POLYMERIZATION OF OLEFINS THROUGH HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS .10. MODELING OF PARTICLE GROWTH AND MORPHOLOGY

The development of a detailed model describing particle growth in olefin copolymerization systems is presented. The Multigrain Model considers in detail monomer sorption, mass transfer, and changing porosity within the growing particle, as well as heat and mass transfer across the external film of the particle. The model predicts catalyst performance, including polymerization rates and particle morphology, in different reactor media without parameter adjustment. Internal void fractions are calculated through an examination of the relative growth rates within the growing particle. The model is used to examine the effects of mass transfer limitations, prepolymerization, and nonuniform metal distribution on the particle growth process. Model predictions of morphology show the same trends as observed experimentally.