Enichem Elastomers Ltd.

Other

Donald G Timms

Derek K Jenkins

Anthony V Butcher

A process for the removal of contaminating residues of a homogeneous catalyst comprising a hydrocarbon soluble compound of a transition metal from Group VIII of the Periodic Table and a metal alkyl or alkyl halide cocatalyst from a liquid hydrocarbon reaction product comprises treating the contaminated product with an aqueous solution of a silicate, borate or carbonate and separating and recovering the hydrocarbon phase. Residues of oligomerization catalysts, polymerization catalysts and hydrogenation catalysts are removable by this process, especially nickel, cobalt, iron, aluminium and halogen residues.

Removal of catalyst residues

Unsaturated acids in rosin or tall oil are disproportionated by heating the rosin or tall oil with a catalyst comprising iodine and an iron compound using ammonia, an ammonium salt or an amine as an additional component of the catalyst. Use of this additional component gives a remarkable and unexpected increase in reaction rate and enables the preparation of a disproportionated rosin containing 0.5% or less residual abietic acid, as measured by ultraviolet spectroscopy.

Disproportionation of unsaturated acids

Titanium trichloride for use as a component of a Ziegler polymerization catalyst is modified in order to enhance the activity and/or stereospecificity of the catalyst in the polymerization of olefins, especially propylene, by heating the titanium trichloride with phosphorus oxytrichloride in an aromatic hydrocarbon diluent for several hours in the absence of the organo aluminium component of the catalyst. Ball milling, or shearing, during the modification reaction is not required. The use of aromatic hydrocarbon gives unexpected improvement compared with any other hydrocarbon diluent and the modification reaction gives improved results compared with addition of the titanium trichloride, phosphorus oxytrichloride and the organo aluminium component to the reactor at the beginning of a batch polymerization.

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Beaulieu, United Kingdom

Donald G Timms