Patent 7622061 was granted and assigned to Honeywell UOP on November, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The present invention is a process and apparatus for conserving loss of heat while forming and crystallizing polymer particles in a liquid. The cooling liquid quenches the polymer during particle molding to facilitate shaping. The cooling liquid cools the polymer particles not below a temperature that allows adequate crystallization to occur. Cooling liquid is quickly switched with a warming liquid, so the temperature of the polymer is in the crystallization range and the heat of crystallization self-heats the polymer to a higher temperature.