Carilon polymer

Aliphatic polyketone based on carbon monoxide, ethylene and a small amount of propylene, commercialised by Shell under the trademark CARILON Polymer (PK-EP), see Chapter 9. 

In 1996, Shell started commercial production of a number of PK-EP engineering thermoplastic grades, marketed under the trade name of Carilon Polymer. 

SRI International (2002) Carilon thermoplastic polymers. SRI, Menlo Park, CA www.sri.com/ rd/carilon.pdf. Last accessed 9 Sept 2008... 

Polyketone (PK) ( CARILON ) is a new polymer with an attractive combination of properties (very tough, high abrasion resistance, high temperature resistance, easy to process, good chemical resistance and barrier properties). It is trying to find its way in various potential applications. 

Strictly speaking, condensation polymers such as polyesters could be considered to belong to this category. Also polyketone ( Carilon ) would be a strictly alternating copolymer, if the regularity would not have been disturbed by a third comonomer, propylene. 

The new family of thermoplastic, perfectly alternating olefin/carbon monoxide polymers provides a superior balance of performance properties not found in other commercial materials. The first commercial polymer will be an ethyl-ene/propene/CO terpolymer which will be marketed by Shell under the trade-name Carilon . 

A new generation of polymers, e. g., Shell s Carilon, was developed from the discovery of the perfect CO/olefin alternating principle within the short time span of less than ten years. Systematic mechanistic work in this area has yielded a highly efficient carbonylation of propene (TON = 4 X 10 ) in the presence of palladium(II) catalysts to methyl methacrylate (cf. Section 1.3.2.3) [66 e]. 

Shell technical brochure on Carilon thermoplastic polymers. 

A unique catalyst invention at the Shell Research Laboratories in Amsterdam in 1982 [l, 2, 3] made it possible to polymerise carbon monoxide and alpha-olefins such as ethylene into linear, perfectly alternating structures. This led directly to the development of a new class of thermoplastic polymers known as aliphatic polyketones (PK), which Shell is commercialising under the trademark CARILON. 

The most recent addition to the engineering polymer field is the ethylene/carbon monoxide (COPO) alternating copolymers initially introduced by Shell. The commercial polymer is highly crystalline and believed to contain small amounts of propylene to reduce the crystalline melting point to allow a broad window of process-ability. COPO should offer serious competition to polyacetal, PA, and PBT. With the favorable raw materials cost, COPO should be a successful and competitive entry. As is now expected with new polymers, intense blend patent activity accompanies the introduction. This has also occurred with COPO as is noted in various U.S. patents involving COPO blends (See Table 17.4). COPO polymers are available from Shell (Carilon ) and BP (Ketonex ). 

The copolymerization of ethylene and carbon monoxide to give alternating copolymers has attracted considerable interest in both academia and industry over recent decades [1, 2]. Attention was focused on aliphatic polyketones such as poly(3-oxotrimethylene) (1) because of the low cost and plentiful availability of the simple monomers. The new family of thermoplastic, perfectly alternating olefin/ carbon monoxide polymers commercialized by Shell provides a superior balance of performance properties not found in other commercial materials the an ethylene/ propene/CO terpolymer is marketed by Shell imder the tradename Carilon . About the history of polyketones see Refs. [3-11],... 

Ethylene-Carbon Monoxide Copolymers (ECOs). These polymers are random copolymers of ethylene and carbon monoxide, with properties similar to low-density polyethylene. They are sold by Shell under the trade name Carilon. These polymers exhibit low water absorption and good barrier properties, but they are susceptible to UV degradation. They find application in packaging, fuel tanks, fuel hnes, and in blends. 

LNP also sought licenses from polymer producers to manufacture compounds based on imique materials, such as Dow s syndiotactic polystyrene, DuPont s amorphous LCPs, and Shell Chemicals aliphatic polyketone "Carilon" (no longer in commercial production). These were not exclusive agreements, but they served to protect LNP s rights to develop patented compounds based on unique materials in cooperation with the polymer producer, but without fear of the results being shared with other compounders... 

In 2002, after failing to find a buyer for its Carilon and Carlite PEEK, Shell donated the patents for the polymers to a US-based non-profit research institute (SRI, California). The research institute, which performs contract R D and licenses technologies worldwide, said that it would incorporate the patents into its own polymer technology portfolio. 

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