GB1340694A - Polymerisation process - Google Patents

Abstract

1340694 Propylene polymerization IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES Ltd 7 June 1971 [12 June 1970] 28585/70 Heading C3P Propylene is polymerized at a temperature above 100‹ C. and under at least 600 atm. pressure using a catalyst which is a combination of a solid compound of a metal of Groups IVA to VIA with an organoaluminium compound, the solid compound having been finely dispersed by being used previously, alone or in combination with an organoaluminium compound, to catalyse the formation of a minor proportion, up to 100 monomer units per mole of the transition metal, of an amorphous polymer. An amorphous polymer is defined as one which is swollen by the diluent under the conditions of the preliminary polymerization, so fracturing the catalyst particles. The preferred transition metal compound is TiCl 3 , especially that prepared from TiCl 4 and an aluminium alkyl or haloalkyl. Various procedures for the preliminary polymerization using different types of hydrocarbon monomers are described, the conditions and preferred amount of monomer being dependent on the type of monomer(s) chosen. In a preferred procedure TiCl 3 is combined with Et 2 AlCl and used to polymerize 4 moles per mole of Ti of decene-1 and the resulting mixture is used (without the addition of a separate organoaluminium component) to catalyze the high-pressure polymerization of propylene, preferably in a continuous reactor system having more than one zone.