Supported Metallocene Catalyst Ionic Surface Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metallocene catalyst supporting methods result in non-homogeneous catalyst distribution, low activity, and process issues like fouling and plugging in slurry or vapor phase olefin polymerization, with high preparation costs and long times due to chemical bonding requirements.
Innovation Solution
Surface-treating inorganic or organic porous carriers with ionic compounds to support metallocene catalysts and co-catalysts, enhancing catalyst activity and process stability through improved distribution and reduced fouling, using ionic compounds like imidazolium or pyridinium ions with aluminoxane or boron-based co-catalysts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional metallocene catalyst supporting methods are used, then the catalyst can be supported on the carrier, but the catalyst component is not homogeneously supported in the pore resulting in low activity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by surface-treating the carrier with ionic compounds before supporting the metallocene catalyst. This pre-treatment creates uniformly distributed active sites on the carrier surface, ensuring homogeneous catalyst distribution and high catalytic activity without requiring complex multi-stage preparation processes.
2Reliability
If chemical bonding methods are used to attach metallocene catalyst to silica surface, then catalyst elution problem is solved, but the cost for preparing catalyst is high and the activity of the prepared catalyst is low due to the method requiring several stages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex chemical bonding process and replaces it with a simpler ionic compound-based surface treatment method. This extraction eliminates the need for multi-stage chemical bonding procedures while maintaining catalyst stability, significantly reducing preparation complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of catalyst support mechanism from covalent chemical bonding to ionic interaction. This parameter change simplifies the preparation process from multiple chemical reaction stages to a single surface treatment step, reducing both complexity and preparation time while maintaining catalyst stability.
3Ease of manufacture
If aluminoxane is used for surface treatment, then metallocene catalyst can be supported, but deactivation and hot spot in the reactor may be caused because aluminoxane is not homogeneously distributed in the pore
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces ionic compounds as intermediary substances between the carrier and metallocene catalyst. These ionic compounds act as mediators that ensure uniform distribution of catalytic sites throughout the pore structure, preventing hot spots and deactivation while maintaining ease of catalyst preparation.
4Productivity
If homogeneous metallocene catalyst is used in vapor phase polymerization, then catalytic activity is high, but processing problems such as agglomeration, fouling, sheeting, plugging phenomenon occur and the shape of the produced polyolefin polymer particle is very irregular
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by immobilizing the homogeneous metallocene catalyst onto a solid carrier surface. This segmentation separates the catalytic function from the polymerization medium, allowing high catalytic activity to be maintained while preventing agglomeration, fouling, and plugging phenomena that occur with homogeneous catalysts in vapor phase polymerization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The supported metallocene catalyst exhibits high activity and improved process stability with increased bulk density of polymer products, reducing fouling and plugging issues while lowering production costs and time, suitable for both slurry and vapor phase processes.
Implementation Method 1
supporting the metallocene catalyst and the co-catalyst on the surface of the ionic compound
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a supported metallocene catalyst composition and a process for the preparation of polyolefin using the same. A supported metallocene catalyst composition according to the invention is prepared by bringing a compound of a group IV transition metal into contact with an inorganic or organic porous carrier treated with an ionic compound. Advantages of a supported metallocene catalyst composition of the invention include an increase in the catalyst activity during polymerization of slurry and an olefin compound in the vapor phase even at a low content of metallocene metal components within the carrier, and an improvement in solving process problems such as fouling, sheeting, plugging or the like.