Process of making cationic starch and resulting product

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR MAKING CATIONIC ETHERIFIED STARCH COMPRISING SUSPENDING POWDERED, MOIST STARCH BY MEANS OF AGITATION IN AN INERT, WATER-IMMISCIBLE FLUID MEDIUM AS THE SOLE SUSPENDING MEDIUM, SAID INERT, WATER-IMMISCIBLE FLUID MEDIUM CONSISTING OF A MEMBER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS AND HALOHYDROCARBONS HAVING A BOILING POINT OF 40 TO 100*C., THE AMOUNT OF THE STARCH IN THE FLUID MEDIUM BEING SUCH AS TO PROVIDE AN EASILY AGITATED SLURRY, ADDING TO SAID SLURRY DURING AGITATION AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF AT LEAST 25% CAUSTIC ALKALI IN AN AMOUNT TO PROVIDE 4 TO 7% CAUSTIC ON A DRY BASIS BASED ON THE POWDERED STARCH, ADDING TO SAID SLURRY DURING THE AGITATION A CATIONIC ETHERIFYING AGENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HALO TERTIARY AMINES AND THEIR HYDROHALIDES, EPOXY TERTIARY AMINE HALIDES, HALO QUATERNARY AMMONIUM HALIDES AND EPOXY QUATERNARY AMMONIUM HYDROHAALIDES, INF THE FORM OF A CONCENTRATED AQUEOUS SOLUTTION, THE AMOUNT OF THE ABOVE-MENTIONED ETHERIFYING AGENT BEING SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE A CALCULATED DS OF FROM 0.01 TO 0.1, CONTINUING THE AGITATION AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM 30 TO 80*C. FOR FROM 1 MINUTE TO 1 HOUR, DISCONTINUING THE AGITATION, SEPARATING THE CATIONIC ETHERIFIED POWDERED STARCH FROM THE FLUID MEDIUM, AND DRYING THE PRODUCT, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF WATER INCLUDING THAT INITALLY PRESENT IN THE POWDERED STARCH AND THAT ADDED WITH THE CAUSTIC AND ETHERIFYING AGENT BEING NOT MOR THAN THE POWDERED STARCH WILL TAKE UP AND HOLD WHILE STILL REMAINING IN ITS ORIGINAL DISCRETE GRANULAR FORM.