Basf Aktiengesellschaft

Ronald Skorczyk

Oskar Buechner

Klaus Pfleger

Klaus Boettcher

Wieland Zacher

Franz G Mietzner

A process for the continuous production of an ethylene copolymer by compressing a mixture of ethylene and comonomer in a pre-compressor and a post-compressor, copolymerizing the mixture in a polymerization zone at a high temperature and high pressure, transferring the reaction mixture into a high pressure product isolation zone, from there into a low pressure product isolation zone and thereafter into a discharge extruder, and recycling the greater part of the unconverted monomer into the polymerization process and passing a small part of the unconverted gas into a low temperature isolation zone, in which process a small part of the gas recycled from the high pressure product isolation zone is passed into the low temperature isolation zone, which is preferably under a pressure of from 10 to 30 bar and at from -10.degree. to -50.degree. C., and all the gas taken off the low pressure product isolation zone is fed to the pre-compressor. Using the novel process, the separating-off of the comonomer which has remained unconverted in the polymerization process can be improved.

Production of ethylene copolymers

A continuous process for the manufacture of ethylene copolymers under high pressure and at high temperature in a polymerization zone, with transfer of the reaction mixture into a high pressure product isolation zone and from there into a low pressure product isolation zone, and recycling of the unconverted gas from the high pressure product isolation zone into the polymerization zone and from the low pressure product isolation zone into a low temperature separator, from where the comonomer separated off is recycled to the polymerization process, while the ethylene is discharged as off-gas. The gas taken off the low pressure product isolation zone is preferably compressed to from 10 to 20 bar and cooled to from -10.degree. to -30.degree. C. before it is fed into the low temperature separator. There is a substantial improvement in the efficiency of separating off the comonomer.

Manufacture of ethylene copolymers

A process for the manufacture of copolymers of ethylene with n-butyl acrylate in a polymerization zone at pressures above 800 atmospheres and at from 150.degree. to 350.degree. C, wherein the reaction mixture obtained is transferred, via a cooling zone which is at a pressure below 500 atmospheres and at from 150.degree. to 250.degree. C, into the high pressure product isolation zone, the mean residence time of the reaction mixture in the two zones being from 2 to 10 minutes. A copolymer which gives good films is obtained.

Growing community of inventors

Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany

Ronald Skorczyk