Background
In the polymerization of olefins, particularly the polymerization of ethylene or the copolymerization of ethylene with alpha-olefins, catalyst components based on magnesium, titanium, halogen and electron donors are mostly used.
In practice, the above catalyst component is mainly composed of magnesium chloride, titanium chloride and an electron donor. The early catalyst component is prepared by mixing and grinding magnesium chloride, titanium tetrachloride and an electron donor together, the catalyst has low activity, the prepared polymer has wide particle size distribution, and coarse powder and fine powder are more, so that the catalyst is basically eliminated.
One is to support the catalyst component on porous spherical silica gel in a fixed form, and as disclosed in patent document CN1158136, a main catalyst for producing ethylene high polymer, the main catalyst comprising an inorganic carrier (preferably an active silica carrier), a chlorine compound supported on the carrier, a magnesium compound supported on the carrier, and a titanium compound supported on the carrier. The main catalyst is characterized in that the catalyst particles are spherical, have better fluidity and good hydrogen regulation sensitivity, and the polymerization activity is less reduced along with the increase of the addition amount of the chain transfer agent (hydrogen), so that the main catalyst is suitable for producing polyethylene resin with wide molecular weight distribution.
The other is to dissolve a magnesium compound into a uniform solution, and then to separate out magnesium chloride particles by reacting with a titanium compound while supporting titanium chloride and an electron donor, as disclosed in patent documents CN85100997, CN1112373C, CN1229092A, CN1958620, etc. The method generally dissolves the magnesium compound in the polar solvent, and separates out the catalyst component particles containing titanium magnesium and electron donor through the contact reaction of the dissolution liquid and titanium tetrachloride, the method is simple and easy to implement, and the performance of the catalyst component is better than that of the mixed and ground catalyst.
In patent document CN85100997, magnesium halide is dissolved in an organic epoxy compound and an organic phosphorus compound to form a homogeneous solution, and then reacted with at least one precipitation aid, a halide of transition metal titanium, and a derivative thereof. Because the organic epoxy compound and the organic phosphorus compound which do not contain active hydrogen are adopted as solvents, the dissolution of magnesium chloride is slower, the reaction of the magnesium chloride and titanium tetrachloride is convenient to control, so that the precipitated particles are better in particle shape and are similar to spheres, and the prepared polymer is better in particle shape and higher in bulk density.
In patent document CN1112373C, magnesium chloride is dissolved in isooctanol using decane as a dispersant, and silane is added as a precipitating agent, and catalyst component particles are precipitated by reaction with titanium tetrachloride. The solvent used in the system is isooctyl alcohol, the raw material is simple, the catalyst component has higher activity in ethylene polymerization and better hydrogen regulation performance.
Patent document CN1229092a discloses a catalyst for ethylene polymerization or copolymerization, which is prepared by dissolving magnesium halide in an organic epoxy compound, an organic phosphorus compound, adding a low carbon alcohol as an electron donor activator to form a uniform solution, and reacting with at least one anhydride-based precipitation aid, and a halide of transition metal titanium and its derivatives, and shows high activity when used for slurry polymerization of ethylene.
In patent document CN1958620, a magnesium halide is dissolved in an organic epoxy compound, an organic phosphorus compound and a low-carbon alcohol to form a homogeneous solution, and then reacted with at least one silane compound, a halide of transition metal titanium and a derivative thereof, and the catalyst has high activity when used for slurry polymerization of ethylene, and the particle shape of the catalyst is improved.
Detailed Description
The following describes specific embodiments of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating and illustrating the invention, are not intended to limit the invention.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a catalyst component for ethylene polymerization, the catalyst component comprising:
1) Mixing a magnesium compound, an organic epoxy compound, an organic phosphorus compound, an organic alcohol compound and a polar diluent, and stirring for reaction to obtain a uniform solution;
2) And (3) carrying out contact reaction on the uniform solution with a nonpolar solvent and a titanium compound, heating to precipitate solid particles, and washing to obtain a catalyst component or preparing the catalyst component into a suspension.
According to the invention, the catalyst activity can be improved by adding the nonpolar solvent in the preparation process of the catalyst component, the bulk density and sphericity of the polymer can be improved, the particle size distribution of the polymer is concentrated, and the nonpolar solvent and the titanium compound can be contacted and reacted with the uniform solution respectively or simultaneously.
Preferably, the contact reaction of the homogeneous solution with the nonpolar solvent and the titanium compound is carried out in any one of the following ways:
firstly, adding a nonpolar solvent into a uniform solution at 30-60 ℃, then cooling to-30-20 ℃, and adding a titanium compound for contact reaction;
secondly, cooling the uniform solution to-30 ℃ to 20 ℃, and then adding a nonpolar solvent and a titanium compound into the uniform solution for contact reaction;
in the third mode, a nonpolar solvent is added to the homogeneous solution at 30 to 60 ℃, and then the resultant mixture is added to a titanium compound at a temperature of-30 to 20 ℃ for contact reaction.
In the present invention, the magnesium compound may employ a magnesium-containing compound known to those skilled in the art, such as a halide of magnesium, an alkoxide of magnesium, a halogenated alkoxide of magnesium, or the like. Preferably, the magnesium compound is magnesium dihalide or a derivative in which one halogen atom in the formula of magnesium dihalide is replaced by a hydrocarbon group or a haloalkoxy group.
According to the present invention, the organic epoxy compound is selected from aliphatic olefins having 2 to 8 carbon atoms, diolefins, halogenated aliphatic olefins, oxides of diolefins, glycidyl ethers or internal ethers, and the like. Preferably at least one of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, butadiene double oxide, epichlorohydrin, methyl glycidyl ether and diglycidyl ether.
According to the present invention, the organophosphorus compound may be selected from hydrocarbyl or halocarbyl esters of orthophosphoric acid, hydrocarbyl or halocarbyl esters of phosphorous acid. For example, trimethyl orthophosphate, triethyl orthophosphate, tributyl orthophosphate, triphenyl orthophosphate, trimethyl phosphite, triethyl phosphite, tributyl phosphite, benzyl phosphite and the like.
According to the present invention, the organic alcohol compound may be selected from linear alcohols having 1 to 8 carbon atoms or isomeric alcohols. Specific examples of the organic alcohol compound include, but are not limited to, at least one of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, isobutanol, n-octanol and isooctanol. Preference is given to straight-chain alcohols or isomeric alcohols having 3 to 8 carbon atoms.
In the present invention, the polar diluent may be benzene, toluene, xylene, chlorobenzene or a derivative thereof.
According to the invention, the nonpolar diluent can be hexane, heptane, octane or decane.
According to the invention, the titanium compound has the general formula Ti (OR) aXb, in which R is an aliphatic OR aromatic hydrocarbon radical of C 1-C14, X is a halogen atom, a is an integer from 0 to 2, b is an integer from 0 to 4, a+b=3 OR 4.
Specifically, the titanium compound may be at least one of titanium tetrachloride, titanium tetrabromide, titanium tetraiodide, titanium tetrabutoxide, titanium tetraethoxide, titanium monochlorotriethoxide, titanium dichlorodiethoxide, titanium trichloromonoethoxide and titanium trichloride. The titanium compound is preferably titanium tetrachloride, titanium trichloro-monoethoxy or titanium trichloride.
According to the present invention, the organic epoxy compound is used in an amount of 0.01 to 10 moles, preferably 0.02 to 4 moles, the organic phosphorus compound is used in an amount of 0.01 to 10 moles, preferably 0.02 to 4 moles, the organic alcohol compound is used in an amount of 0.01 to 15 moles, preferably 0.05 to 10 moles, the polar diluent is used in an amount of 0.2 to 5L, the nonpolar diluent is used in an amount of 0.2 to 5L, and the titanium compound is used in an amount of 0.2 to 30 moles, preferably 1 to 20 moles, per mole of the magnesium compound.
Preferably, in step 1), the stirring speed is 350-500rpm, the reaction temperature is 50-100 ℃, and the reaction time is 0.5-1.5h.
Preferably, in step 2), the temperature is raised to a temperature of 60-110 ℃.
In the present invention, the solvent for preparing the suspension may be a linear or branched alkane such as hexane, heptane, octane, decane or derivatives thereof, or the like.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a catalyst for the polymerization of ethylene, the catalyst comprising the above-described catalyst component, and an organoaluminum compound.
In the invention, the general formula of the organic aluminum compound can be AlR 1 nX3-n, wherein R 1 is hydrogen, hydrocarbon group with 1-20 carbon atoms, preferably alkyl, aralkyl or aryl, X is halogen, preferably chlorine or bromine, and n is a number of 0<n-3.
In particular, the organoaluminum compound may be trimethylaluminum, triethylaluminum, triisobutylaluminum, trioctylaluminum, diethylaluminum monohydride, diisobutylaluminum monohydride, diethylaluminum monochloride, diisobutylaluminum monochloride, sesquiethylaluminum chloride, ethylaluminum dichloride, preferably triethylaluminum triisobutylaluminum.
The molar ratio of aluminum in the organoaluminum compound to titanium in the catalyst component is 5-5000:1, preferably 20-500:1.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for the polymerisation of ethylene comprising reacting ethylene or ethylene with an alpha-olefin in the presence of a catalyst as described above.
The ethylene polymerization of the present invention is carried out in a slurry state, and the solvent may be a linear or branched alkane such as hexane, heptane, octane, decane or a derivative thereof, etc.
The reaction conditions include a reaction pressure of 0.05-10Mpa, preferably 0.1-5Mpa, a reaction temperature of 30-120 ℃, preferably 40-90 ℃, ethylene molecules are easy to undergo free radical polymerization when the temperature is too high, the prepared polyethylene has low molecular weight, the catalyst activity is low or the polyethylene is not polymerized when the temperature is too low, and the reaction time is 1.5-10h, preferably 1.5-2.5h.
The invention will be further illustrated with reference to the following examples. But are not limited by these examples.
In the following examples and comparative examples:
The particle size distribution of the catalyst component is measured by a Mastersizer 2000 instrument, malvern company, england;
Polymer apparent Bulk Density (BD) measured with reference to ASTM D1895-96;
polymer molecular weight (Mw) viscosity method;
Polymer sphericity and SPAN value are CAMSIZER in particle analyzer;
the method has the advantages that when the sphericity is 1, the particles are spherical, and the smaller the sphericity is, the more irregular the particle shape is; the smaller the SPAN value, the more concentrated the particle size distribution.
Examples 1-6 illustrate the catalyst components and catalysts of the present invention and ethylene polymerization.
Example 1
Adding 4.8 g of magnesium chloride, 40 ml of toluene, 3.0 ml of epichlorohydrin, 3.6 ml of tributyl phosphate and 7.6 ml of ethanol into a reaction kettle, reacting for 1 hour at the stirring speed of 450rpm and the temperature of 55 ℃, adding 20 ml of hexane, cooling to-30 ℃, slowly dropwise adding 40 ml of titanium tetrachloride within 4 hours, heating to 80 ℃ within 4 hours, keeping the temperature for 2.0 hours, filtering mother liquor out by a filter, washing twice by 120 ml of toluene at 60 ℃, washing by organic solvent hexane for 4 times, and finally adding 1000 ml of hexane to prepare a catalyst component suspension.
Ethylene polymerization by alternately charging nitrogen and evacuating a 2-liter polymerization vessel three times, adding 1 liter of n-hexane, 2mmol of triethylaluminum and 1 ml of the catalyst component suspension, heating to 60℃and then adding ethylene to maintain the vessel pressure at 0.7MPa, and reacting at 60℃for 2 hours. The catalyst activity was calculated and the polymer bulk density and particle size distribution were determined.
Example 2
Adding 4.8 g of magnesium chloride, 40 ml of toluene, 3.0 ml of epichlorohydrin, 3.6 ml of tributyl phosphate and 7.6 ml of ethanol into a reaction kettle, reacting for 1 hour at the stirring speed of 450rpm and the temperature of 55 ℃, cooling to-30 ℃, adding 80 ml of hexane and 40 ml of titanium tetrachloride in 4 hours, heating to 80 ℃ in 4 hours, keeping the temperature for 2.0 hours, filtering mother liquor by a filter, washing twice by 120 ml of toluene at 60 ℃, washing by organic solvent hexane for 4 times, and finally adding 1000 ml of hexane to prepare the catalyst component suspension.
Ethylene polymerization was carried out as in example 1.
Example 3
The catalyst component was prepared differently from example 1 in that titanium tetrachloride was added dropwise at a temperature reduced to-10 ℃.
Ethylene polymerization was carried out as in example 1.
Example 4
The catalyst component was prepared differently from example 1 in that titanium tetrachloride was added dropwise at a temperature of 20 ℃.
Ethylene polymerization was carried out as in example 1.
Example 5
The catalyst component was prepared differently from example 1 in that 20 ml of hexane was added instead of 28 ml of decane.
Ethylene polymerization was carried out as in example 1.
Example 6
The catalyst component was prepared differently from example 1 in that 20 ml of hexane was added instead of 55 ml of hexane.
Ethylene polymerization was carried out as in example 1.
Comparative example 1
Adding 4.8 g of magnesium chloride, 55 ml of toluene, 3.0 ml of epichlorohydrin, 3.6 ml of tributyl phosphate and 7.6 ml of ethanol into a reaction kettle, reacting for 1 hour at the stirring speed of 450rpm and the temperature of 55 ℃, adding 0.8 g of phthalic anhydride, keeping the temperature at 55 ℃ for 1 hour, cooling to-30 ℃, dropwise adding 40 ml of titanium tetrachloride, heating to 80 ℃ within 4 hours, keeping the temperature for 1.0 hour, filtering mother liquor by a filter, washing twice by 120 ml of toluene at 60 ℃, washing for 4 times by using organic solvent hexane, and drying to obtain the catalyst component.
Ethylene polymerization As in example 1, the catalyst component was added in an amount of 10 mg.
Comparative example 2
Adding 4.8 g of magnesium chloride, 40 ml of toluene, 3.0 ml of epichlorohydrin, 3.6 ml of tributyl phosphate and 7.6 ml of ethanol into a reaction kettle, reacting for 1 hour at the stirring speed of 450rpm and the temperature of 55 ℃, cooling to-30 ℃, slowly dropwise adding 40 ml of titanium tetrachloride within 4 hours, heating to 80 ℃ within 4 hours, keeping the temperature for 2.0 hours, filtering the mother solution by a filter, washing twice with 120 ml of toluene at 60 ℃, washing for 4 times by using organic solvent hexane, and finally adding 1000 ml of hexane to prepare the catalyst component suspension.
Ethylene polymerization was carried out as in example 1.
Comparative example 3
Adding 4.8 g of magnesium chloride, 40 ml of toluene, 3.0 ml of epichlorohydrin, 3.6 ml of tributyl phosphate and 7.6 ml of ethanol into a reaction kettle, reacting for 1 hour at the stirring rotation speed of 450rpm and the temperature of 55 ℃, cooling to-30 ℃, adding 40 ml of titanium tetrachloride in 4 hours, heating to 80 ℃ in 4 hours, keeping the temperature for 2.0 hours, filtering the mother solution by a filter, washing twice by 120 ml of toluene at 60 ℃, washing by organic solvent hexane for 4 times, and finally adding 1000 ml of hexane to prepare the catalyst component suspension.
Ethylene polymerization was carried out as in example 1.
The catalyst activities and polymer properties of each example and comparative example are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1
As can be seen from the data in Table 1, the catalyst component of the present invention has significantly higher activity, higher bulk density of the polymer, higher sphericity of the polymer, concentrated particle size distribution of the polymer, and better particle shape and particle size distribution of the polymer.
The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the various embodiments described.