Kinetics and properties in metallocene catalysed propene polymerisations

The kinetic behaviour of propene polymerisation in heptane using bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane as catalyst system was studied. Propene polymerisations were performed in both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. The polymerisation rate was measured by continuously monitoring the monomer consumption. The effect of the process variables such as temperature, pressure, Al/Zr ratio and catalyst concentration on the catalytic performance (activity and polymer properties) were investigated. The experimental results of both the homogeneous and heterogeneous systems were compared.. and a kinetic model was proposed to fit the experimental evolution of catalyst activity at different Al/Zr ratios and catalyst concentrations for the homogeneous system. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.