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The effect of aluminum alkyls and BHT ‐ H on reaction kinetics of silica supported metallocenes and polymer properties in slurry phase ethylene polymerization
Author(s) -
Bashir Muhammad Ahsan,
Monteil Vincent,
Boisson Christophe,
McKenna Timothy F. L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.45670
Subject(s) - catalysis , polyethylene , polymerization , ethylene , metallocene , alkyl , kinetics , chemical engineering , polymer , polymer chemistry , chemistry , materials science , post metallocene catalyst , phase (matter) , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
In slurry and gas phase catalytic ethylene polymerization processes, aluminum alkyl (AlR 3 ) compounds are usually present inside the reactor and their role either as co‐catalyst or scavenger is of considerable importance. Silica supported metallocene/methyl aluminoxane (MAO) catalysts show specific interactions with AlR 3 compounds. Therefore, this study shows an attempt to analyze and compare the effect of concentration as well as type of commonly used AlR 3 on slurry phase ethylene homopolymerization kinetics of silica supported ( n ‐BuCp) 2 ZrCl 2 /MAO catalyst. The obtained results indicate that the lower the concentration of smaller AlR 3 compounds, the higher the instantaneous catalytic activity. Concerning the polymer particle size distributions, a rise in fines generation has been observed with increasing AlR 3 content inside the reactor. Finally, it has been shown that the addition of 2,6‐di‐ tert ‐butyl‐4‐methylphenol (a substituted phenol) into the reactor containing AlR 3 reduces the influence of AlR 3 compounds on the reaction kinetics of silica supported metallocene/MAO catalysts. Polyethylene properties remain similar in all the studied scenarios. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 45670.