Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP

Other

Joseph A Curren

Scott E Kufeld

Joel A Mutchler

Eric J Netemeyer

Jeffrey S Fodor

Rebecca A Gonzales

Jamie N Sutherland

Paul J DesLauriers

Jeffrey S Lowell

Kenneth A Dooley

Ralph W Romig

Michael H Treptau

Timothy O Odi

James E Hein

Ji Xian Loh

Anurag Gupta

Ai-Fu Chang

Lei Ji

Paul J Deslauriers

Bradley T Price

Roman Walther

Aloysius V Thayalarajan

Ralph Romig

Methods for operating a polymerization reactor system are described, and these methods include the steps of contacting a transition metal-based catalyst system with an olefin monomer and an optional olefin comonomer in the polymerization reactor system comprising a loop slurry reactor and a reactor circulating pump under polymerization conditions to produce an olefin polymer; measuring a kW power consumption of the reactor circulating pump to generate power consumption versus time data; converting the power consumption versus time data using frequency analysis to generate intensity versus frequency data at a first frequency interval encompassing a time equal to one-half an average recirculation period in the loop slurry reactor, and intensity versus frequency data at a second frequency interval encompassing a time equal to the average full recirculation period in the loop slurry reactor; and reducing a production rate of the olefin polymer in the loop slurry reactor when a total of a first peak intensity at the first frequency interval and a second peak intensity at the second frequency interval is equal to 10,000 or more, or when the rate of change of the first peak intensity or the rate of change of the second peak intensity is equal to 5,000/hr or more.

Loop slurry periodogram control to prevent reactor fouling and reactor shutdowns

Apparatuses and processes that produce multimodal polyolefins, and in particular, polyethylene resins, are disclosed herein. This is accomplished by using two reactors in series, where one of the reactors is a multi-zone circulating reactor that can circulate polyolefin particles through two polymerization zones optionally having two different flow regimes so that the final multimodal polyolefin has improved product properties and improved product homogeneity.

Multiple reactor and multiple zone polyolefin polymerization

Polymerization processes and reactor systems for producing multimodal ethylene polymers are disclosed in which at least one loop reactor and at least one fluidized bed reactor are utilized. Configurations include a loop reactor in series with a fluidized bed reactor and two loop reactors in series with a fluidized bed reactor.

Ethylene polymerization processes and reactor systems for the production of multimodal polymers using combinations of a loop reactor and a fluidized bed reactor

A purge system for a polymerization system may include a purge column including a stripping zone and a stripping fluid distributor below the stripping zone for injecting a stripping fluid including one or more light olefins. A first displacement zone is below the distributor. A second displacement zone is below the first displacement zone. A nitrogen distributor introduces nitrogen in the second displacement zone. Another purge system for a polymerization system may include a fluidized bed separator and a purge column. The fluidized bed separator includes a separator inlet, a stripping fluid inlet, a first stripped fluid outlet, and a separator outlet. The purge column includes a flake inlet, a stripping zone, a stripping fluid distributor below the stripping zone, a stripped flake outlet, and a second stripped fluid outlet for a second stripped fluid from the purge column.

Systems and techniques for polymer degassing

A system including a dump tank to receive a reactor product comprising a polymer and hydrocarbons, including liquid hydrocarbons, the dump tank including a vessel with a reactor product inlet, a motive gas inlet, a purge gas inlet, gas outlet(s), and a fluid outlet, the motive gas inlet for introducing a motive gas into the vessel, the purge gas inlet for introducing a purge gas into the vessel, the one or more gas outlets located at a top of the vessel and the fluid outlet located at a bottom of the vessel and fluidly connected with a dump tank fluid outlet line having a dump tank outlet valve to control flow of fluid out of the dump tank via the fluid outlet; and a strainer fluidly connected with the dump tank fluid outlet line to allow passage of liquid hydrocarbons therethrough into a hydrocarbon outlet line.

System and method for improving dump tank purge time

A method of operating a dump tank of a polymer production process by transferring all or a portion of a content of a polymerization reactor into the dump tank, wherein the reactor contents comprise solid polymer, and liquid and gaseous non-product components, and removing at least a portion of the liquid and gaseous non-product components from the dump tank by: reducing a pressure of the dump tank, subjecting the solid polymer to a first cleaning stage comprising heating the solid polymer by introducing a first heated treatment gas into the dump tank, and subjecting the solid polymer to a second cleaning stage comprising purging the solid polymer by introducing a second heated treatment gas into the dump tank.

System and method for rapid dump tank heating

The present invention discloses methods for removing volatile components from an ethylene polymer effluent stream from a polymerization reactor, and related polyethylene recovery and volatile removal systems. In these methods and systems, the polymer solids temperature is increased significantly prior to introduction of the polymer solids into a purge column for the final stripping of volatile components from the polymer solids.

Systems and methods for polyethylene recovery with low volatile content

Systems and methods for improved degassing of polymer flake are provided herein. These systems include a polymerization reactor configured to polymerize one or more olefin monomers and produce a product stream comprising solid polymer flake entrained in a fluid; a flash chamber configured to separate the solid polymer flake from the fluid and to produce a fluid stream and a concentrated stream; and a first degassing chamber configured to separate the concentrated stream by contacting the concentrated stream with a purge fluid comprising one or more light hydrocarbons to produce a partially degassed polymer flake stream and a purge fluid stream.

Polymer flake degassing system and methods

A process for component separation in a polymer production system, comprising: separating a polymerization product stream into a gas stream and a polymer stream; contacting the polymer stream with a purge gas to yield a purged polymer stream and a spent purge gas stream; introducing the spent purge gas stream to a compressor to produce a compressed gas stream; introducing the compressed gas stream to a first separation unit to produce a first hydrocarbon stream and a membrane unit feed stream; introducing the membrane unit feed stream to a membrane unit to produce a first recovered purge gas stream and a retentate stream; introducing the retentate stream to a second separation unit to produce a second hydrocarbon stream and a PSA unit feed stream; and introducing the PSA unit feed stream to a PSA unit to produce a second recovered purge gas stream and a tail gas stream.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Joseph A Curren