Particle size distribution and its effect on the olefin polymer reactor dynamics over olefin polymerization catalysts with multiple active sites

Abstract

Mass and energy balances in a reactor have been derived to study the effect of particle size distribution for multiple active site catalyst systems on the reactor dynamics. It was found that multiple active sites in a Ziegler-Natta catalyst affect neither the reactor dynamics nor the particle size distribution, as opposed to a system which uses single site catalysts. It was discovered that a simple reaction model with a single type of active site dominant adequately explains the reactor dynamics and the particle size distributions for a continuous stirred-bed reactor for polymerization of propylene over a Ziegler-Natta catalyst.