment of the formed polymer particles at less than 100° C. in a fluidized bed for 60 to 300 minutes.