Thermal enhancement of the purification process for interfacial polycarbonate and copolymer polycarbonates

1. A process of purifying a polycarbonate comprising:

polymerizing a dihydroxy compound and a carbonate source via an interfacial reaction in the presence of a catalyst to form a product mixture comprising an aqueous phase and an organic phase, wherein the organic phase comprises the polycarbonate, the catalyst, ions, and a solvent having a boiling point T b at atmospheric pressure;

heating the product mixture to a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b to form a heated product mixture;

separating the aqueous phase and the organic phase of the heated product mixture at a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b to form a separated organic phase and a separated aqueous phase;

extracting the catalyst from the separated organic phase; and

extracting the ions from the separated organic phase to form a purified polycarbonate;

wherein if a centrifuge is used in the extracting of the catalyst, the extracting of the ions, or both, the process further comprises cooling a stream entering the centrifuge to a temperature less than the boiling point T b .

2. A process of purifying polycarbonate comprising:

polymerizing a dihydroxy compound and a carbonate source via an interfacial reaction in the presence of a catalyst to provide a product mixture comprising an aqueous phase and an organic phase, wherein the organic phase comprises the polycarbonate, the catalyst, ions, and a solvent having a boiling point T b at atmospheric pressure;

separating the aqueous phase and the organic phase via a centrifuge to form a separated organic phase and a separated aqueous phase;

heating the separated organic phase to a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b to form a heated separated organic phase;

extracting the catalyst from the heated separated organic phase; and

extracting the ions from the heated separated organic phase to form a purified polycarbonate;

wherein

at least one of the extracting the catalyst and the extracting the ions occurs by other than a centrifuge at a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b , and

if the extracting the catalyst or the extracting the ions occurs with a centrifuge, then

the heating occurs after the extracting the catalyst or the extracting the ions occurs with the centrifuge, or

the process further comprises cooling a stream entering the centrifuge to a temperature of less than the boiling point T b .

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the separating occurs via a separating coalescer, a decanter, or a combination comprising one or more of the foregoing.

4. The process of claim 3 , wherein the separating occurs via a decanter.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the extracting of the catalyst occurs before the extracting of the ions.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the extracting of the catalyst and the extracting of the ions occur at the same time.

7. A process of purifying polycarbonate comprising:

polymerizing a dihydroxy compound and a carbonate source via an interfacial reaction in the presence of a catalyst to form a product mixture comprising an aqueous phase and an organic phase, wherein the organic phase comprises the polycarbonate, the catalyst, ions, and a solvent having a boiling point T b at atmospheric pressure;

heating the product mixture to a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b to provide a heated product mixture;

separating the aqueous phase and the organic phase of the heated product mixture at a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b to form a separated organic phase and a separated aqueous phase, wherein the separating is by one or both of a separating coalesce and a decanter;

extracting the catalyst from the separated organic phase in a first extraction column to form a reduced catalyst organic stream; and

extracting the ions from the reduced catalyst organic stream by combining the reduced catalyst organic stream with an aqueous stream in a decanter to form a purified polycarbonate;

wherein the separated organic phase, the reduced catalyst organic stream, the aqueous stream, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing are at a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b during the extracting the catalyst and the extracting the ions.

8. The process of claim 7 ,

wherein the separating is by a decanter; and

wherein the extracting the ions from the reduced catalyst organic stream by combining the reduced catalyst stream with the aqueous is in a coalescing decanter to form the purified polycarbonate.

9. The process of claim 7 , wherein the separated organic phase, and the reduced catalyst organic stream, and the aqueous stream, are at a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b .

10. The process of claim 7 , further comprising treating the reduced catalyst organic stream in a coalescer before extracting the ions.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein both the extracting the catalyst and the extracting the ions are by other than a centrifuge.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the separating, the extracting the catalyst, and the extracting the ions occur at a temperature greater than or equal to the boiling point T b .

13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the solvent comprises methylene chloride.

14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the temperature is greater than or equal to T b +5° C.

15. The process of claim 1 , wherein the temperature is greater than or equal to T b +20° C.

16. The process of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the extracting the catalyst and the extracting the ions occurs via an extraction column, a separating coalescer, a decanter, or a combination comprising one or more of the foregoing.

17. The process of claim 1 , wherein the polycarbonate comprises a bisphenol A homopolymer, a copolycarbonate comprising bisphenol A carbonate units and bulky bisphenol carbonate units derived from a bisphenol having at least 12 carbon atoms, or a polyestercarbonate comprising bisphenol A carbonate units and terephthalate-isophthalate acid-bisphenol A ester units.

18. The process of claim 17 , wherein the polycarbonate comprises a copolycarbonate comprising bisphenol A carbonate units and 2-phenyl-3,3′-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) phthalimidine carbonate units, a copolycarbonate comprising bisphenol A carbonate units and 1,1-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)cyclohexane carbonate units, or a copolycarbonate comprising bisphenol A carbonate units and isophorone bisphenol carbonate units.

19. The process of claim 7 , wherein the temperature is greater than or equal to T b +5° C.

20. The process of claim 7 , wherein the temperature is greater than or equal to T b +20° C.