Conversion of polyester into heat-resistant polyamide by reacting with aromatic diamine compound II. Semibatch reaction by nitrogen gas sweeping process

The conversion of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) into heat-resistant polyamide was carried out in the solid state polycondensation by applying a nitrogen gas sweeping process. The reaction product obtained by the catalyzed and uncatalyzed batch reaction with the specified reaction condition was used as the starting material in the semibatch reaction process. Nitrogen gas was introduced into the reactor to remove a volatile reaction byproduct from the reaction mixture. Effect of the semibatch reaction variables such as temperature, time, and nitrogen gas sweeping rate on the extent of reaction and the heat-resistant property of polyamide obtained was investigated. A comparison of the extent of reaction in the semibatch reaction process was made between the catalyzed starting material and the uncatalyzed one. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 2223–2232, 2004