Prepolymerization of ethylene with a Ziegler-Natta catalyst

The slurry prepolymerization of ethylene using TiCl4/MgCl2 as a catalyst was investigated. A 2(3)- factorial experimental design method was employed to study the effects of the temperature, hydrogen, and active cocatalyst-to-catalyst molar ratio (Al/Ti) on the catalyst activity, prepolymer melt flow index, and powder bulk density. All dependent variables increased when the active Al/Ti ratio increased from 1 to 2. The hydrogen-Al/Ti interaction had a significant effect on the prepolymer melt flow index and catalyst activity. The hydrogen (partial pressure ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 bar) and temperature (ranging from 60 to 80 degrees C) variables as well as the hydrogen-temperature and hydrogen-temperature-Al/Ti interactions increased the prepolymer powder bulk density, which ranged from 0.11 to 0.373 g/cc. To find the reason for the prepolymer powder bulk density variation with the operating conditions, the particle size distribution and crystallinity of the prepolymers were determined. The increasing catalyst activity, ranging from 132 to 660 g of polyethylene/mmol of Ti, enhanced the weight percentage of fines, which ranged from 3 to 60, and decreased the average particle size, which ranged from 562 to 120 mu m. This was the reason for the increasing prepolymer powder bulk density and could be due to the breakup of the prepolymer particles during prepolymerization. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.