An Overview of Industrial Polyethylene Processes

Principal process technologies employed in the manufacture of polyethylene are  

Reactors used in ethylene polymerizations range from simple autoclaves and steel piping to continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) and vertical fluidized beds. Since the 1990s, a trend has emerged wherein combinations of processes are used with transition metal catalysts. These combinations allow manufacturers to produce polyethylene with bimodal or broadened molecular weight distributions (see section 7.6). 

Conditions used in PE processes vary widely. Because the heat of polymerization for ethylene is quite high (variably reported to be between 22 and 26 kcal/mole), efficient heat removal is crucial for polyethylene processes. Selection of process must also accommodate catalyst features, such as its kinetic profile. Table 7.1 

Company Process Tradename Product(s) Process Type Catalyst(s) Comments 

Basel Spherilene HDPE, MDPE, VLDPE gas phase Ziegler-Natta Two reactors used in series 

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Chapter 1 is used to review the history of polyethylene, to survey quintessential features and nomenclatures for this versatile polymer and to introduce transition metal catalysts (the most important catalysts for industrial polyethylene). Free radical polymerization of ethylene and organic peroxide initiators are discussed in Chapter 2. Also in Chapter 2, hazards of organic peroxides and high pressure processes are briefly addressed. Transition metal catalysts are essential to production of nearly three quarters of all polyethylene manufactured and are described in Chapters 3, 5 and 6. Metal alkyl cocatalysts used with transition metal catalysts and their potentially hazardous reactivity with air and water are reviewed in Chapter 4. Chapter 7 gives an overview of processes used in manufacture of polyethylene and contrasts the wide range of operating conditions characteristic of each process. Chapter 8 surveys downstream aspects of polyethylene (additives, rheology, environmental issues, etc.). However, topics in Chapter 8 are complex and extensive subjects unto themselves and detailed discussions are beyond the scope of an introductory text. 

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