COUPLED SPINNING AND DEWATERING PROCESS

摘要

A continuous process for the manufacture of a fibrous material from a polyolefin. The process comprises feeding a solution of polyolefin dissolved in an organic solvent at elevated temperature and pressure to a spinneret. The exit of the spinneret is the inlet to an elongated vertical tube and is located in an upper section of an elongated vertical vessel. The tube extends for a major portion of the length of the vessel. Solvent is removed from an upper section of the vessel and water is sprayed both down the tube and into the vessel. The strands thus formed are shredded in a self-cleaning self-feeding shredder located at the bottom of the vessel. The shredded fibres and water are conveyed to a second vessel having a baffle located between the inlet and outlet thereof such that the shredded fibrous material passes from the inlet, over the baffle and to the outlet of the second vessel, the upper lip of the baffle being so that the level of water in the second vessel is in substantially the same horizontal plane as the shredder. An inert gas e.g. steam, is fed to the second vessel to effect removal of volatile matter. The shredded fibres and liquid passing from the second vessel are fed to a dewatering device. The process may be used to manufacture fibrous polyolefin products e.g. in the form of apulp. The preferred polyolefin is a high molecular Weight homopolymer of ethylene or copolymer of ethylene and at least one C4-C10 hydrocarbon alpha-olefin.