Integral research aspects of gas phase olefin polymerization : Kinetics, absorption and fluidization

Experimental studies in polymerization kinetics, monomer absorption and diffusion, particle mixing and fluidization have been executed for catalytic gas phase polymerization reactor design and operation. The temperature influence on polymerization kinetics in liquid propylene and with a highly active Ziegler-Natta catalyst is presented. The influence of the polymerization temperature on the structure of the produced particles is elaborated. Experimental studies under pressure in a small-scale fluidized bed reactor are also presented. This work is interpreted in the context of a simple, two-phase fluid bed model.