CONTINUOUS SOLID-STATE POLYMERIZATION PROCESS AND REACTOR COLUMN FOR USE THEREIN

1 . A continuous solid-state polymerization process for preparing a polyamide derived from diamine and dicarboxylic acid, the process comprising steps of

feeding solid diammonium dicarboxylate salt into a reactor column comprising successive multifunctional zones comprising heating sections and gas-outlet sections, and a residence zone comprising at least one gas-inlet section;

transporting the salt, or where applicable a polymerizing mixture or a polyamide resulting thereof, as a moving packed bed through the successive multifunctional zones, while

heating the salt, respectively the polymerizing mixture and polyamide, in the heating sections, thereby polycondensing the salt to form a polymerizing mixture, respectively further polycondensing the polymerizing mixture to form a polyamide, and optionally further polycondensing the polyamide to form a polyamide with higher molecular weight, and producing water vapor, and

removing the water vapor via gas-outlet sections; and

further transporting the polyamide as a moving packed bed through the residence zone, while

introducing a gaseous diamine into the residence zone via a first gas-inlet section inside the residence zone;

and optionally introducing an inert gas into the reactor via a second gas-inlet section below the first gas-inlet section;

discharging the resulting polyamide from the reactor column;

wherein the salt, the polymerizing mixture and polyamide are kept in the solid-state and wherein the heating sections comprise static heat exchangers.

2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the solid diammonium dicarboxylate salt is fed into the reactor column via a charging section and the resulting polyamide is discharged from the reactor column via a discharge section, and wherein a purge of inert gas is fed into the charging section, or into the discharge section, or into both.

3 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the process is carried out at a gas pressure in the range of −0.1 to +0.5 BarG.

4 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the static heat exchangers are heated to a temperature T HE being at least 15° C. below, below the lowest of the melting temperature of the salt (Tm-salt), the melting temperature of the reaction mixture (Tm-mixture), and the melting temperature of the polyamide (Tm-polyamide), wherein the melting temperature (Tm) is measured by the DSC method according to ISO-11357-3.2, 2009, in a nitrogen atmosphere with a heating rate of 20° C./min, in the first heating cycle.

5 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the reactor column comprises at least 3 successive multifunctional zones comprising heating sections and gas-outlet sections, preferably at least 4 of these multifunctional zones.

6 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the solid diammonium dicarboxylate salt fed into a reactor column is a particulate material having a particle size distribution with a median particle size (d50) in the range of 0.05-5 mm, preferably 0.1-3 mm, more preferably 0.2-1 mm.

7 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the solid diammonium dicarboxylate salt comprises an aliphatic diamine and an aromatic dicarboxylic acid, and wherein the polyamide prepared by the process is a semi-crystalline semi-aromatic polyamide having a melting temperature, measured by the DSC method according to ISO-11357-3.2, 2009, in a nitrogen atmosphere with heating and cooling rate of 20° C./min, of at least 280° C.

8 . Process according to claim 1 , wherein the polyamide discharged from the reactor column has a viscosity number of at least 20 ml/g, preferably at least 50 ml/g, measured in 96% sulphuric acid (0.005 g/ml) at 25° C. by the method according to ISO 307, fourth edition; or wherein the polyamide has a conversion of carboxylic acid groups into amide groups of at least 90%, preferably at least 95%, more preferably at least 98%, relative to the carboxylic acid groups in the solid diammonium dicarboxylate salt.

9 . A reactor column for a continuous solid-state polycondensation process, the reactor column comprising at least three successive multifunctional zones and a downstream residence zone,

each of the multifunctional zones comprising a heating section comprising static heat exchangers and a gas-outlet section comprising gas-outlet devices, and

the residence zone comprising at least one gas-inlet section comprising gas-inlet devices.

10 . The reactor column according to claim 9 , wherein the static heat exchangers are selected from vertically or essentially vertically oriented tubular heat exchangers and vertically or essentially vertically oriented plate heat exchangers.

11 . The column according to claim 9 , wherein the heating sections comprise one or more arrays of plate heat exchange elements regularly spaced from one another and distributed uniformly over a cross-section of the heating section.

12 . The reactor column according to claim 9 , wherein gas-outlet sections positioned between two heating sections comprise two arrays of gas-outlet devices substantially evenly spread over a cross-section of the gas-outlet section.

13 . Installation comprising a reactor column according to claim 9 .

14 . Use of the installation according to claim 13 , in a polycondensation process, more particular in a continuous solid-state polymerization process for preparing a polyamide derived from diamine and dicarboxylic acid.