CA1069648A - Preparation of low and medium density ethylene polymer in fluid bed reactor - Google Patents
Preparation of low and medium density ethylene polymer in fluid bed reactorInfo
- Publication number
- CA1069648A CA1069648A CA246,836A CA246836A CA1069648A CA 1069648 A CA1069648 A CA 1069648A CA 246836 A CA246836 A CA 246836A CA 1069648 A CA1069648 A CA 1069648A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- catalyst
- ethylene
- bed
- density
- chromium
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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Classifications
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
- C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
- C08F210/00—Copolymers of unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond
- C08F210/16—Copolymers of ethene with alpha-alkenes, e.g. EP rubbers
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
- C08L—COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS
- C08L23/00—Compositions of homopolymers or copolymers of unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
- C08L23/02—Compositions of homopolymers or copolymers of unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers not modified by chemical after-treatment
- C08L23/04—Homopolymers or copolymers of ethene
- C08L23/08—Copolymers of ethene
- C08L23/0807—Copolymers of ethene with unsaturated hydrocarbons only containing more than three carbon atoms
- C08L23/0815—Copolymers of ethene with aliphatic 1-olefins
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A supported catalyst is used in the low pressure catalytic copolymerization of ethylene with C3 to C6 .alpha.-olefins in a fluid bed reactor to produce polymers having a density of less than 0.941 and a melt index of >0.0 to at least about 2Ø The supported catalyst contains about 0.05 to 3.0 weight % of chromium, about 1.5 to 9.0 weight X of titanium and ?0.0 to about 2.5 weight % of fluorine.
1.
A supported catalyst is used in the low pressure catalytic copolymerization of ethylene with C3 to C6 .alpha.-olefins in a fluid bed reactor to produce polymers having a density of less than 0.941 and a melt index of >0.0 to at least about 2Ø The supported catalyst contains about 0.05 to 3.0 weight % of chromium, about 1.5 to 9.0 weight X of titanium and ?0.0 to about 2.5 weight % of fluorine.
1.
Description
~0696~t3 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Fie ld of the Invention .
The invention relates to the catalytic copoly-merization of ethylene with other copolymerizable monomers in a fluid bed reactor to produce low (0.900 to 0.925) and medium (0.926 to 0.940) density ethylene copolymers.
1. Fie ld of the Invention .
The invention relates to the catalytic copoly-merization of ethylene with other copolymerizable monomers in a fluid bed reactor to produce low (0.900 to 0.925) and medium (0.926 to 0.940) density ethylene copolymers.
2. Description of the Prior Art The commercialization of low and medium density ethylene polymers is much more significant in the United States, and in the rest of the world, than is the commercialiæation of high density (> 0.940) ethylene polymers. The low density polymers are usually made commercially by homopolymerizing ethylene with ree radical catalysts under very high pressures (> 15,000 psi) in tubular and stirred reactors, in the absence of solvents.
The medium density polymers can also be made commercially by the high pressure process, or by blending high pressure polyethylene with high density polyethylene made in a low pressure process with transition metal based catalysts.
The preparation of ethylene polymers in the absence of solvents under low pressures (~ 40-350 psi) in a fluid bed reactor, using various supported chromium containing catalysts, is disclosed in U.S. 3,023,203;
U.S. 3,687,920; U.S. 3,704,287; U.S. 3,709,853, Belgium Patent 773,050 and Netherlands Patent Application 2.
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~0696~8 72-10881. These publications also disclose that the ethylene polymers produced may be ethylene homopolymers or copolymers of ethylene and one or more other alpha olefins.
The disclosures in these patent publications are primarily concerned with the preparation of high density ethylene polymers. Furthermore, because of the technical difficulties involved, it has not been possible, prior to the present invention, to provide a commercially useful process for the production of low and medium density ethylene polymers in a low pressure fluid bed process.
In order to provide such a useful process, the catalyst employed must be one which can, simultaneously, copoly-merize ethylene with other alpha olefins so as to provide the desired density range in the copolymer product, provide a polymer product having a particle size which is conducive to being readily fluidized in a fluid bed reactor; provide such a high degree of productivity that the catalyst residues in the polymer product are so small as to allow them to remain therein, and thus avoid the need for catalyst removal steps; provide a polymer product which can be readily molded in a variety of molding applications, i.e., provide a polymer product having a relatively wide melt index range; provide a polymer product which has a relatively small low molecular weight fraction content so as to ellow the product to meet
The medium density polymers can also be made commercially by the high pressure process, or by blending high pressure polyethylene with high density polyethylene made in a low pressure process with transition metal based catalysts.
The preparation of ethylene polymers in the absence of solvents under low pressures (~ 40-350 psi) in a fluid bed reactor, using various supported chromium containing catalysts, is disclosed in U.S. 3,023,203;
U.S. 3,687,920; U.S. 3,704,287; U.S. 3,709,853, Belgium Patent 773,050 and Netherlands Patent Application 2.
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~0696~8 72-10881. These publications also disclose that the ethylene polymers produced may be ethylene homopolymers or copolymers of ethylene and one or more other alpha olefins.
The disclosures in these patent publications are primarily concerned with the preparation of high density ethylene polymers. Furthermore, because of the technical difficulties involved, it has not been possible, prior to the present invention, to provide a commercially useful process for the production of low and medium density ethylene polymers in a low pressure fluid bed process.
In order to provide such a useful process, the catalyst employed must be one which can, simultaneously, copoly-merize ethylene with other alpha olefins so as to provide the desired density range in the copolymer product, provide a polymer product having a particle size which is conducive to being readily fluidized in a fluid bed reactor; provide such a high degree of productivity that the catalyst residues in the polymer product are so small as to allow them to remain therein, and thus avoid the need for catalyst removal steps; provide a polymer product which can be readily molded in a variety of molding applications, i.e., provide a polymer product having a relatively wide melt index range; provide a polymer product which has a relatively small low molecular weight fraction content so as to ellow the product to meet
3.
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` ~CH69648 9587-1 Federal Food and Drug Administration standards for extractables (C 5.5 weight percent at 50C. in n-hexane) for food contact applications; and be used in solid form to provide such copolymer products under the operating conditions which can be readily achieved in a commercial sized fluid bed reactor.
Thus, attempts to use various prior art catalysts, for the purposes of attempting to make low to medium density ethylene polymers in a commercially useful fluid bed process have not been successful to date, since such catalysts do not provide the desired combination of features noted above. For example, certain Ziegler catalysts provide products which have a very narrow melt ~ntex range (0.0 to ~ < 0.2), and are readily subject to catalyst poisoning and have a relatively low productivity ~`
as evidenced by a catalyst residue content of greater ~; than about ten parts per million of transition metal.
The Ziegler polymers thus usually have to undergo a catalyst resitue removal operation.
The supported bis(cyclopen~adienyl)chromium [II] catalysts disclosed in U.S. 3,687,920; U.S. 3,709,853 and Belgian Patent 773,050 do not readily allow for the copolymerization of enough of the suitable comonomers with e~thylene~to provide copolymers having densities below ., about 0.945.
Although the family of supported silyl chromate catalysts disclosed in U.S. 3,324,095, U.S. 3,324,101 and ~ 4.
:' - :' 1o~9648 9587 -1 U.S. 3,704,287 will provide ethylene cop~lymers of relatively low density, some of thecatalysts in the family will provide polymer products which have a high content of small particle sizes which cannot be readily fluidized, and/or which have a narrow melt index range (0.0 to~
0.2), and/or which have a relatively high n-hexane extractables content, The supported chromium oxide catalysts disclosed in U.S. 2,825,721 and 3,023,203 can be used to provide low and medium density ethylene copolymers provided that relatively high ratios of comonomer to ethylene are employed in the monomer feed stream. However, the copoly-mers produced have a relatively narrow melt index range (0,0 to ~ < 0.2), The supported titanated chromium oxide catalysts disclosed in U.S. 3,622,521 provide copolymers which havé a significantly higher melt ~ndex range, Netherlands Patent Application 72-10881 discloses the use of a supported fluorided and titanated chromium ox~de catalyst-~or ethylene polymerization purposes.
However U.S. 3,622,521 and Netherlaffds Patent Application 72-10881 do no~ disclose a practical method for making low to medium density ethylene copolymer~ in a commercially useful fluid bed process, lCH6g 6 4 8 9587 -l . .
Thus, based on the technology known prior to the present invention, it was not possible to make low to medium density ethylene polymers having a relatively high melt index of > 0.0 to about 2.0, a relatively low n-hexane soluble fraction and a relatively low residual .
catalyst content at relatively low temperatures and pressures in the absence of solvent in a commercially useful fluid bed process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been unexpectedly found that ethylene copolymers having a density of about 0.900 to 0.940 and a melt index of > 0.0 to at least about 2.0 which have a relatively low n-hexane extractables content and residual catalyst content can be produced at relatively high productivities for commercial purposes in a fluid bed process if the ethylene is polymerized in the process of the present in~ention with one or more C3 to C6 alpha olefins in the presence of a supported catalyst which has a speci1c particle size and which contains specific amounts of chromium, titanium and optionally fluorine.
An object of the present invention is to provide a process: for producing, with relatively high productivities and in a low pressure fluid bed process, ethylene copoly-mers~which have a density of about 0.900 to 0.940, a :
melt index of ~ 0.0 to at least about 2.0, a relatively 6.
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~CU69648 9587-1 low n-hexane extractables content, and a relatively low residual catalyst content.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawing shows a fluid bed reactor system in which the catalyst system of the present in~ention may be employed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
It has now been found that the desired low to medium density ethylene copolymers may be readily produced with relatively high productivities in a low pressure fluid bed reaction process, if the comonomers are copolymerized under a specific set of operating conditions, as detailed below, and in the presence of a particulate activated supported catalyst which contains specific amounts of chromium, titanium, and optio~ally, fluarine as is also detailed below.
The Copolymers The copolymers which may be prepared in the process of the present invention are copolymers of a ma~or mol percent ( ~ 85 %) of ethylene, and a minor mol percent (< 15 %) of one or more C3 to C6 alpha olefins. These alpha olefins are preferably propylene, butene-l, pentene-l and hexene-l.
The copolymers have a density of about 0.90Q
to 0.925 for low density polymers and of about 0.926 to 0.940 for medium density polymers. The density of the polymer, at a given melt index level for the pol~mer, is 7.
.~ .
primarily regulated by the amount of the C3 to C6 comonomer which is copolymerized with the ethylene. In the absence of the comonomer, the ethylene would homo-polymerize with the catalyst of the present invention to provide homopolymers having a density of about > 0.95.
Thus, the addition of progressively larger amounts of the comonomers to the polymers results in a progressive lowering, in approximately a linear fashion, of the dens~ty of thé polymer. ~he amount of each of the various C3 to C6 comonomers needed to achieve the same result will vary from monomer to monomer, under the same reaction conditions.
Thus, to achieve the same results, in terms of a given density, at a given melt index level, larger molar amounts of the comonomers would be needed in the order of C3~ C4 ~ C5 ~ C6-The melt index of a polymer is a reflection ofits molecular weight. Polymers having a relatively high molecular weight, have a relati~ely low melt index.
Ultra-high molecular weight ethylene polymers have a high load (HLMI) melt index of about 0.0 and very high molecular weight polymers have a high load melt index i (HLMI) of about 0.0 to about 1Ø Such high molecular we~ght polymers are difficult, if not impossi~le, to mold in conventional injection molding equipment. The copolymers made in the process of the present invention, on the other hand, can be readily molded, in such equipment. They ha~e a standard or normal load melt .
1069~i48 index of ~ 0.0 to at least about 2.0, and preferably of about 0.1 to 1.5, and a high load melt index (HLMI) of about 1 to about 100. The melt index of the polymers which are made in the process of the present invention is a function of a combination of the ~olymerization temperature of the reaction, the density of the polymer and the titanium content of the catalyst. Thus, the melt index is raised by increasing the polymer~zation temperature and/or by decreasing the density o the polymer (by increasing the comonomer/ethylene ratio) and/or by increasing the titanium content of the catalyst.
The copolymers made in the process of the present invention have a n-hexane extractables content (at 50C.) of less than about 12 percent, and preferably of less than about 5.5 percent. Increasing the fluorine content of the catalyst improves the rate of incorporation of the C3 to C6 comonomer in the copolymer. An increase in 1uorine content, however, also tends to lower the melt index of the polymers.
The copolymers made in the process of the present invention ha~e a residual catalyst content, in terms of parts per million of chromium metal, of the order of less than about ten parts per million, and ; . preferably of the order of less than about three parts per million. This catalyst residue content is primarily ~ :
9587-1 ~
~06964~
a function of the productivity of the catalyst. The productivity of the catalyst is primarily a function of the chromium content thereof.
The copolymers of the present invention have an average particle size of the order of about 0.005 to about 0.06 inches, and preferably of about 0.01 to about 0.05 inches, in diameter. The particle size is important for the purposes of readily fluidizing the polymer particles in the fluid bed reactor, as described below.
Activated SuPPorted CatalYst :.
The catalyst used in the process of the present invention is a chromium oxide (CrO3) based catalyst which is formed, in general, by depositing a suitable chromium compound, titanium compound and fluorine compound on a dried support, and then activating the resulting composite composition by heating it in air or oxygen at a temperature of about 300 to about 900C., and preferably at about 700 to 850C., for at least two hours, and preferably for about 5 to 15 hours. The chromium compound and titanium compound are usually deposited on the support from solutions thereof, and the fluorine compound is usually dry blended with the supported titanium and chromium compounds, and in such quantities as to ~; .
~ provide, after the activation step, the desired :, :
~ ~ 10.
, '~ :
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, 1069648 9587-l levels of Cr, Ti and F in the catalyst. After the com-pounds are placed on the support and it is activated, there results a powdery, free-flowing particulate material. About ~,005 to 1 weight percent of the compasite catalyst is employed per pound of polymer produced.
The order of the addition of the chromium com-pound, titanium compound and fluorine compound to the support is not critical provided that all of the com-pounds are added before the activation of the composite catalyst and the support is dried before the titanium compound is added thereto.
After the activation of the suppGrted catalyst it contains, based on the combined weight of the support and the chromium, titanium and fluorine therein, about 0.05 to 3.0, and preferably about 0.2 to 1.0, weight percent of chromium (calculated as Cr), about 1.5 to 9.0, and preferably about 4.0 to 7.0 , weight percent of titanium (calculated as Ti), and ~0.0 to about Z.5, and preferably about 0.1 to 1.0, weight percent of fluorine (calculated as F)-The chromium compounds which may be used include ; CrO3, or any compound of chromium which is ignitable to CrO3 under the activation conditions employed. At least a portion of the chromium in the supported, activated catalyst must be in the hexavalent state. Chromium compounds other than CrO3 which may be used are disclosed in U.S. 2,825,721 and 3,622,521 and include chromic acetyl acetonate, chromic nitrate, chromic acetate, chromic chloride, chromic sulfate, and ammonium chromate.
Water soluble compounds of chromium, such as CrO3, are the preferred compounds for use in depositing the chromium compound on the support from a solution of the compound. Organic solvent soluble chromium compounds may also be used.
The titanium compounds which may be used include all those which are ignitable to TiO2 under the activation . conditions employed, and include those disclosed in U.S.
3,622,521 and Netherlands Patent Application 72-10881.
These compounds include those having the structures (R')nTi(OR')m and (RO)mTi(OR )n where m is 1, 2, 3 or 4; n is 0, 1, 2 or 3 and m + n - 4, and, :20 TiX4 where R is a Cl to C12 alkyl, aryl or cyclo-alkyl group, and combinations thereof, such as aralkyl, alkaryl, and the like;
.
12.
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~0696419 R' is R, cyclopentadienyl, and C2 to C12 alkenyl groups, such as ethenyl, propenyl, isopropenyl, butenyl and the like; and X is chlorine, bromine, fluorine or iodine.
The titanium compounds would thus include titanium tetrachloride, titanium tetraisopropoxide and titanium tetrabutoxide. The titanium compounds are more conveniently deposited on the support from a hydrocarbon solvent solution thereof.
The titanium (as Ti) is present in the catalyst, with respect to the Cr (as Cr), in a mol ratio of about 0.5 to 180, and preferably of about 4 to 35.
The fluorine compounds which may be used include HF, or any compound of fluorine which will yield HF under the activation conditions employed. Fluorine compounds other than HF which may be used are disclosed in Netherlands patent application 72-10881. These compounds -lnclude ammonium hexafluorosilicate, ammonium tetra-fluoroborate, and ammonium hexafluorotitanate. The fluorine compounds are conveniently deposited on the . support from an aqueous solution thereof, or by dry . ,~
~lending the solid fluorine compounds with the other -components of the catalyst prior to activation.
The inorganic oxide materials which may be used as a support in the eatalyst compositions of the present invention are porous materials having a high surface area, that is, a surface area in the range of about 50 to about 1000 square meters per gram, and a particle size of about . .
~ CH6964~ 9587-1 50 to 200 microns. The inorganic oxides which may be used include silica, alumina, thoria, zirconia and other comparable inorganic oxides, as well as mixtures of such oxides.
The catalyst support which may have the chromium and/or fluorine compound deposited thereon should be dried before it is brought into contact with the titanium compound. This is normally done by simply heating or pre-drying the catalyst support with a dry inert gas or dry air prior to use. It has been found that the temperature of drying has an appreciable effect on the molecular weight distribution and the melt index of the polymer produced. The preferred drying temperature is 100 to 300C.
Activation of the supported catalyst can be accomplishet at nearly any temperature up to about its sintering temperature. The passage of a stream of dry-air or oxygen through the supported catalyst during the activation aids in the displacement of the water -from the support. Activation temperatures of from about 300C to 900C for a short period of about : : :
8i x hours or so should be sufficient if well dried air or oxygen is used, and the temperature is not permltted to get so high as to cause sintering of the~eupport.
14.
,:~ ~ . ;
~C~9648 9587-1 Any grade of support can be used but micro-spheroidal intermediate density (MSID) silica having a surface area of 300 square meters per gram, and a pore diameter of about 200 A, and an average particle size of -about 70 microns (~v0.0028 inches) (W R. Grace's G-952 ~rade), and intermediate density (ID) silica having a surface area of about 300 m2/gr, a pore diameter of about 160 A and an average particle size of about 103 microns (^~0.0040 inches) (W R. Grace's G-56 grade) are preferred.
When incorpora~ed in a porous support of high surface area, as described herein, the chromium forms active sites on the surface and in the pores of the support. Although the actual mechanism of the process is not entirely understood, it is believed that the polymers begin to grow at the surface as well as in the pores of the supported catalyst. When a pore grown polymer becomes large enough in the fluidized bed, it ruptures the support thereby exposing fresh catalyst sites in the inner pores of the support. The supported catalyst may thus subdivide many times during its lifetime in the fluidized bed and ~ ~ thereby enhance the production of low catalyst residue ;~ polymars, thereby eliminating the need for recovering the catalyst from the polymer particles. If the support is too large, it may resist rupture thereby preventing subdivision which would result in catalyst waste. In addition, a large support may act as a heat sink and cause : ~
-~ ~ "hot spots" to form.
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The Polymerization Reaction After the activated catalyst has been formed, the copolymerization reaction is conducted by contacting a stream of the comonomers, in a fluid bed reactor as described below, and substantially in the absence of catalyst poisons such as moisture, oxygen, carbon monoxide and acetylene, with a catalytically effective amount of the catalyst at a temperature and at a pressure sufficient to initiate the polymerization reaction. The catalyst of the present invention can be used in the presence of up to about 200 parts per million of C02.
In order to achieve the desired density ranges in the copolymers it is necessary to copolymerize enough ; of the 2 C3 comonomers with ethylene to achieve a level of 1.0 to 15 mol percent of the C3 to C6 comonomer in the - copolymer. The amount of comonomer needed to achieve this result will depend on the particular comonomer(s) being employed and on the fluoride content of the catalyst.
Some increased fluoride content of the catalyst improves the comonomer incorporation. Further, the various intended comonomers have different reactivity rates, relative to the reactivity rate of ethylene, with respect to the copolymerization thereof with the catalysts of the present invention. ~Therefore, the amount of comonomer used in the stream of monomers fed to the reactor will also vary -depending on the reactivity of the comonomer.
~ 16.
.~ ' loN~g 6 4 8 9587-1 There is provided below a listing of the amounts, in mols, of various comonomers that must be copolymerized with ethylene in order to provide polymers having the desired density range at any given melt index. The listing also indicates the concentration, in mol %, of such comonomers which must be present in the gas stream of monomers which is fed to the reactor.
mol % needed mol % needed Comonomer in copolymer in gas stream propylene 3.0 to 15 6 to 30 butene-l 2.5 to 12 6 to 25 pentene-l 2.0 to 9.0 4 ~o 18 hexene-l 1.0 to 7.5 3 to 15 A fluidized bed reaction system which can be used in the practice of the process of the present inven-tion is illustrated in Figure 1. With reference thereto the reactor 10 consists of a reaction zone 12 and a velocity reduction zone 14.
The reaction zone 12 comprises a bed of growing polymer particles, formed polymer particles and a minor amount of catalyst fluidized by the continuous flow of polymerizable and modifying gaseous components in the form of make-up feed and recycle gas through the reaction zone.
To maintain a viable fluidized bed, mass gas flow through the bed must be above the minimum flow required for fluidization, preferably from about 1.5 to about 10 times ;
17.
11~69648 9587-1 Gmf and more preferably from about 3 to about 6 times Gmf. Gmf is used in the accepted form as the abbreviation for the minimum mass gas flow required to achieve fluidization, C. Y. Wen and Y. H. Yu, "Mechanics of Fluidization'~, Chemical Engineering Progress Symposium Series, Vol. 62, p. 100~111 (1966).
It is essential that the bed always contains particles to prevent the formation of localized "hot spots" and to entrap and distribute the powdery catalyst throughout the reaction zone. On start up, the reaction zone is usually charged with a base of particulate polymer particles before gas flow is initiated. Such particles may be identical in nature to the polymer to be fonmed or different therefrom. When different, they are with-drawn with the desired formed polymer particles as the first product. Eventually, a fluidized bed of the desired particles supplants the start-up bed.
The supported catalyst used in the fluidized bed ..
is preferably stored for service in a reservoir 32 under a nitrogen blanket.
Fluidization is achieved by a high rate of gas recycle to and through the bed, typically in the order of about 50 times the rate of feed of make-up gas. The fluidized bed has the general appearance of a dense mass . ~
~ of viable particles in possibly free-vortex flow as created . ~ .
18.
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~CH~9 6 4 8 9587-1 by the percolati~n of gas through the bed. The pressure drop through the bed is equal to or slightly greater than the mass of the ~ed divided by the cross-sectional area.
It is thus dependent on the geometry of the reactor.
Make-up gas is fed to the bed at a rate equal to the rate at which particulate polymer product is withdrawn.
The composition of the make-up gas is determined by a gas analy~er 16 positioned above the bed. The gas analyzer determines component deficiency in the gas being recycled and the composition of the make-up gas is adjusted accord-ingly to maintain an essentially steady state gaseous composition within the reaction zone.
To insure complete fluidization, the recycle gas and, where desired, part of the make-up gas are returned to the reactor at point 18 below the bed. There exists a gas distribution plate 20 above the point of return to aid fluidizing the bed.
The portion of the gas stream which does not react in the bed constitutes the recycle gas which is removed from the polymerization zone, preferably by passing it into a velocity reduction zone 14 above the bed where entrained particles are given an opportunity to drop back into the bed. Particle return may be aided by a cyclone 22 which may be part of the velocity reduction zone or exterior thereto. Where desired, the recycle gas may then be passed through a filter 24 designed to remove small particles at high gas flow rates to prevent dus~ from contacting heat transfer surfaces and compressor blades.
19 .
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The recycle gas is then passed through a heat exchanger 26 wherein it is stripped of heat of reactio~
before it is returned to the bed. By constantly removing heat of reaction, no noticeable temperature gradient appears to exist within the upper portion of the bed. A
temperature gradient will exist in the bottom 6 to 12 inches - of the bed, between the temperature of the inlet gas and the temperature of the remainder of the bed. Thus it has been observed that the bed acts to almost immediately adjust the temperature of the recycle gas above this lower 6 to 12 inch bed zone to make it conform to the temperature of the bed thereby maintaining itself at an essentially constant temperature under steady state conditions. The recycle is then compressed in a compressor 28 and returned to the reactor at its base 18 and to the fluidized bed through distribution plate 20. The compressor 28 can also be placed upstream of the heat exchanger 26.
The distribution plate 20 plays an important role in the operation of the reactor. The fluidized bed contains growing and formed particulate polymer particles as well as catalyst particles. As the polymer particles are hot and possibly active, they must be prevented from settling, for if a quiescent mass is allowed to exist, any active catal~st contained therein may continue to react ~nd cause fusion. Diffusing recycle gas through the bed at a rate sufficient to maintain fluidization at the base of the bed is, therefore, important. The distribution plate 20 ser~es this purpose and may be a screen, slotted 20.
9587-l plate, perforated plate, a plate of the bubble cap type and the like. The elements of the plate may all be stationary, or the plate may be of the mobile type disclosed in U.S.
3,298,792. Whatever its design, it must diffuse the recycle gas through the particles at the base of the bed to keep them in a fluidized condition, and also serve to support a quiescent bed of resin particles when the reactor is not in operation. The mobile elements of the plate may be used to dislodge any polymer particles entrapped in or on the plate.
Hydrogen may be used as a chain transfer agent in the polymerization reaction of the present invention in amounts varying between about 0.001 to about lO moles of hydrogen per mole of ethylene and comonomer.
Also, if desired for temperature control of the system, any gas inert to the catalyst and reactants can also be present in the gas stream.
It is essential to operate the fluid bed reactor at a temperature below the sintering temperature of the . polymer particles. To insure that sintering will not occur, operating temperatures below the sintering temper-ature are desired. For the production of the ethylene copolymers in the process of the present invention an operating temperature of about 30 to 105C. is preferred, and a temperature of about 75 to 95C. is most preferred.
Temperatures of about 75 to 9SC. are used to pr~pare products having a density of about 0.900 to 0.920, and temperatures of about 85 to 100C. are used to prepare 1CN~648 9587-1 products having a density of about 0.921 to 0.940.
~ he fluid bed reactor is operated at pressures of up to about 1000 psi, and is preferably operated at a pressure of from about 150 to 350 psi, with operation at the higher pressures in such ranges favoring heat transfer since an increase in pressure increases the unit volume heat capacity of the gas.
The catalyst is injected into the bed at a rate equal to its consumption at a point 30 which is above the distribution plate 20. Preferably, the catalyst is injected at a point located about 1/4 to 3/4 up the side of the bed. Injecting the catalyst at a point above the distribution plate is an important feature of this invention. Since the catalysts used in the practice of the invention are highly active, injection into the area below the distribution plate may cause polymerization to begin there and eventually cause plugging of the distribution plate. Injection into the viable bed, instead, aids in distributing the catalyst throughout the bed and tends to preclude the formation of localized spots of high catalyst concentration which may result in the formation of "hot spots".
Inert gas such as nitrogen is used to carry the Gatalyst into the bed.
22.
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1C~69648 9587-1 - The production rate of the bed is solely controlled by the rate of catalyst injection. The productivity of the bed may be increased by simply increasing the rate of catalyst injection and decreased by reducing the rate of catalyst injection.
Since any change in the rate of catalyst injection will change the rate of generation of the heat of reaction, the temperature of the recycle gas is adjusted upwards or downwards to accommodate the change in rate of heat generation. This insures the maintenance of an essentially constant temperature in the bed. Complete instrumentation of both the fluidized bed and the recycle gas cooling system, is, of course, necessary to detect any temperature change in the bed so as to enable the operator to make a 8uitable adjustment in the temperature of the recycle gas.
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Under a given set of operating conditions, the fluidized bed is maintained at essentially a constant .height by withdrawing a portion of the bed as product at a rate equal to the rate of formation of the particulate polymer product. Since the rate of heat i ; generation is directly rela~ed to product formation, a measurement of the temperature rise of the gas across 23, ..
~ ~ ' - ,, ,. , - . ~ . :
~9648 9587-1 the reactor (the difference between inlet gas temperature and exit gas temperature) is detçrminat~ve of the rate of particulate polymer formation at a constant gas velocity.
The particulate polymer product is preferably continuously withdrawn at a point 34 at or close to the distribution piate 20 and in suspension with a portion of the gas stream which is vented before the particles settle to preclude further polymerization and sintering when the particles reach their ultimate collection zone. The suspending gas may also be used, as mentioned above, to drive the product of one reactor to anather reactor.
The particulate polymer product is conveniently and preferably withdrawn through the sequential operation of a pair of timed valves 36 and 38 defining a segregation zone 40. While valve 38 is closed, valve 36 is opened to emit a plug of gas and product to the zone 40 between it and valve 36 which is then closed. Valve 38 is then opened to deliver the product to an external recovery zone. Valve 38 is then closed to wait the next product recovery operation.
.: ~
Finally, the fluidized bed reactor is equipped with an aequate venting system to allow venting the bed dur;ng start up and shut down. The reactor does not require~the use~of stirring means and/or wall scrapping means.
24.
~: :
; ''~
1~69648 9587-1 The supported catalyst system of this invention appears to yield a fluid bed product having an average particle size between about 0.005 to about 0.06 inches and preferably about 0.01 to about 0.05 inches wherein supported catalyst residue is unusually low.
The feed stream of gaseous monomer, with or without inert gaseous diluents, is fed into the reactor at a space time yield of about 2 to 10 pounds/hour/cubic foot of bed volume.
The following Examples are designed to illustrate the process of the present invention and are not intended as a limitation upon the scope thereof.
The properties of the polymers produced in the Examples were determined by the following test methods:
Density ASTM D-1505 - Plaque is conditioned for one hour at 100C. to approach equilibrium crystallinity.
Melt Index (MI) ASTM D-1238 - Condition E -Measured at 190C. - reported . . ~ .
as grams per 10 minutes.
Flow Rate (HLMI) ASTM D-1238 - Condition F -Measured at 10 times the 1.
weight used in the melt -~
index te~t above.
Fiow Rate Ratio (FRR) = Flow Rate Melt Index 25.
; ' . . . . . . ..
..
~- ~C~9648 9587-1 productivity a sample of the resin product is ashed, and the weight %
of ash is determined; since the ash is essentially composed of the supported catalyst, the productivity is thus the pounds of polymer produced p~r pound of total catalyst consumed.
n-hexane extractables a sample of resin is lightly pressed into film samples and extracted with n-hexane at 50C. for four hours.
EXAMPLES 1 to 21 A.~ CatalYst Preparation: The catalysts used in Examples 1-21 were prepared as follows:
To a solution of the desired amount of CrO3 in thre~e liters of distilled water there was added 500 grams 20 ~ of a porous silica support having a particle size of about 70 microns and a surface area of about 300 square meters per gram. The mixture of the support, water and CrO3 was stirred~and~allowed to stand for about 15 minutes. It was then filtered to remove about 2200-2300 ml of solution.
1:
26.
,`~, ~; ' ~ : : .
': : . . . . . . . . .. .
~069648 The CrO3 loaded silica was then dried under a stream of nitrogen for about four hours at 200C.
About 400 grams of the supported CrO3 was then slurried in about 2000 ml of dry isopentane, and then a desired amount of tetraisopropyl titanate was added to the slurry. The system was then mixed thoroughly and then the isopentane was dried by heating the reaction vessel.
The dried material was then transferred to an activator (heating vessel) and a desired quantity of (NH4)2SiF6 was added and admixed. The composition was then heated under N2 at 50C. for about one hour and then at 150C. for about one hour to insure that all the i80pentane was rem~ved and to slowly remove organic residues from the tetraisopropyl titanate so as to avoid any danger of a fire. The N2 stream was then replaced with a stream~of dry air and the catalyst composition ~as :
activated at 300C. for about two hours and then at 750C.
, ~ :
or 825C. for about eight hours. The activated catalyst was then cooled with dry air (at ambient temperatures) to about 150C. and further cooled from 150C. to room temperature with N2 (at ambient temperature).
The amounts of the chromium, titanium and fluorine c~ompounds which were added to provide the desired levels of these elements in the activated catalyst are as follows:
~ 27.
.. ' Weight % of Weight % of compound element in added to the activated support catalyst - CrO3 Cr (as Cr) 0.8 0 4 0.6 0.3 0.53 0.26 0.33 0.17 0.13 0.07 Ti(isopropyl)4 Ti (as Ti) 5.6 28 4.5
. ~
.. . . .
` ~CH69648 9587-1 Federal Food and Drug Administration standards for extractables (C 5.5 weight percent at 50C. in n-hexane) for food contact applications; and be used in solid form to provide such copolymer products under the operating conditions which can be readily achieved in a commercial sized fluid bed reactor.
Thus, attempts to use various prior art catalysts, for the purposes of attempting to make low to medium density ethylene polymers in a commercially useful fluid bed process have not been successful to date, since such catalysts do not provide the desired combination of features noted above. For example, certain Ziegler catalysts provide products which have a very narrow melt ~ntex range (0.0 to ~ < 0.2), and are readily subject to catalyst poisoning and have a relatively low productivity ~`
as evidenced by a catalyst residue content of greater ~; than about ten parts per million of transition metal.
The Ziegler polymers thus usually have to undergo a catalyst resitue removal operation.
The supported bis(cyclopen~adienyl)chromium [II] catalysts disclosed in U.S. 3,687,920; U.S. 3,709,853 and Belgian Patent 773,050 do not readily allow for the copolymerization of enough of the suitable comonomers with e~thylene~to provide copolymers having densities below ., about 0.945.
Although the family of supported silyl chromate catalysts disclosed in U.S. 3,324,095, U.S. 3,324,101 and ~ 4.
:' - :' 1o~9648 9587 -1 U.S. 3,704,287 will provide ethylene cop~lymers of relatively low density, some of thecatalysts in the family will provide polymer products which have a high content of small particle sizes which cannot be readily fluidized, and/or which have a narrow melt index range (0.0 to~
0.2), and/or which have a relatively high n-hexane extractables content, The supported chromium oxide catalysts disclosed in U.S. 2,825,721 and 3,023,203 can be used to provide low and medium density ethylene copolymers provided that relatively high ratios of comonomer to ethylene are employed in the monomer feed stream. However, the copoly-mers produced have a relatively narrow melt index range (0,0 to ~ < 0.2), The supported titanated chromium oxide catalysts disclosed in U.S. 3,622,521 provide copolymers which havé a significantly higher melt ~ndex range, Netherlands Patent Application 72-10881 discloses the use of a supported fluorided and titanated chromium ox~de catalyst-~or ethylene polymerization purposes.
However U.S. 3,622,521 and Netherlaffds Patent Application 72-10881 do no~ disclose a practical method for making low to medium density ethylene copolymer~ in a commercially useful fluid bed process, lCH6g 6 4 8 9587 -l . .
Thus, based on the technology known prior to the present invention, it was not possible to make low to medium density ethylene polymers having a relatively high melt index of > 0.0 to about 2.0, a relatively low n-hexane soluble fraction and a relatively low residual .
catalyst content at relatively low temperatures and pressures in the absence of solvent in a commercially useful fluid bed process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been unexpectedly found that ethylene copolymers having a density of about 0.900 to 0.940 and a melt index of > 0.0 to at least about 2.0 which have a relatively low n-hexane extractables content and residual catalyst content can be produced at relatively high productivities for commercial purposes in a fluid bed process if the ethylene is polymerized in the process of the present in~ention with one or more C3 to C6 alpha olefins in the presence of a supported catalyst which has a speci1c particle size and which contains specific amounts of chromium, titanium and optionally fluorine.
An object of the present invention is to provide a process: for producing, with relatively high productivities and in a low pressure fluid bed process, ethylene copoly-mers~which have a density of about 0.900 to 0.940, a :
melt index of ~ 0.0 to at least about 2.0, a relatively 6.
.
~..................... . . . : . .
~CU69648 9587-1 low n-hexane extractables content, and a relatively low residual catalyst content.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawing shows a fluid bed reactor system in which the catalyst system of the present in~ention may be employed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
It has now been found that the desired low to medium density ethylene copolymers may be readily produced with relatively high productivities in a low pressure fluid bed reaction process, if the comonomers are copolymerized under a specific set of operating conditions, as detailed below, and in the presence of a particulate activated supported catalyst which contains specific amounts of chromium, titanium, and optio~ally, fluarine as is also detailed below.
The Copolymers The copolymers which may be prepared in the process of the present invention are copolymers of a ma~or mol percent ( ~ 85 %) of ethylene, and a minor mol percent (< 15 %) of one or more C3 to C6 alpha olefins. These alpha olefins are preferably propylene, butene-l, pentene-l and hexene-l.
The copolymers have a density of about 0.90Q
to 0.925 for low density polymers and of about 0.926 to 0.940 for medium density polymers. The density of the polymer, at a given melt index level for the pol~mer, is 7.
.~ .
primarily regulated by the amount of the C3 to C6 comonomer which is copolymerized with the ethylene. In the absence of the comonomer, the ethylene would homo-polymerize with the catalyst of the present invention to provide homopolymers having a density of about > 0.95.
Thus, the addition of progressively larger amounts of the comonomers to the polymers results in a progressive lowering, in approximately a linear fashion, of the dens~ty of thé polymer. ~he amount of each of the various C3 to C6 comonomers needed to achieve the same result will vary from monomer to monomer, under the same reaction conditions.
Thus, to achieve the same results, in terms of a given density, at a given melt index level, larger molar amounts of the comonomers would be needed in the order of C3~ C4 ~ C5 ~ C6-The melt index of a polymer is a reflection ofits molecular weight. Polymers having a relatively high molecular weight, have a relati~ely low melt index.
Ultra-high molecular weight ethylene polymers have a high load (HLMI) melt index of about 0.0 and very high molecular weight polymers have a high load melt index i (HLMI) of about 0.0 to about 1Ø Such high molecular we~ght polymers are difficult, if not impossi~le, to mold in conventional injection molding equipment. The copolymers made in the process of the present invention, on the other hand, can be readily molded, in such equipment. They ha~e a standard or normal load melt .
1069~i48 index of ~ 0.0 to at least about 2.0, and preferably of about 0.1 to 1.5, and a high load melt index (HLMI) of about 1 to about 100. The melt index of the polymers which are made in the process of the present invention is a function of a combination of the ~olymerization temperature of the reaction, the density of the polymer and the titanium content of the catalyst. Thus, the melt index is raised by increasing the polymer~zation temperature and/or by decreasing the density o the polymer (by increasing the comonomer/ethylene ratio) and/or by increasing the titanium content of the catalyst.
The copolymers made in the process of the present invention have a n-hexane extractables content (at 50C.) of less than about 12 percent, and preferably of less than about 5.5 percent. Increasing the fluorine content of the catalyst improves the rate of incorporation of the C3 to C6 comonomer in the copolymer. An increase in 1uorine content, however, also tends to lower the melt index of the polymers.
The copolymers made in the process of the present invention ha~e a residual catalyst content, in terms of parts per million of chromium metal, of the order of less than about ten parts per million, and ; . preferably of the order of less than about three parts per million. This catalyst residue content is primarily ~ :
9587-1 ~
~06964~
a function of the productivity of the catalyst. The productivity of the catalyst is primarily a function of the chromium content thereof.
The copolymers of the present invention have an average particle size of the order of about 0.005 to about 0.06 inches, and preferably of about 0.01 to about 0.05 inches, in diameter. The particle size is important for the purposes of readily fluidizing the polymer particles in the fluid bed reactor, as described below.
Activated SuPPorted CatalYst :.
The catalyst used in the process of the present invention is a chromium oxide (CrO3) based catalyst which is formed, in general, by depositing a suitable chromium compound, titanium compound and fluorine compound on a dried support, and then activating the resulting composite composition by heating it in air or oxygen at a temperature of about 300 to about 900C., and preferably at about 700 to 850C., for at least two hours, and preferably for about 5 to 15 hours. The chromium compound and titanium compound are usually deposited on the support from solutions thereof, and the fluorine compound is usually dry blended with the supported titanium and chromium compounds, and in such quantities as to ~; .
~ provide, after the activation step, the desired :, :
~ ~ 10.
, '~ :
.. ..
, 1069648 9587-l levels of Cr, Ti and F in the catalyst. After the com-pounds are placed on the support and it is activated, there results a powdery, free-flowing particulate material. About ~,005 to 1 weight percent of the compasite catalyst is employed per pound of polymer produced.
The order of the addition of the chromium com-pound, titanium compound and fluorine compound to the support is not critical provided that all of the com-pounds are added before the activation of the composite catalyst and the support is dried before the titanium compound is added thereto.
After the activation of the suppGrted catalyst it contains, based on the combined weight of the support and the chromium, titanium and fluorine therein, about 0.05 to 3.0, and preferably about 0.2 to 1.0, weight percent of chromium (calculated as Cr), about 1.5 to 9.0, and preferably about 4.0 to 7.0 , weight percent of titanium (calculated as Ti), and ~0.0 to about Z.5, and preferably about 0.1 to 1.0, weight percent of fluorine (calculated as F)-The chromium compounds which may be used include ; CrO3, or any compound of chromium which is ignitable to CrO3 under the activation conditions employed. At least a portion of the chromium in the supported, activated catalyst must be in the hexavalent state. Chromium compounds other than CrO3 which may be used are disclosed in U.S. 2,825,721 and 3,622,521 and include chromic acetyl acetonate, chromic nitrate, chromic acetate, chromic chloride, chromic sulfate, and ammonium chromate.
Water soluble compounds of chromium, such as CrO3, are the preferred compounds for use in depositing the chromium compound on the support from a solution of the compound. Organic solvent soluble chromium compounds may also be used.
The titanium compounds which may be used include all those which are ignitable to TiO2 under the activation . conditions employed, and include those disclosed in U.S.
3,622,521 and Netherlands Patent Application 72-10881.
These compounds include those having the structures (R')nTi(OR')m and (RO)mTi(OR )n where m is 1, 2, 3 or 4; n is 0, 1, 2 or 3 and m + n - 4, and, :20 TiX4 where R is a Cl to C12 alkyl, aryl or cyclo-alkyl group, and combinations thereof, such as aralkyl, alkaryl, and the like;
.
12.
':~
~ -~
i. . : . .
~0696419 R' is R, cyclopentadienyl, and C2 to C12 alkenyl groups, such as ethenyl, propenyl, isopropenyl, butenyl and the like; and X is chlorine, bromine, fluorine or iodine.
The titanium compounds would thus include titanium tetrachloride, titanium tetraisopropoxide and titanium tetrabutoxide. The titanium compounds are more conveniently deposited on the support from a hydrocarbon solvent solution thereof.
The titanium (as Ti) is present in the catalyst, with respect to the Cr (as Cr), in a mol ratio of about 0.5 to 180, and preferably of about 4 to 35.
The fluorine compounds which may be used include HF, or any compound of fluorine which will yield HF under the activation conditions employed. Fluorine compounds other than HF which may be used are disclosed in Netherlands patent application 72-10881. These compounds -lnclude ammonium hexafluorosilicate, ammonium tetra-fluoroborate, and ammonium hexafluorotitanate. The fluorine compounds are conveniently deposited on the . support from an aqueous solution thereof, or by dry . ,~
~lending the solid fluorine compounds with the other -components of the catalyst prior to activation.
The inorganic oxide materials which may be used as a support in the eatalyst compositions of the present invention are porous materials having a high surface area, that is, a surface area in the range of about 50 to about 1000 square meters per gram, and a particle size of about . .
~ CH6964~ 9587-1 50 to 200 microns. The inorganic oxides which may be used include silica, alumina, thoria, zirconia and other comparable inorganic oxides, as well as mixtures of such oxides.
The catalyst support which may have the chromium and/or fluorine compound deposited thereon should be dried before it is brought into contact with the titanium compound. This is normally done by simply heating or pre-drying the catalyst support with a dry inert gas or dry air prior to use. It has been found that the temperature of drying has an appreciable effect on the molecular weight distribution and the melt index of the polymer produced. The preferred drying temperature is 100 to 300C.
Activation of the supported catalyst can be accomplishet at nearly any temperature up to about its sintering temperature. The passage of a stream of dry-air or oxygen through the supported catalyst during the activation aids in the displacement of the water -from the support. Activation temperatures of from about 300C to 900C for a short period of about : : :
8i x hours or so should be sufficient if well dried air or oxygen is used, and the temperature is not permltted to get so high as to cause sintering of the~eupport.
14.
,:~ ~ . ;
~C~9648 9587-1 Any grade of support can be used but micro-spheroidal intermediate density (MSID) silica having a surface area of 300 square meters per gram, and a pore diameter of about 200 A, and an average particle size of -about 70 microns (~v0.0028 inches) (W R. Grace's G-952 ~rade), and intermediate density (ID) silica having a surface area of about 300 m2/gr, a pore diameter of about 160 A and an average particle size of about 103 microns (^~0.0040 inches) (W R. Grace's G-56 grade) are preferred.
When incorpora~ed in a porous support of high surface area, as described herein, the chromium forms active sites on the surface and in the pores of the support. Although the actual mechanism of the process is not entirely understood, it is believed that the polymers begin to grow at the surface as well as in the pores of the supported catalyst. When a pore grown polymer becomes large enough in the fluidized bed, it ruptures the support thereby exposing fresh catalyst sites in the inner pores of the support. The supported catalyst may thus subdivide many times during its lifetime in the fluidized bed and ~ ~ thereby enhance the production of low catalyst residue ;~ polymars, thereby eliminating the need for recovering the catalyst from the polymer particles. If the support is too large, it may resist rupture thereby preventing subdivision which would result in catalyst waste. In addition, a large support may act as a heat sink and cause : ~
-~ ~ "hot spots" to form.
15^.
. ~ ~
,': ' .
1,~ , . . . . . .
.. .. ...
The Polymerization Reaction After the activated catalyst has been formed, the copolymerization reaction is conducted by contacting a stream of the comonomers, in a fluid bed reactor as described below, and substantially in the absence of catalyst poisons such as moisture, oxygen, carbon monoxide and acetylene, with a catalytically effective amount of the catalyst at a temperature and at a pressure sufficient to initiate the polymerization reaction. The catalyst of the present invention can be used in the presence of up to about 200 parts per million of C02.
In order to achieve the desired density ranges in the copolymers it is necessary to copolymerize enough ; of the 2 C3 comonomers with ethylene to achieve a level of 1.0 to 15 mol percent of the C3 to C6 comonomer in the - copolymer. The amount of comonomer needed to achieve this result will depend on the particular comonomer(s) being employed and on the fluoride content of the catalyst.
Some increased fluoride content of the catalyst improves the comonomer incorporation. Further, the various intended comonomers have different reactivity rates, relative to the reactivity rate of ethylene, with respect to the copolymerization thereof with the catalysts of the present invention. ~Therefore, the amount of comonomer used in the stream of monomers fed to the reactor will also vary -depending on the reactivity of the comonomer.
~ 16.
.~ ' loN~g 6 4 8 9587-1 There is provided below a listing of the amounts, in mols, of various comonomers that must be copolymerized with ethylene in order to provide polymers having the desired density range at any given melt index. The listing also indicates the concentration, in mol %, of such comonomers which must be present in the gas stream of monomers which is fed to the reactor.
mol % needed mol % needed Comonomer in copolymer in gas stream propylene 3.0 to 15 6 to 30 butene-l 2.5 to 12 6 to 25 pentene-l 2.0 to 9.0 4 ~o 18 hexene-l 1.0 to 7.5 3 to 15 A fluidized bed reaction system which can be used in the practice of the process of the present inven-tion is illustrated in Figure 1. With reference thereto the reactor 10 consists of a reaction zone 12 and a velocity reduction zone 14.
The reaction zone 12 comprises a bed of growing polymer particles, formed polymer particles and a minor amount of catalyst fluidized by the continuous flow of polymerizable and modifying gaseous components in the form of make-up feed and recycle gas through the reaction zone.
To maintain a viable fluidized bed, mass gas flow through the bed must be above the minimum flow required for fluidization, preferably from about 1.5 to about 10 times ;
17.
11~69648 9587-1 Gmf and more preferably from about 3 to about 6 times Gmf. Gmf is used in the accepted form as the abbreviation for the minimum mass gas flow required to achieve fluidization, C. Y. Wen and Y. H. Yu, "Mechanics of Fluidization'~, Chemical Engineering Progress Symposium Series, Vol. 62, p. 100~111 (1966).
It is essential that the bed always contains particles to prevent the formation of localized "hot spots" and to entrap and distribute the powdery catalyst throughout the reaction zone. On start up, the reaction zone is usually charged with a base of particulate polymer particles before gas flow is initiated. Such particles may be identical in nature to the polymer to be fonmed or different therefrom. When different, they are with-drawn with the desired formed polymer particles as the first product. Eventually, a fluidized bed of the desired particles supplants the start-up bed.
The supported catalyst used in the fluidized bed ..
is preferably stored for service in a reservoir 32 under a nitrogen blanket.
Fluidization is achieved by a high rate of gas recycle to and through the bed, typically in the order of about 50 times the rate of feed of make-up gas. The fluidized bed has the general appearance of a dense mass . ~
~ of viable particles in possibly free-vortex flow as created . ~ .
18.
`, ;
.:
~CH~9 6 4 8 9587-1 by the percolati~n of gas through the bed. The pressure drop through the bed is equal to or slightly greater than the mass of the ~ed divided by the cross-sectional area.
It is thus dependent on the geometry of the reactor.
Make-up gas is fed to the bed at a rate equal to the rate at which particulate polymer product is withdrawn.
The composition of the make-up gas is determined by a gas analy~er 16 positioned above the bed. The gas analyzer determines component deficiency in the gas being recycled and the composition of the make-up gas is adjusted accord-ingly to maintain an essentially steady state gaseous composition within the reaction zone.
To insure complete fluidization, the recycle gas and, where desired, part of the make-up gas are returned to the reactor at point 18 below the bed. There exists a gas distribution plate 20 above the point of return to aid fluidizing the bed.
The portion of the gas stream which does not react in the bed constitutes the recycle gas which is removed from the polymerization zone, preferably by passing it into a velocity reduction zone 14 above the bed where entrained particles are given an opportunity to drop back into the bed. Particle return may be aided by a cyclone 22 which may be part of the velocity reduction zone or exterior thereto. Where desired, the recycle gas may then be passed through a filter 24 designed to remove small particles at high gas flow rates to prevent dus~ from contacting heat transfer surfaces and compressor blades.
19 .
;
The recycle gas is then passed through a heat exchanger 26 wherein it is stripped of heat of reactio~
before it is returned to the bed. By constantly removing heat of reaction, no noticeable temperature gradient appears to exist within the upper portion of the bed. A
temperature gradient will exist in the bottom 6 to 12 inches - of the bed, between the temperature of the inlet gas and the temperature of the remainder of the bed. Thus it has been observed that the bed acts to almost immediately adjust the temperature of the recycle gas above this lower 6 to 12 inch bed zone to make it conform to the temperature of the bed thereby maintaining itself at an essentially constant temperature under steady state conditions. The recycle is then compressed in a compressor 28 and returned to the reactor at its base 18 and to the fluidized bed through distribution plate 20. The compressor 28 can also be placed upstream of the heat exchanger 26.
The distribution plate 20 plays an important role in the operation of the reactor. The fluidized bed contains growing and formed particulate polymer particles as well as catalyst particles. As the polymer particles are hot and possibly active, they must be prevented from settling, for if a quiescent mass is allowed to exist, any active catal~st contained therein may continue to react ~nd cause fusion. Diffusing recycle gas through the bed at a rate sufficient to maintain fluidization at the base of the bed is, therefore, important. The distribution plate 20 ser~es this purpose and may be a screen, slotted 20.
9587-l plate, perforated plate, a plate of the bubble cap type and the like. The elements of the plate may all be stationary, or the plate may be of the mobile type disclosed in U.S.
3,298,792. Whatever its design, it must diffuse the recycle gas through the particles at the base of the bed to keep them in a fluidized condition, and also serve to support a quiescent bed of resin particles when the reactor is not in operation. The mobile elements of the plate may be used to dislodge any polymer particles entrapped in or on the plate.
Hydrogen may be used as a chain transfer agent in the polymerization reaction of the present invention in amounts varying between about 0.001 to about lO moles of hydrogen per mole of ethylene and comonomer.
Also, if desired for temperature control of the system, any gas inert to the catalyst and reactants can also be present in the gas stream.
It is essential to operate the fluid bed reactor at a temperature below the sintering temperature of the . polymer particles. To insure that sintering will not occur, operating temperatures below the sintering temper-ature are desired. For the production of the ethylene copolymers in the process of the present invention an operating temperature of about 30 to 105C. is preferred, and a temperature of about 75 to 95C. is most preferred.
Temperatures of about 75 to 9SC. are used to pr~pare products having a density of about 0.900 to 0.920, and temperatures of about 85 to 100C. are used to prepare 1CN~648 9587-1 products having a density of about 0.921 to 0.940.
~ he fluid bed reactor is operated at pressures of up to about 1000 psi, and is preferably operated at a pressure of from about 150 to 350 psi, with operation at the higher pressures in such ranges favoring heat transfer since an increase in pressure increases the unit volume heat capacity of the gas.
The catalyst is injected into the bed at a rate equal to its consumption at a point 30 which is above the distribution plate 20. Preferably, the catalyst is injected at a point located about 1/4 to 3/4 up the side of the bed. Injecting the catalyst at a point above the distribution plate is an important feature of this invention. Since the catalysts used in the practice of the invention are highly active, injection into the area below the distribution plate may cause polymerization to begin there and eventually cause plugging of the distribution plate. Injection into the viable bed, instead, aids in distributing the catalyst throughout the bed and tends to preclude the formation of localized spots of high catalyst concentration which may result in the formation of "hot spots".
Inert gas such as nitrogen is used to carry the Gatalyst into the bed.
22.
.
1C~69648 9587-1 - The production rate of the bed is solely controlled by the rate of catalyst injection. The productivity of the bed may be increased by simply increasing the rate of catalyst injection and decreased by reducing the rate of catalyst injection.
Since any change in the rate of catalyst injection will change the rate of generation of the heat of reaction, the temperature of the recycle gas is adjusted upwards or downwards to accommodate the change in rate of heat generation. This insures the maintenance of an essentially constant temperature in the bed. Complete instrumentation of both the fluidized bed and the recycle gas cooling system, is, of course, necessary to detect any temperature change in the bed so as to enable the operator to make a 8uitable adjustment in the temperature of the recycle gas.
.
Under a given set of operating conditions, the fluidized bed is maintained at essentially a constant .height by withdrawing a portion of the bed as product at a rate equal to the rate of formation of the particulate polymer product. Since the rate of heat i ; generation is directly rela~ed to product formation, a measurement of the temperature rise of the gas across 23, ..
~ ~ ' - ,, ,. , - . ~ . :
~9648 9587-1 the reactor (the difference between inlet gas temperature and exit gas temperature) is detçrminat~ve of the rate of particulate polymer formation at a constant gas velocity.
The particulate polymer product is preferably continuously withdrawn at a point 34 at or close to the distribution piate 20 and in suspension with a portion of the gas stream which is vented before the particles settle to preclude further polymerization and sintering when the particles reach their ultimate collection zone. The suspending gas may also be used, as mentioned above, to drive the product of one reactor to anather reactor.
The particulate polymer product is conveniently and preferably withdrawn through the sequential operation of a pair of timed valves 36 and 38 defining a segregation zone 40. While valve 38 is closed, valve 36 is opened to emit a plug of gas and product to the zone 40 between it and valve 36 which is then closed. Valve 38 is then opened to deliver the product to an external recovery zone. Valve 38 is then closed to wait the next product recovery operation.
.: ~
Finally, the fluidized bed reactor is equipped with an aequate venting system to allow venting the bed dur;ng start up and shut down. The reactor does not require~the use~of stirring means and/or wall scrapping means.
24.
~: :
; ''~
1~69648 9587-1 The supported catalyst system of this invention appears to yield a fluid bed product having an average particle size between about 0.005 to about 0.06 inches and preferably about 0.01 to about 0.05 inches wherein supported catalyst residue is unusually low.
The feed stream of gaseous monomer, with or without inert gaseous diluents, is fed into the reactor at a space time yield of about 2 to 10 pounds/hour/cubic foot of bed volume.
The following Examples are designed to illustrate the process of the present invention and are not intended as a limitation upon the scope thereof.
The properties of the polymers produced in the Examples were determined by the following test methods:
Density ASTM D-1505 - Plaque is conditioned for one hour at 100C. to approach equilibrium crystallinity.
Melt Index (MI) ASTM D-1238 - Condition E -Measured at 190C. - reported . . ~ .
as grams per 10 minutes.
Flow Rate (HLMI) ASTM D-1238 - Condition F -Measured at 10 times the 1.
weight used in the melt -~
index te~t above.
Fiow Rate Ratio (FRR) = Flow Rate Melt Index 25.
; ' . . . . . . ..
..
~- ~C~9648 9587-1 productivity a sample of the resin product is ashed, and the weight %
of ash is determined; since the ash is essentially composed of the supported catalyst, the productivity is thus the pounds of polymer produced p~r pound of total catalyst consumed.
n-hexane extractables a sample of resin is lightly pressed into film samples and extracted with n-hexane at 50C. for four hours.
EXAMPLES 1 to 21 A.~ CatalYst Preparation: The catalysts used in Examples 1-21 were prepared as follows:
To a solution of the desired amount of CrO3 in thre~e liters of distilled water there was added 500 grams 20 ~ of a porous silica support having a particle size of about 70 microns and a surface area of about 300 square meters per gram. The mixture of the support, water and CrO3 was stirred~and~allowed to stand for about 15 minutes. It was then filtered to remove about 2200-2300 ml of solution.
1:
26.
,`~, ~; ' ~ : : .
': : . . . . . . . . .. .
~069648 The CrO3 loaded silica was then dried under a stream of nitrogen for about four hours at 200C.
About 400 grams of the supported CrO3 was then slurried in about 2000 ml of dry isopentane, and then a desired amount of tetraisopropyl titanate was added to the slurry. The system was then mixed thoroughly and then the isopentane was dried by heating the reaction vessel.
The dried material was then transferred to an activator (heating vessel) and a desired quantity of (NH4)2SiF6 was added and admixed. The composition was then heated under N2 at 50C. for about one hour and then at 150C. for about one hour to insure that all the i80pentane was rem~ved and to slowly remove organic residues from the tetraisopropyl titanate so as to avoid any danger of a fire. The N2 stream was then replaced with a stream~of dry air and the catalyst composition ~as :
activated at 300C. for about two hours and then at 750C.
, ~ :
or 825C. for about eight hours. The activated catalyst was then cooled with dry air (at ambient temperatures) to about 150C. and further cooled from 150C. to room temperature with N2 (at ambient temperature).
The amounts of the chromium, titanium and fluorine c~ompounds which were added to provide the desired levels of these elements in the activated catalyst are as follows:
~ 27.
.. ' Weight % of Weight % of compound element in added to the activated support catalyst - CrO3 Cr (as Cr) 0.8 0 4 0.6 0.3 0.53 0.26 0.33 0.17 0.13 0.07 Ti(isopropyl)4 Ti (as Ti) 5.6 28 4.5
4.1 (NH4)2siF6 F (as F) 1.5 0.7 0.6 0.3 B: Use of Catalysts in Examples 1 to 21 - A series of 21 experiments were conducted in which ethylene was copolymerized with butene-l. Each of the reactLons was conducted for 2 to 4 hours, after equilibrium was reached, in one or the other of two fluid bed reactor systems. One system, Reactor A, was as described in the drawing. It has a lower section 10 feet high and l3 1/2 inches in (i~ner) diameter, and an upper section which was 16 feet high and 23 1/2 inches in (inner) diameter. The other system, Reactor B, had the flared upper section of Reactor A
replaced by a straight sided section which was 16 1/2 feet ; 28.
10696~8 9587-1 high and 13 1/2 inches in (inner) diameter. The lower section of Reactor B had the same dimensions as those of the lower section of Reactor A.
EXAMPLES 1 to 8 ~ .
Examples 1 to 8 were run in Reactor B under a gas veloclty of 4 times Gmf and a pressure of 30~ psig. The cata-lysts ~sed in-thes~ Examples were prepared as disclosed above.
After activation, at 825C., each of the supported catalysts contained 0.4 weight 7O Cr, 4.5 weight % Ti, and 0.3 weight % of F. The other reaction conditions for Examples 1-8 were as shown in Table I below:
TABLE I
C4Hg/ H2/ Space C2H4 C2H4 Time Yield, Temp. mol mol lbs/hr/ft3 Example C. ratio Ratio of bed space 1 90 0.07 0.04 5.2 2 89 0.10 -- 8.7 3 90 0.10 -- 5.2 4 90 0.09 -- 6.3 0.11 -- 6.8 6 95 0.085 -- 7.2 7 95 0.07 -- 6.3 ~ 8 95 0.07 -- 7.2 : : The copolymers produced in Examples 1-8 had the properties shown in Table II below:
29.
: .
9587_1 N
rl a~ ~
~J ~ O O O O O O O O
. . . . . . . . .. `
o o o o o o o o ¢
Q~
S~
~ C~ ~ O C~
q~ ~ . . .
X O
O O O O
O O O O
o o o o I
O L-~ O
0~1 1~ ~ a~
~rl ~1 ~ ~ ~ O ' O O O
U~ O' O O O O O O O
¢
~_1 O O O O O O O O
~ ~ ~O ~ ~ ~ ~ O C~
O O O O O O O O
Co CO U~ 15~ , ., O CJ~ O 00 0 1~ CS~
a~ oo ~ ~ ~ I
_I ~
00 0 ~1 ~ U~ 00 ~D ~1 O
~1 ~ ~ 1~ 0 o /~ c~
1-1 C~ ~ 9 C~l Q O O O O O O O
Q~
X ~
30.
` 9587-1 EXAMPLES 9 to 17 Examples 9 to 15 were run in Reactor B, and Examples 16 and 17 were'run in Reactor A, under a gas velocity of 4 times Gmf. The catalysts used in these examples were prepared as disclosed above. After activation, at 825C., the supported catalysts contained 4.1 or 5.6 weight 7O of Ti, 0.6 or 1.5 weight % of F and 0.4, 0.26, 0.17 and 0.07 weight % of Cr. The variations in these catalysts, and the other reaction conditions for Examples 9 to 17 were as shown in Table III below:
.~ .
, ~ .
,:
31.
.
~06964~
_~ ~ ~
.,, P~
Q~ O ~ U) oo oO 0 ~o u~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ u~
I x J O
~ O ~d ~ ~ e ~ o o o o O O o o O
o U~
00 ~ ~rl 00 ~o X 00 0~ 00 X C~ o~
o o o o o o o o o C`~ o. ~
" C~ e ~ O O O O O O O O O
H
H
~ . ~ .
~4 O O O O O O O O O '' ~1a~ ~rl O O O O O O O O O : ~
.~
~ o I~ ~ r_ I~ ~ I~ I~ 1~ h'~
E~ oo oo oo o~ X co ~o ~o oo . . . . . . . . .
O O O O O O O O O
O C`l C~ l O ~ ~
o o o o o o o o o E c~ o , 32 .
10696~8 The copolymers produced in Examples 9 to 17 had the properties shown below in Table IV.
o o o o o o o o o a~ ~Al N t.~
¢ ~ ~ ~ O O O O O O O O O
I .
X ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ U~
3 ~
o o o o o o o o o '' o a~ o~ o o o o o u~
~1 0 ~1 g o o o s ~o ~ ¢ O O O O O O O O O
~ o o o o o o o o o ~ ~ ~ ~ u~ ~ o --l o o o o l`
l ~ ~ s 0 ~
~ o o --~ o o o o --l o x : o o :o o o o o o o r ~ 33.
:
.., : ~ .
.,.. ,... ~ . ,., ~. . - . :
.
10696~8 EXAMPLES 18 to 21 Examples 18 to 21 were run in Reactor B under a pressure of 300 psig and a gas velocity of 4 times Gmf.
The catalysts used in these examples were prepared as disclosed above. After activation, at 825C., each of the supported catalysts contained 0.4 weight %, Cr, 4.5 weight % of Ti and 0.3 weigh~ ~/O of F. The other reaction conditions for Examples 18 to 21 were as shown in Table V below: , TABLE V
Space . C4Hg/ Time Yield Temp, C2H4 lbs/hr/ft3 Example C. mol Ratio of bed space 18 86 0,07 3,7 19 89 0.06 3,7 0.085 4.3 21 95 0.04 3.6 The copolymers produced in Examples 18 to 21 had the :
properties shown In TabLe ~I below:
' ~ 34, ~069648 9587-1 .
~q .c aJ a~.~
c~ ~ ~ ~
td~rl' ~` O O O O
a) ~ ~ N O O O O
¢ P~ ~n ,: :
X ~ I` ~D O 1 h ~1 ,1 u~
. ~ .
I o O
` o 8 o o~ o ~ o C~ o oo C~l .,1 ~ ~ ~ _, U~ _, oo I ~ o C~l o o o o o p . ~ o o o o 1 ~ ,~
. ~ ~ ,, E~ ~ a~
~ . .
a o o O O
. ~ .
~1 ~ '`
.
. ~ ~ _I
H ~1 ~ u~
~ O O O O
~ ~ .
. ~ ~ ' P
a 00 ~ O _, ~ ~1 ~ C~
~ ~ . - .
35.
.. . . .
~ . .
~069648 EXAMPLES 22 to 39 .
A. Catalyst Preparation: The catalysts used in Examples 22 to 39 were prepared as were the catalysts for Examples 1 to 21. The source of chromium was Cr~3, the source of titanium was tetraisopropyl titanate and the source of F, when used, was (NH4)2SiF6. In some cases, however, no source of fluorine was used in making the catalyst.
The supports used for all the catalysts was a porous silica support having a particLe size of about 70 microns and a surface area of about 300 square meters per gram.
The catalysts of Examples 22 to 31 were activated by being heated at 750C. in dry air for about eight hours, and the catalysts of Examples 32 to 39 were activated by being heated at 900C. in dry air for about ; eight hours. After activation, the catalysts contained various amounts of Cr, Ti, and, optionally, F, and these amounts are listed below in Table VII.
B. Use of Catalysts in Examples 22 to 39 The catalysts were used in each experiment to copolymerize butene-l with e~hylene at 91C. in Reactor A
under a pressure of 300 psig and at a gas velocity of about 4 times Gmf. The reactions were conducted using a mol ratio of C4Hg/C2H4 of 0.080 ~ O.002 and a space time yield of 3.9 to 4.8 lbs/hr/ft3 of bed space. The exact values are shown below in Table VII. Table VII also discloses the productivity of the catalyst in each experiment, and various properties of the polymers that were produced.
36;
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a~ ~IO~oO~O~
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.~ oooooooooooooooooo . . - ~
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.' ~ ~o u~ o o o ~ ~ o J~ ~rl 1~ ~ I~ ~ O ~ O~ ~ O x u~
. ~ ~ ¢l ~a~a~ ¢l ~
p~t~ o t~ ~ ^ ^ ^o~a~ ^ ^ ^ ^Lno~ ^ ^~1 ~ ~
_I ~ t:~ ~J ~ 10 ~ ^ ^0 0 ~ O ^ ^U~ c~l ^ h ~ ~ ~ ~ ~a~a~a~ x ~
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~ ~ ~ _ ~a~o~ ~ ~
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, _ o ~oooocs~ oo,lo~ooo,lo to ~~
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37 .
replaced by a straight sided section which was 16 1/2 feet ; 28.
10696~8 9587-1 high and 13 1/2 inches in (inner) diameter. The lower section of Reactor B had the same dimensions as those of the lower section of Reactor A.
EXAMPLES 1 to 8 ~ .
Examples 1 to 8 were run in Reactor B under a gas veloclty of 4 times Gmf and a pressure of 30~ psig. The cata-lysts ~sed in-thes~ Examples were prepared as disclosed above.
After activation, at 825C., each of the supported catalysts contained 0.4 weight 7O Cr, 4.5 weight % Ti, and 0.3 weight % of F. The other reaction conditions for Examples 1-8 were as shown in Table I below:
TABLE I
C4Hg/ H2/ Space C2H4 C2H4 Time Yield, Temp. mol mol lbs/hr/ft3 Example C. ratio Ratio of bed space 1 90 0.07 0.04 5.2 2 89 0.10 -- 8.7 3 90 0.10 -- 5.2 4 90 0.09 -- 6.3 0.11 -- 6.8 6 95 0.085 -- 7.2 7 95 0.07 -- 6.3 ~ 8 95 0.07 -- 7.2 : : The copolymers produced in Examples 1-8 had the properties shown in Table II below:
29.
: .
9587_1 N
rl a~ ~
~J ~ O O O O O O O O
. . . . . . . . .. `
o o o o o o o o ¢
Q~
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q~ ~ . . .
X O
O O O O
O O O O
o o o o I
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0~1 1~ ~ a~
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U~ O' O O O O O O O
¢
~_1 O O O O O O O O
~ ~ ~O ~ ~ ~ ~ O C~
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Co CO U~ 15~ , ., O CJ~ O 00 0 1~ CS~
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~1 ~ ~ 1~ 0 o /~ c~
1-1 C~ ~ 9 C~l Q O O O O O O O
Q~
X ~
30.
` 9587-1 EXAMPLES 9 to 17 Examples 9 to 15 were run in Reactor B, and Examples 16 and 17 were'run in Reactor A, under a gas velocity of 4 times Gmf. The catalysts used in these examples were prepared as disclosed above. After activation, at 825C., the supported catalysts contained 4.1 or 5.6 weight 7O of Ti, 0.6 or 1.5 weight % of F and 0.4, 0.26, 0.17 and 0.07 weight % of Cr. The variations in these catalysts, and the other reaction conditions for Examples 9 to 17 were as shown in Table III below:
.~ .
, ~ .
,:
31.
.
~06964~
_~ ~ ~
.,, P~
Q~ O ~ U) oo oO 0 ~o u~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ u~
I x J O
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o U~
00 ~ ~rl 00 ~o X 00 0~ 00 X C~ o~
o o o o o o o o o C`~ o. ~
" C~ e ~ O O O O O O O O O
H
H
~ . ~ .
~4 O O O O O O O O O '' ~1a~ ~rl O O O O O O O O O : ~
.~
~ o I~ ~ r_ I~ ~ I~ I~ 1~ h'~
E~ oo oo oo o~ X co ~o ~o oo . . . . . . . . .
O O O O O O O O O
O C`l C~ l O ~ ~
o o o o o o o o o E c~ o , 32 .
10696~8 The copolymers produced in Examples 9 to 17 had the properties shown below in Table IV.
o o o o o o o o o a~ ~Al N t.~
¢ ~ ~ ~ O O O O O O O O O
I .
X ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ U~
3 ~
o o o o o o o o o '' o a~ o~ o o o o o u~
~1 0 ~1 g o o o s ~o ~ ¢ O O O O O O O O O
~ o o o o o o o o o ~ ~ ~ ~ u~ ~ o --l o o o o l`
l ~ ~ s 0 ~
~ o o --~ o o o o --l o x : o o :o o o o o o o r ~ 33.
:
.., : ~ .
.,.. ,... ~ . ,., ~. . - . :
.
10696~8 EXAMPLES 18 to 21 Examples 18 to 21 were run in Reactor B under a pressure of 300 psig and a gas velocity of 4 times Gmf.
The catalysts used in these examples were prepared as disclosed above. After activation, at 825C., each of the supported catalysts contained 0.4 weight %, Cr, 4.5 weight % of Ti and 0.3 weigh~ ~/O of F. The other reaction conditions for Examples 18 to 21 were as shown in Table V below: , TABLE V
Space . C4Hg/ Time Yield Temp, C2H4 lbs/hr/ft3 Example C. mol Ratio of bed space 18 86 0,07 3,7 19 89 0.06 3,7 0.085 4.3 21 95 0.04 3.6 The copolymers produced in Examples 18 to 21 had the :
properties shown In TabLe ~I below:
' ~ 34, ~069648 9587-1 .
~q .c aJ a~.~
c~ ~ ~ ~
td~rl' ~` O O O O
a) ~ ~ N O O O O
¢ P~ ~n ,: :
X ~ I` ~D O 1 h ~1 ,1 u~
. ~ .
I o O
` o 8 o o~ o ~ o C~ o oo C~l .,1 ~ ~ ~ _, U~ _, oo I ~ o C~l o o o o o p . ~ o o o o 1 ~ ,~
. ~ ~ ,, E~ ~ a~
~ . .
a o o O O
. ~ .
~1 ~ '`
.
. ~ ~ _I
H ~1 ~ u~
~ O O O O
~ ~ .
. ~ ~ ' P
a 00 ~ O _, ~ ~1 ~ C~
~ ~ . - .
35.
.. . . .
~ . .
~069648 EXAMPLES 22 to 39 .
A. Catalyst Preparation: The catalysts used in Examples 22 to 39 were prepared as were the catalysts for Examples 1 to 21. The source of chromium was Cr~3, the source of titanium was tetraisopropyl titanate and the source of F, when used, was (NH4)2SiF6. In some cases, however, no source of fluorine was used in making the catalyst.
The supports used for all the catalysts was a porous silica support having a particLe size of about 70 microns and a surface area of about 300 square meters per gram.
The catalysts of Examples 22 to 31 were activated by being heated at 750C. in dry air for about eight hours, and the catalysts of Examples 32 to 39 were activated by being heated at 900C. in dry air for about ; eight hours. After activation, the catalysts contained various amounts of Cr, Ti, and, optionally, F, and these amounts are listed below in Table VII.
B. Use of Catalysts in Examples 22 to 39 The catalysts were used in each experiment to copolymerize butene-l with e~hylene at 91C. in Reactor A
under a pressure of 300 psig and at a gas velocity of about 4 times Gmf. The reactions were conducted using a mol ratio of C4Hg/C2H4 of 0.080 ~ O.002 and a space time yield of 3.9 to 4.8 lbs/hr/ft3 of bed space. The exact values are shown below in Table VII. Table VII also discloses the productivity of the catalyst in each experiment, and various properties of the polymers that were produced.
36;
~n cs~ ~ o ~ ~ ~ c~
a~ ~IO~oO~O~
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.~ oooooooooooooooooo . . - ~
~Q ~ ~ cr~ l~ ~ ~ ~ o o ~ ~ o~ ~ o ~, C) ..................
JJ ~ ~U~_,~ o h K Lr ~L I O ~ :
P~ ' P~ oo oo O O c~ O ~ O ~ u) ~
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~a~a~
.. ~ ~ ....... a~ ~
o ~ ;~ ~ ~ u~ a~ u~ ~ ~ ~ ~o oo ~ ~D c~ I~ ~ 00 , ~', O
.' ~ ~o u~ o o o ~ ~ o J~ ~rl 1~ ~ I~ ~ O ~ O~ ~ O x u~
. ~ ~ ¢l ~a~a~ ¢l ~
p~t~ o t~ ~ ^ ^ ^o~a~ ^ ^ ^ ^Lno~ ^ ^~1 ~ ~
_I ~ t:~ ~J ~ 10 ~ ^ ^0 0 ~ O ^ ^U~ c~l ^ h ~ ~ ~ ~ ~a~a~a~ x ~
O ~ P~ ~
~ ~ ~a , ~ 1 , ~ ,o~ ,.
~ ~ ~ _ ~a~o~ ~ ~
o C~ U~ $
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J~ ~ O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O S~ ~
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37 .
Claims (10)
1. A process for producing solid ethylene polymers having a density of less than 0.941 and a melt index of > 0.0 to at least about 2.0 under relatively low pressure conditions which comprises copolymerizing ethylene with sufficient quantities of C3 to C6 .alpha.-olefin monomer to provide the desired density in the copolymer product in a fluid bed process at a temperature of about 30 to 105°C., under a pressure of less than about 1000 psi, and under a Gmf of about 1.5 to 10 by contacting the monomers with fluidized particles of a supported catalyst wherein said particles have an average diameter of about 50 to 200 microns said supported catalyst having been activated in air or oxygen at a temperature of about 300 to 900°C., and comprising, based on the total weight of the support and the catalyst, about 0.05 to 3.0 weight percent of chromium, about 1.5 to 9.0 weight percent of titanium, and ? 0.0 to about 2.5 weight percent of fluorine, said chromium and said titanium being in the form of oxides after said activation.
2. A process as in claim 1 for producing solid ethylene polymers having a melt index of about 0.1 to 1.5.
38.
38.
3. A process as in claim 2 for producing solid ethylene polymers having a density of about 0.900 to 0.925.
4. A process as in claim 2 for producing solid ethylene polymers having a density of about 0.926 to 0.940.
5. A process as in claim 1 for producing solid copolymers of ethylene and propylene.
6. A process as in claim 1 for producing solid copolymers of ethylene and butene-l.
7. A process as in claim 1 for producing solid copolymers of ethylene and hexene-l.
8. A process as in claim 1 for producing solid ethylene polymers at a temperature of about 75 to 100%., under a pressure of about 150 to 350 psi and under a Gmf of about 3 to 6 .
9. A process as in claim 8 in which said catalyst comprises about 0.2 to 1.0 weight percent of chromium, about 4 to 7 weight percent of titanium, and about 0.1 to 1.0 weight percent of fluorine.
10. A process as in claim 9 in which said support comprises silica.
39.
39.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US05/557,122 US4011382A (en) | 1975-03-10 | 1975-03-10 | Preparation of low and medium density ethylene polymer in fluid bed reactor |
| US64897176A | 1976-01-14 | 1976-01-14 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1069648A true CA1069648A (en) | 1980-01-08 |
Family
ID=27071336
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| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA246,836A Expired CA1069648A (en) | 1975-03-10 | 1976-03-01 | Preparation of low and medium density ethylene polymer in fluid bed reactor |
Country Status (19)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS51112891A (en) |
| AR (1) | AR206852A1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU499043B2 (en) |
| BR (1) | BR7601437A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1069648A (en) |
| DE (2) | DE2660510C2 (en) |
| DK (1) | DK152736B (en) |
| EG (1) | EG12333A (en) |
| ES (1) | ES445945A1 (en) |
| FI (1) | FI63248C (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2303813A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1531544A (en) |
| HK (1) | HK41379A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1057005B (en) |
| MY (1) | MY8000002A (en) |
| NL (1) | NL7602515A (en) |
| NO (2) | NO149892C (en) |
| NZ (1) | NZ180275A (en) |
| SE (1) | SE426836B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US10626202B2 (en) | 2007-02-01 | 2020-04-21 | Basell Polyolefine Gmbh | Monomodal copolymer of ethylene for injection molding and process for its preparation |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR2405961A1 (en) * | 1977-10-12 | 1979-05-11 | Naphtachimie Sa | PROCESS FOR THE COPOLYMERIZATION OF OLEFINS IN A GAS PHASE IN THE PRESENCE OF A FLUIDIZED COPOLYMER BED AND A CATALYST CONTAINING TITANIUM AND MAGNESIUM |
| US4390677A (en) * | 1978-03-31 | 1983-06-28 | Karol Frederick J | Article molded from ethylene hydrocarbon copolymer |
| JPS5552309A (en) * | 1978-10-11 | 1980-04-16 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Preparation of copolymer |
| JPS5554308A (en) * | 1978-10-17 | 1980-04-21 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Preparation of copolymer |
| JPS5556110A (en) * | 1978-10-20 | 1980-04-24 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Preparation of copolymer |
| JPS5556111A (en) * | 1978-10-20 | 1980-04-24 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Preparation of copolymer |
| JPS5558210A (en) * | 1978-10-26 | 1980-04-30 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Production of copolymer |
| JPS5573712A (en) * | 1978-11-29 | 1980-06-03 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Preparation of copolymer |
| JPS606558Y2 (en) * | 1979-03-29 | 1985-03-01 | 日立造船株式会社 | Watertight device for shutter door |
| JPS56129204A (en) * | 1980-03-14 | 1981-10-09 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Apparatus for vapor-phase polymerization of olefin |
| JPS56159205A (en) * | 1980-05-14 | 1981-12-08 | Nippon Oil Co Ltd | Equipment for olefin gas-phase polymerization |
| FR2493856B1 (en) * | 1980-11-13 | 1986-03-21 | Naphtachimie Sa | HIGH IMPACT RESISTANCE POLYPROPYLENE COMPOSITIONS |
| FR2493855B1 (en) * | 1980-11-13 | 1986-01-10 | Naphtachimie Sa | IMPROVED IMPACT RESISTANCE POLYPROPYLENE COMPOSITIONS |
| IT1210855B (en) * | 1982-02-12 | 1989-09-29 | Assoreni Ora Enichem Polimeri | LINEAR STRUCTURE ETHYLENE POLYMERS AND PROCESSES FOR THEIR PREPARATION. |
| CA1326735C (en) * | 1988-04-12 | 1994-02-01 | Daniel Cano | Method for decreasing swell properties of alpha olefins |
| EP2004706B2 (en) * | 2006-04-13 | 2017-09-27 | Total Research & Technology Feluy | Branched low and medium density polyethylene |
| EP1845110A1 (en) * | 2006-04-13 | 2007-10-17 | Total Petrochemicals Research Feluy | Chromium-based catalysts |
| EP2281825A4 (en) | 2008-06-05 | 2012-02-22 | Adeka Corp | Aluminum phenoxides and process for production of stabilized polymers by using the aluminum phenoxides |
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| DE1808388U (en) | 1960-02-13 | 1960-03-24 | Franz Raichle | DEVICE TO BE CONNECTED TO OIL STOVE. |
| US3445367A (en) * | 1965-11-22 | 1969-05-20 | Phillips Petroleum Co | Catalyst and process for making olefin polymers of narrow molecular weight distribution |
| US3622521A (en) * | 1967-08-21 | 1971-11-23 | Phillips Petroleum Co | Olefin polymerization with chromium and titanium-containing compounds |
| US3666736A (en) | 1969-03-24 | 1972-05-30 | Phillips Petroleum Co | Low density ethylene-butene copolymers |
| GB1429174A (en) * | 1972-06-12 | 1976-03-24 | Bp Chem Int Ltd | Polymerisation process and catalyst |
| BE787508A (en) | 1972-08-04 | 1973-02-12 | Bp Chem Int Ltd | POLYMERIZATION PROCESS. |
-
1976
- 1976-01-01 AR AR262501A patent/AR206852A1/en active
- 1976-02-27 GB GB7852/76A patent/GB1531544A/en not_active Expired
- 1976-03-01 CA CA246,836A patent/CA1069648A/en not_active Expired
- 1976-03-09 AU AU11811/76A patent/AU499043B2/en not_active Expired
- 1976-03-10 DE DE2660510A patent/DE2660510C2/en not_active Expired
- 1976-03-10 SE SE7603163A patent/SE426836B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1976-03-10 FR FR7606855A patent/FR2303813A1/en active Granted
- 1976-03-10 DE DE2609889A patent/DE2609889C2/en not_active Expired
- 1976-03-10 IT IT21054/76A patent/IT1057005B/en active
- 1976-03-10 JP JP51025162A patent/JPS51112891A/en active Granted
- 1976-03-10 BR BR7601437A patent/BR7601437A/en unknown
- 1976-03-10 NO NO760827A patent/NO149892C/en unknown
- 1976-03-10 ES ES445945A patent/ES445945A1/en not_active Expired
- 1976-03-10 NZ NZ180275A patent/NZ180275A/en unknown
- 1976-03-10 EG EG148/76A patent/EG12333A/en active
- 1976-03-10 DK DK101576AA patent/DK152736B/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1976-03-10 FI FI760608A patent/FI63248C/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1976-03-10 NL NL7602515A patent/NL7602515A/en active Search and Examination
-
1979
- 1979-06-21 HK HK413/79A patent/HK41379A/en unknown
-
1980
- 1980-12-30 MY MY2/80A patent/MY8000002A/en unknown
-
1983
- 1983-06-17 NO NO832207A patent/NO153142C/en unknown
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US10626202B2 (en) | 2007-02-01 | 2020-04-21 | Basell Polyolefine Gmbh | Monomodal copolymer of ethylene for injection molding and process for its preparation |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE2660510C2 (en) | 1987-11-12 |
| NZ180275A (en) | 1978-06-20 |
| NO760827L (en) | 1976-09-13 |
| GB1531544A (en) | 1978-11-08 |
| AU1181176A (en) | 1977-09-15 |
| FR2303813A1 (en) | 1976-10-08 |
| NO149892B (en) | 1984-04-02 |
| NO832207L (en) | 1976-09-13 |
| DK152736B (en) | 1988-05-02 |
| NL7602515A (en) | 1976-09-14 |
| AR206852A1 (en) | 1976-08-23 |
| JPS51112891A (en) | 1976-10-05 |
| FI63248B (en) | 1983-01-31 |
| EG12333A (en) | 1978-09-30 |
| NO153142B (en) | 1985-10-14 |
| BR7601437A (en) | 1976-09-14 |
| FI760608A (en) | 1976-09-11 |
| AU499043B2 (en) | 1979-04-05 |
| SE426836B (en) | 1983-02-14 |
| DE2609889C2 (en) | 1982-08-26 |
| JPS5618132B2 (en) | 1981-04-27 |
| DE2609889A1 (en) | 1976-09-23 |
| FR2303813B1 (en) | 1979-09-07 |
| MY8000002A (en) | 1980-12-31 |
| NO153142C (en) | 1986-01-22 |
| ES445945A1 (en) | 1977-05-16 |
| FI63248C (en) | 1983-05-10 |
| DK101576A (en) | 1976-09-11 |
| SE7603163L (en) | 1976-09-13 |
| IT1057005B (en) | 1982-03-10 |
| NO149892C (en) | 1984-07-11 |
| HK41379A (en) | 1979-06-29 |
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