Propylene polymerization in a semibatch slurry reactor over supported TiCl4/MgCl2/ethyl benzoate/triethyl aluminum catalyst. I. Catalytic behavior
Abstract
High activity TiCl4/MgCl2/ethyl benzoate (EB)/triethyl aluminum (TEA) catalysts for the polymerization of propylene were synthesized and characterized for particle size distribution and crystallinity. Polymerization was carried out in a semibatch, constant pressure slurry reactor. A correction for interfacial mass transfer was found to be necessary to relate the monomer feed rate to the instantaneous rate of polymerization. Without such a correction serious misinterpretation of rate data could result. Optimum productivity was observed with respect to the Al/Ti ratio. Similar behavior was observed with polymerization temperature. Isotacticity increased with polymerization tamperature and decreased with Al/Ti ratio. The addition of a small amount of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine increased the percentage of isotactic polypropylene to 98% without significantly affecting productivity.
