Dynamic simulation and experimental evaluation of EPDM synthesis with Et(Ind)2ZrCl2/MAO catalyst system

A mathematical model for the homogeneous terpolymerization of ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM) in a semibatch reactor using Et(Ind)2ZrCl2/MAO as a catalyst system was developed and reported herein. In this study, we developed a kinetic model in order to explain the catalyst and EPDM properties such as catalyst activity, weight-average molecular weight, and terpolymer composition, which were experimentally and theoretically obtained. For this system, a lower E/P feed ratio leads to a lower molecular weight and a broader initial molecular weight distribution, while the increase in diene concentration leads to a decrease in the catalyst activity without broadening the MWD of the resulting polymers. The proposed model accounts for these experimental trends and for some data in the literature.