Alkyl Aluminums

The copolymers of ethylene and propylene (OCVP) are obtained by coordination catalysis using a derivative of vanadium and a derivative of an aluminum alkyl. Molar compositions of ethylene and propylene are usually on the order 45 and 55%. 

Eour chemical reactions are used to synthesize alcohols from aluminum alkyls and ethylene (qv). 

There are two important side reactions, particularly above 120°C (/) aluminum alkyls decompose to form diaLkylalurninum hydrides and alpha olefins (the diaLkylalurninum hydrides rapidly react with ethylene to regenerate a trialkylalurninum) ... 

Environmental Considerations. Environmental problems in Ziegler chemistry alcohol processes are not severe. A small quantity of aluminum alkyl wastes is usually produced and represents the most significant disposal problem. It can be handled by controlled hydrolysis and separate disposal of the aqueous and organic streams. Organic by-products produced in chain growth and hydrolysis can be cleanly burned. Wastewater streams must be monitored for dissolved carbon, such as short-chain alcohols, and treated conventionally when necessary. 

Al—Ti Catalyst for cis-l,4-PoIyisoprene. Of the many catalysts that polymerize isoprene, four have attained commercial importance. One is a coordination catalyst based on an aluminum alkyl and a vanadium salt which produces /n j -l,4-polyisoprene. A second is a lithium alkyl which produces 90% i7j -l,4-polyisoprene. Very high (99%) i7j -l,4-polyisoprene is produced with coordination catalysts consisting of a combination of titanium tetrachloride, TiCl, plus a trialkyl aluminum, R Al, or a combination of TiCl with an alane (aluminum hydride derivative) (86—88). 

Uses. Magnesium alkyls are used as polymerization catalysts for alpha-alkenes and dienes, such as the polymerization of ethylene (qv), and in combination with aluminum alkyls and the transition-metal haUdes (16—18). Magnesium alkyls have been used in conjunction with other compounds in the polymerization of alkene oxides, alkene sulfides, acrylonitrile (qv), and polar vinyl monomers (19—22). Magnesium alkyls can be used as a Hquid detergents (23). Also, magnesium alkyls have been used as fuel additives and for the suppression of soot in combustion of residual furnace oil (24). 

The solvent is 28 CC-olefins recycled from the fractionation section. Effluent from the reactors includes product a-olefins, unreacted ethylene, aluminum alkyls of the same carbon number distribution as the product olefins, and polymer. The effluent is flashed to remove ethylene, filtered to remove polyethylene, and treated to reduce the aluminum alkyls in the stream. In the original plant operation, these aluminum alkyls were not removed, resulting in the formation of paraffins (- 1.4%) when the reactor effluent was treated with caustic to kill the catalyst. In the new plant, however, it is likely that these aluminum alkyls are transalkylated with ethylene by adding a catalyst such as 60 ppm of a nickel compound, eg, nickel octanoate (6). The new plant contains a caustic wash section and the product olefins still contain some paraffins ( 0.5%). After treatment with caustic, cmde olefins are sent to a water wash to remove sodium and aluminum salts. 

Idemitsu Process. Idemitsu built a 50 t x 10 per year plant at Chiba, Japan, which was commissioned in Febmary of 1989. In the Idemitsu process, ethylene is oligomerised at 120°C and 3.3 MPa (33 atm) for about one hour in the presence of a large amount of cyclohexane and a three-component catalyst. The cyclohexane comprises about 120% of the product olefin. The catalyst includes sirconium tetrachloride, an aluminum alkyl such as a mixture of ethylalurninumsesquichloride and triethyl aluminum, and a Lewis base such as thiophene or an alcohol such as methanol (qv). This catalyst combination appears to produce more polymer (- 2%) than catalysts used in other a-olefin processes. The catalyst content of the cmde product is about 0.1 wt %. The catalyst is killed by using weak ammonium hydroxide followed by a water wash. Ethylene and cyclohexane are recycled. Idemitsu s basic a-olefin process patent (9) indicates that linear a-olefin levels are as high as 96% at C g and close to 100% at and Cg. This is somewhat higher than those produced by other processes. 

Additioaal uses for higher olefias iaclude the productioa of epoxides for subsequeat coaversioa iato surface-active ageats, alkylatioa of benzene to produce drag-flow reducers, alkylation of phenol to produce antioxidants, oligomeriza tion to produce synthetic waxes (qv), and the production of linear mercaptans for use in agricultural chemicals and polymer stabilizers. Aluminum alkyls can be produced from a-olefias either by direct hydroalumination or by transalkylation. In addition, a number of heavy olefin streams and olefin or paraffin streams have been sulfated or sulfonated and used in the leather (qv) iadustry. 

Allyl Glycidyl Ether. This ether is used mainly as a raw material for silane coupling agents and epichlorohydrin mbber. Epichlorohydrin mbber is synthesized by polymerizing the epoxy group of epichlorohydrin, ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, and aHyl glycidyl ether, AGE, with an aluminum alkyl catalyst (36). This mbber has high cold-resistance. 

Aluminum alkyls react by the Ziegler reaction with the least substituted double bond to give the tricitroneUyl aluminum compound. Oxidation of the iatermediate compound then produces the tricitroneUyl aluminate, which is easily hydroly2ed with water to give citroneUol (112,113). If the citroneUene is opticaUy active, opticaUy active citroneUol can be obtained (114). The (—)-citroneUol is a more valuable fragrance compound than the ( )-citroneUol. 

Although the Ziegler reaction provides a more direct method for produciag primary alcohols, aluminum alkyl chemistry requires special handling and is fairly cosdy. The by-product aluminum salts usuaUy require some treatment for disposal (115). 

Titanium trichloride is almost always prepared by the reduction of TiCl, most commonly by hydrogen. Other reduciag agents iaclude titanium, aluminum, and 2iac. Reduction begias at temperatures of ca 500°C and under these conditions a-TiCl is formed. The product is cooled quickly to below 450°C to avoid disproportionation to the di- and tetrachlorides. P-TiCl is prepared by the reduction of titanium tetrachloride with aluminum alkyls at low (80°C) temperatures whereas y-TiCl is formed if titanium tetrachloride reacts with aluminum alkyls at 150—200°C. At ca 250°C, the P-form converts to d. d-TiCl is made by prolonged grinding of the d- or y-forms. 

High Density Polyethylene. High density polyethylene (HDPE), 0.94—0.97 g/cm, is a thermoplastic prepared commercially by two catalytic methods. In one, coordination catalysts are prepared from an aluminum alkyl and titanium tetrachloride in heptane. The other method uses metal oxide catalysts supported on a carrier (see Catalysis). 

Zieglei-type catalysts based upon Co, Ni, and Fe and in the presence of aluminum alkyls codimeiize butadiene with olefins such as ethylene. 

Polyolefins. The most common polyolefin used to prepare composites is polypropylene [9003-07-0] a commodity polymer that has been in commercial production for almost 40 years following its controlled polymerisation by Natta in 1954 (5). Natta used a Ziegler catalyst (6) consisting of titanium tetrachloride and an aluminum alkyl to produce isotactic polypropylene directly from propylene ... 

The catalysts are primarily DCPD-soluble derivatives of tungsten and molybdenum and the activators are aluminum alkyls (63—64). Polymerization is accompHshed by mixing equal amounts of Hquid DCPD (at >32° C), one part of which contains the catalyst and the other of which contains the activator. The mixture is rapidly injected into a mold, where the polymerization takes place. Polymerization times are from under 30 seconds to several minutes, depending on the size of the part, mold temperature, and modifiers added to the polymerizate. 

Prepa.ra.tlon, There are several methods described in the Hterature using various cobalt catalysts to prepare syndiotactic polybutadiene (29—41). Many of these methods have been experimentally verified others, for example, soluble organoaluminum compounds with cobalt compounds, are difficult to reproduce (30). A cobalt compound coupled with triphenylphosphine aluminum alkyls water complex was reported byJapan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. (fSR) to give a low melting point (T = 75-90° C), low crystallinity (20—30%) syndiotactic polybutadiene (32). This polymer is commercially available. 

Low pressure polymerization via ionic catalysts, using Ziegler catalysts (aluminum alkyls and titanium haUdes). 

Addition. Addition reactions of ethylene have considerable importance and lead to the production of ethylene dichloride, ethylene dibromide, and ethyl chloride by halogenation—hydrohalogenation ethylbenzene, ethyltoluene, and aluminum alkyls by alkylation a-olefms by oligomerization ethanol by hydration and propionaldehyde by hydroformylation. 

Alkylation of aluminum with ethyleae yields products that fiad appHcatioa as iaitiators and starter compounds ia the productioa of a-olefias and linear primary alcohols, as polymerization catalysts, and ia the syathesis of some monomers like 1,4-hexadieae. Triethyl aluminum [97-93-8] A1(C2H3)2, is the most important of the ethylene-derived aluminum alkyls. 

In the production of a-olefins, ethylene reacts with an aluminum alkyl at relatively low temperature to produce a higher aLkylalumiaum. This is then subjected to a displacement reaction with ethylene at high temperatures to yield a mixture of a-olefins and triethylalumiaum. In an alternative process, both reactions are combiaed at high temperatures and pressures where triethylalumiaum fuactioas as a catalyst ia the polymerization process. 

---