Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc.

Robert Patrick Reynolds, Jr

Gabor Kiss

John W Chu

Patrick Brant

James Richardson Lattner

Aspy Keki Mehta

Manika Varma-Nair

Steven Paul Rucker

Rainer Kolb

David John Lohse

Alan Anthony Galuska

Thomas T Sun

Sudhin Datta

Frank Hershkowitz

Jo Ann M Canich

Andy Haishung Tsou

Karl Gottlieb Strohmaier

Gary David Mohr

Jean-Roch H Schauder

Richard B Hall

Bryan Robert Chapman

Sebastian Carmen Reyes

Florin Barsan

Robert C Portnoy

Gary L Casty

David B Dunaway

Guy Joseph Wouters

Donald Andrew Winesett

Megan Meier

Charles K Morgan

Michael Yu-Hsin Wen

Branched ethylene-propylene-diene elastomers (bEPDM) and processes for making the bEPDM's comprising combining a catalyst precursor and an activator at a temperature within a range from 90&#xb0; C. to 160&#xb0; C. with ethylene, a C3 to C12 &#x3b1;-olefin, a non-conjugated diene, and a dual-polymerizable diene, where the catalyst precursor is a metallocene catalyst precursor, preferably according to one of various structures including any two ligands selected from cyclopentadienyl ligands and ligands isolobal to the cyclopentadienyl group.

Process for making branched EPDM and the EPDM therefrom

Isotactic polypropylene ethylene-propylene copolymer blends and in-line processes for producing. The blends may have between 1 and 50 wt % of isotactic polypropylene with a melt flow rate of between 0.5 and 20,000 g/10 min and a melting peak temperature of 145&#xb0; C. or higher, and wherein the difference between the DSC peak melting and the peak crystallization temperatures is less than or equal to 0.5333 times the melting peak temperature minus 41.333&#xb0; C., and between 50 and 99 wt % of ethylene-propylene copolymer including between 10 wt % and 20 wt % randomly distributed ethylene with a melt flow rate of between 0.5 and 20,000 g/10 min, wherein the copolymer is polymerized by a bulk homogeneous polymerization process, and wherein the total regio defects in the continuous propylene segments of the copolymer is between 40 and 150% greater than a copolymer of equivalent melt flow rate and wt % ethylene polymerized by a solution polymerization process.

Polypropylene ethylene-propylene copolymer blends and in-line process to produce them

Provided are elastic propylene-alpha olefin blocky copolymers. In one form, the elastic propylene-alpha olefin blocky copolymer includes an &#x3b1;-olefin content from 12 to 25 wt % and having a propylene crystallinity less than 30 J/g, a Tm &#x3c;100&#xb0; C. and a Tg &#x3e;&#x2212;45&#xb0; C., wherein said copolymer has blocky propylene segments with rrgreater than 1.5, and a process for producing such copolymer.

Elastic propylene-alpha-olefin copolymer compositions and processes to produce them

Provided are methods of producing polymers with broadened molecular weight and/or composition distribution in a continuous homogeneous polymerization system utilizing reactor temperature gradients, reactor polymer concentration gradients, monomer concentration gradients, catalyst concentration gradients, and combinations thereof in the polymerization reactor. Such methods are particularly suitable when utilizing metallocene catalysts and other single-site catalysts, which generally produce polymers with narrow molecular weight and composition distribution.

Polymerization processes for broadened molecular weight distribution

A process for feeding ethylene into a polymerization system includes providing a low-pressure ethylene stream, one or more low-pressure Cto Cmonomer streams, an optional low-pressure inert solvent/diluent stream, and one or more reactors; metering the low-pressure ethylene stream, the one or more low-pressure Cto Cmonomer streams, and the optional low-pressure inert solvent/diluent stream; blending the metered low-pressure ethylene stream, the metered one or more low-pressure Cto Cmonomer streams, and the metered low-pressure optional inert solvent/diluent stream to form an ethylene-carrying low-pressure blended liquid feed stream; pressurizing the ethylene-carrying low-pressure blended liquid feed stream to the polymerization system pressure with one or more high-pressure pumps to thrm an ethylene-carrying high-pressure blended reactor feed stream; and feeding the ethylene-carrying high-pressure blended reactor feed stream to the one or more reactors.

Process for feeding ethylene to polymerization reactors

Elastomeric polymer blends and processes for their production are described. Specifically, the polymer blends comprise a first polymer and a second polymer, where the first polymer comprises from about 70 wt % to about 90 wt % units derived from propylene and from about 10 wt % to about 30 wt % units derived from ethylene and/or a C-Calpha-olefin, and the second polymer comprises from about 88 wt % to about 98 wt % units derived from propylene and from about 2 wt % to about 12 wt % units derived from ethylene and/or a C-Calpha-olefin. The elastomeric polymer blends are further characterized by having two or more of the following properties: an overall propylene content of between about 75 wt % and about 90 wt %, a melting point between about 110&#xb0; C. and about 145&#xb0; C., a Vicat softening point greater than about 45&#xb0; C., a tensile stress at 300% strain of less than about 500 psi (3447 kPa), as determined by a stress strain test according to ASTM D412, or an average maximum force for pellet separation of less than about 10 N in an accelerated storage stability test. The polymer blends are produced in a dual reactor process, in which the first polymer and the second polymer are prepared using differing catalyst systems.

Elastomeric polymer blends and processes for their production

Provided is a heat-seal resin. The resin includes 5 wt % to 95 wt % of a first copolymer and 95 wt % to 5 wt % of a second copolymer based on the total weight of the resin. The first copolymer and the second copolymer together are 90 wt % or more of the total weight of the resin. The first copolymer includes a first monomer of an alphaolefin of 2 to 4 carbon atoms and a second monomer selected from a second monomer of an alphaolefin of 2 to 8 carbon atoms. The first monomer and the second monomer of the first copolymer are different. The first copolymer has an MFR of from 5 to 1000 g/10 minutes and a Tof 66&#xb0; C. to 80&#xb0; C. The second copolymer includes a first monomer of an alphaolefin of 2 to 4 carbon atoms and a second monomer selected from a second monomer of an alphaolefin of 2 to 8 carbon atoms. The first monomer and the second monomer of the second copolymer are different. The second copolymer has an MFR of from 0.5 to 5 g/10 minutes and a Tof 45&#xb0; C. to 66&#xb0; C., wherein the first copolymer has an MFR of at least 2 g/10 minutes greater and a Tof at least 10&#xb0; C. greater than the second copolymer. There is also a package formed partly or entirely of the resin.

Heat-seal resin and package formed therefrom

A process for fluid phase in-line blending of polymers. The process includes providing two or more reactor trains configured in parallel and a separator for product blending and product-feed separation; contacting in at least one of the parallel reactor trains olefin monomers having three or more carbon atoms, catalyst systems, optional comonomers, optional scavengers, and optional inert diluents or inert solvents, at a temperature above the solid-fluid phase transition temperature of the polymerization system and a pressure no lower than 10 MPa below the cloud point pressure of the polymerization system and less than 1500 MPa; forming a reactor effluent including a homogeneous fluid phase polymer-monomer mixture in each parallel reactor train; combining the reactor effluent from each parallel reactor; passing the combined reactor effluent through the separator; maintaining the temperature and pressure within the separator above the solid-fluid phase transition point but below the cloud point pressure and temperature to form a fluid-fluid two-phase system including a polymer-rich blend phase and a monomer-rich phase; and separating the monomer-rich phase from the polymer-rich blend phase. The separated monomer-rich phase is recycled to the polymerization reactor bank. The polymer-rich blend phase is conveyed to a downstream finishing stage for further monomer stripping, drying and/or pelletizing to form a polymer product blend.

Process for fluid phase in-line blending of polymers

Isotactic polypropylene ethylene-propylene copolymer blends and in-line processes for producing them. The blends may have between 1 and 50 wt % of isotactic polypropylene with a melt flow rate of between 0.5 and 20,000 g/10 min and a melting peak temperature of 145&#xb0; C. or higher, and wherein the difference between the DSC peak melting and the peak crystallization temperatures is less than or equal to 0.5333 times the melting peak temperature minus 41.333&#xb0; C., and between 50 and 99 wt % of ethylene-propylene copolymer including between 10 wt % and 20 wt % randomly distributed ethylene with a melt flow rate of between 0.5 and 20,000 g/10 min, wherein the copolymer is polymerized by a bulk homogeneous polymerization process, and wherein the total regio defects in the continuous propylene segments of the copolymer is between 40 and 150% greater than a copolymer of equivalent melt flow rate and wt % ethylene polymerized by a solution polymerization process.

A process for fluid phase in-line blending of plasticized polymers is provided. The process includes providing two or more reactor trains configured in parallel and a separator for product blending and product-feed separation, wherein one or more of the reactor trains produces one or more polymers and one or more of the reactor trains produces one or more plasticizers; contacting in at least one of the parallel reactor trains olefin monomers, catalyst systems, optional comonomers, optional scavengers, and optional diluents or solvents, at a temperature above the solid-fluid phase transition temperature of the polymerization system and a pressure no lower than 10 MPa below the cloud point pressure of the polymerization system and less than 1500 MPa; forming a reactor effluent including a homogeneous fluid phase polymer-monomer mixture and plasticizer-monomer mixture in each parallel reactor train; passing the reactor effluents through the separator; maintaining the temperature and pressure within the separator above the solid-fluid phase transition point but below the cloud point pressure and temperature to form a fluid-fluid two-phase system including a plasticized polymer-rich blend phase and a monomer-rich phase; and separating the monomer-rich phase from the plasticized polymer-rich blend phase. The polymer-rich blend phase is conveyed to a downstream finishing stage for further monomer stripping, drying and/or pelletizing to form a plasticized polymer product blend. Suitable plasticizers for in-line production and blending include polyalphaolefin oligomers, polybutenes, low glass transition temperature polymers and combinations thereof.

In-line process for producing plasticized polymers and plasticized polymer blends

Provided are bulk homogeneous polymerization processes for producing ethylene propylene random copolymers. The process includes contacting in a reactor or in a series of reactors propylene monomer, ethylene comonomer with one or more catalyst systems and optional solvent (present at less than 40 wt %), wherein the reactor train is at a temperature of between 65&#xb0; C. and 180&#xb0; C. and at a pressure no lower than 10 MPa below the cloud point pressure of the polymerization system and less than 1500 MPa, and wherein the polymerization system for the reactor train is in its dense fluid state to form a polymer reactor effluent including a homogeneous fluid phase polymer-monomer mixture in the reactor train; and wherein the resultant copolymer product comprises between 10 wt % and 20 wt % randomly distributed ethylene and the concentration of total region defects in the continuous propylene segments of the random EP copolymer is between 40 and 150% greater than in a copolymer of equivalent melt flow rate and wt % ethylene polymerized by a solution polymerization process.

Bulk homogeneous polymerization process for ethylene propylene copolymers

Reactor designs and processes for operating such reactor designs to minimize or eliminate fouling in homogeneous polymerization processes (solution and supercritical). The process includes providing a reactor with one or more feed entry ports, wherein the reactor feed components are fed through each of the one or more feed entry ports at a linear velocity of greater than or equal to 0.3 m/min. The one or more feed entry ports may also be optionally extended beyond the interior reactor wall by greater than or equal to 2% of the internal radius of the reactor to further decrease the propensity for fouling. A stirred reactor may also include a stirrer feed port for purging the stirrer with a stirrer purge stream at a linear velocity of greater than or equal to 0.3 m/min to decrease stirrer fouling.

Fouling prevention in polymerization reactors

In a process for selectively separating 1-butene from a Cfeed stream comprising at least 1-butene, cis-2-butene and trans-2-butene, the feed stream is passed through a first bed of an adsorbent comprising a crystalline microporous material to form a substantially trans-2-butene-free effluent stream. Then, the substantially trans-2-butene-free effluent stream is passed through a second bed of an adsorbent comprising a crystalline microporous material to form a substantially 1-butene-free effluent stream, whereby the 1-butene is separated from the feed stream. The adsorbed 1-butene is then typically desorbed from the second adsorbent bed either by lowering the pressure or raising the temperature of the bed.

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The instant invention is directed to a catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) process with improved ignition comprising; (a) igniting an ignition feed comprising hydrogen, diluent and oxygen in a catalytic partial oxidation catalyst bed wherein said ignition feed has a predetermined adiabatic reaction temperature sufficient to cause said catalyst bed to ignite in a manner which prevents said catalyst bed from undergoing thermal shock, (b) modifying said ignition feed following said ignition of said catalyst bed to obtain a reaction feed comprising oxygen and hydrocarbon-reactant in a molar ratio capable of producing partial oxidation products in said catalyst bed under partial oxidation conditions, wherein said modification of said ignition feed is conducted to accomplish a predetermined heatup rate of said catalyst bed, and wherein the amount of diluent present during said modification is sufficient to control the adiabatic reaction temperature.

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Clinton, NJ, United States of America

Robert Patrick Reynolds, Jr