Process for preparing esters of epoxidized copolymer drying oils, and resulting products

Claim 1

THE PROCESS WHICH CONSISTS ESSENTIALLY OF REACTING MONOCARBOXYLIC HYDROCARBYL ACID OF 7-20 CARBONS WITH EPOXIDIZED HYDROCARBON COPOLYMER DRYING OIL WHICH HAS BEEN PREPARED BY SODIUM-POLYMERIZATION OF 60-90% BY WEIGHT OF 4-6 CARBON CONJUGATED DIOLEFIN BALANCE MONOCYCLIC MONOMERIC VINYL AROMATIC HYDROCARBON SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF STYRENE, THE METHYL RINGALKYLATED HOMOLOGUES THEREOF AND THE ETHYL RING-ALKYLATED HOMOLOGUES THEREOF, AND WHICH HAS BEEN EPOXIDIZED SUBSEQUENT TO POLYMERIZATION TO AN OXIRANE OXYGEN CONTENT OF AT LEAST 0.25% BY WEIGHT, SAID REACTION BETWEEN SAID MONOCARBOXYLIC ACID AND EPOXIDIZED OIL BEING EFFECTED UNDER ESTERIFYING CONDITIONS (A) WITH SUFFICIENT MONOCARBOXYLIC ACID TO PROVIDE BETWEEN ABOUT ON AND TWO MOLS OF CARBOXYLIC ACID PER MOL OF OXIRANE OXYGEN IN SAID EPOXIDIZED OIL, AND (B) UNTIL AN ACID NUMBER BELOW ABOUT 40 HAS BEEN SECURED IN THE REACTION MASS, THEREBY TO PRODUCE ESTER LINKAGES JOINING RADICALS OF SAID MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS WITH VICINAL CARBON ATOMS OF ORIGINAL EPOXY GROUPS IN SAID EPOXIDIZED DRYING OIL, SAID MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF STRAIGHT CHAIN ALIPHATIC ACIDS OF 8-20 CARBONS, UNSUBSTITUTED AROMATIC ACIDS CONTAINING AT LEAST 7 CARBONS, LOWER MOLECULAR WEIGHT ALKYL SUBSTITUTED DERIVATIVES OF SAID AROMATIC ACIDS, ROSIN ACIDS, AND MIXTURES THEREOF.