Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc.

Christian T Lund

Michael D Lucas

Philip W Livanec

In a process for producing an olefin polymer, at least one olefin monomer is polymerized in a polymerization reactor to produce a particulate polymer product containing hydrocarbon impurities including unreacted monomer and other Cto Chydrocarbons. The polymer product is contacted with a gas-containing stream in a stripping vessel under conditions effective to strip hydrocarbon impurities from the polymer product and produce a stripped particulate polymer product and a gaseous first effluent stream containing inert gas and hydrocarbon impurities. The stripped particulate polymer product is recovered and the atmosphere adjacent the stripped particulate polymer product is sensed with a photoionization detector configured to ionize Cto Chydrocarbons. The amount of the gas-containing stream supplied to the stripping vessel is then adjusted based upon such sensing.

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Beaumont, TX, United States of America

Christian T Lund