Other Olefin Polymers

There are many other commercially important olefin polymers based upon polymerization of available substituted olefins. 

One common terpolymer containing styrene is acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, known as ABS. The acrylonitrile imparts heat stability and solvent resistance. The butadiene imparts impact strength and the styrene imparts stiffness, also known as high modulus, and good processability. 

When X is hydrogen and Y is a carboalkoxy group, we polymerize to make acrylates. If X is methyl and Y is carbomethoxy, we have methyl methacrylate polymers. These are more commonly known by their tradenames Perspex , ICI Plexiglas, Rohm Haas and Lucite, Dupont. 

Aoki and co-workers [55] and others [56-58] used C-NMR spectroscopy to study the microstructure of propylene-butene-1 copolymers. 

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The prior art discussion in the patent tells us that during the reacdon to form polypropylene (and other olefin polymers) both crystalline and non-crystalline polymers are produced in the process. For many purposes only the crystalline form is desired, and the noncrystalline polypropylene must be removed in some additional processing steps which add capital and operating costs to the overall process. 

Chien, J. C. W. Rausch, M. D. Polypropylene and other olefin polymer thermoplastic elastomers, novel catalysts for preparing the same, and method of preparation. U.S. Patent 5,756,614 (Academy of Applied Science), May 26,1998. 

Olefin fibers, also called polyolefin fibers, are defined as manufactured fibers in which the fiber-forming substance is a synthetic polymer of at least 85 wt % ethylene, propjiene, or other olefin units (1). Several olefin polymers are capable of forming fibers, but only polypropylene [9003-07-0] (PP) and, to a much lesser extent, polyethylene [9002-88-4] (PE) are of practical importance. Olefin polymers are hydrophobic and resistant to most solvents. These properties impart resistance to staining, but cause the polymers to be essentially undyeable in an unmodified form. 

Polyethylene. Polyethylene remains the largest volume film and sheet raw material. It is available in a wide range of types, with variations in copolymers, homopolymers, molecular weight, and other factors contributing to a long Hst of resins. Resins are designed specifically for end use, and in addition blends of the various types may be used by processors to optimize properties, processibiUty, and economics. Almost two-thirds of the volume of all polyethylene resins are used in film or sheet appHcations (see Olefin polymers). 

SASOL. SASOL, South Africa, has constmcted a plant to recover 50,000 tons each of 1-pentene and 1-hexene by extractive distillation from Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbons produced from coal-based synthesis gas. The company is marketing both products primarily as comonomers for LLDPE and HDPE (see Olefin polymers). Although there is still no developed market for 1-pentene in the mid-1990s, the 1-hexene market is well estabhshed. The Fischer-Tropsch technology produces a geometric carbon-number distribution of various odd and even, linear, branched, and alpha and internal olefins however, with additional investment, other odd and even carbon numbers can also be recovered. The Fischer-Tropsch plants were originally constmcted to produce gasoline and other hydrocarbon fuels to fill the lack of petroleum resources in South Africa. 

The introduction of metallocene and single-site polyethylene catalyst systems may eventually change the demand for higher olefins used as comonomers. Some sources indicate that their use will increase the demand for comonomers, but others feel that they will reduce comonomer use. At any rate, it is not expected that their introduction will have a significant effect on comonomer growth rates for the period 1992—1996 (see Olefin polymers). 

Polyolefins are manufactured and used in much greater quantity than any other class of plastics. The principal polyolefins are polyethylenes of various densities (LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) (see Olefin polymers). 

Propjiene [115-07-17, CH2CH=CH2, is perhaps the oldest petrochemical feedstock and is one of the principal light olefins (1) (see Feedstocks). It is used widely as an alkylation (qv) or polymer—ga soline feedstock for octane improvement (see Gasoline and other motor fuels). In addition, large quantities of propylene are used ia plastics as polypropylene, and ia chemicals, eg, acrylonitrile (qv), propylene oxide (qv), 2-propanol, and cumene (qv) (see Olefin POLYMERS,polypropylene Propyl ALCOHOLS). Propylene is produced primarily as a by-product of petroleum (qv) refining and of ethylene (qv) production by steam pyrolysis. 

Butadiene is also known to form mbbery polymers caused by polymerization initiators like free radicals or oxygen. Addition of antioxidants like TBC and the use of lower storage temperatures can substantially reduce fouling caused by these polymers. Butadiene and other olefins, such as isoprene, styrene, and chloroprene, also form so-called popcorn polymers (250). These popcorn polymers are hard, opaque, and porous. They have been reported to... 

Until the mid-1950s the only polyolefins (polyalkenes) of commercial importance were polyethylene, polyisobutylene and isobutylene-isoprene copolymers (butyl rubber). Attempts to produce polymers from other olefins had, at best, resulted only in the preparation of low molecular weight material of no apparent commercial value. 

Many monomers have been copolymerised with ethylene using a variety of polymerisation systems, in some cases leading to commercial products. Copolymerisation of ethylene with other olefins leads to hydrocarbon polymers with reduced regularity and hence lower density, inferior mechanical properties, lower softening point and lower brittle point. 

In addition there is the possibility that other olefins may generate polymers with low Tg s which show little or no crystallinity at room temperature and are therefore potentially elastomeric. One commercial example is butyl rubber (designated HR), a copolymer of isobutene with a small amount of isoprene. 

Ethylene reacts by addition to many inexpensive reagents such as water, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, and oxygen to produce valuable chemicals. It can be initiated by free radicals or by coordination catalysts to produce polyethylene, the largest-volume thermoplastic polymer. It can also be copolymerized with other olefins producing polymers with improved properties. Eor example, when ethylene is polymerized with propylene, a thermoplastic elastomer is obtained. Eigure 7-1 illustrates the most important chemicals based on ethylene. 

The versatility of poly(phenylcne) chemistry can also be seen in that it constitutes a platform for the design of other conjugated polymers with aromatic building blocks. Thus, one can proceed from 1,4- to 1,3-, and 1,2-phenylene compounds, and the benzene block can also be replaced by other aromatic cores such as naphthalene or anthracene, helerocyclcs such as thiophene or pyridine as well as by their substituted or bridged derivatives. Conceptually, poly(pheny ene)s can also be regarded as the parent structure of a series of related polymers which arc obtained not by linking the phenylene units directly, but by incorporation of other conjugated, e.g. olefinic or acetylenic, moieties. 

Isobutene - In contrast to the complicated picture presented by the polymerisations of most other alkenes, the polymerisation of isobutene at low temperatures is a clean reaction with apparently few complications [10, 16, 17, 18]. The propagation step seems to be a simple addition to the monomer of the tertiary carbonium ion at the growing end of the chain. This difference between the behaviour of isobutene and of most other olefins is so striking that isobutene could usefully be regarded as a standard of reference it would thus be possible to enquire into the behaviour of other olefins by comparing them and their polymers with isobutene and polyisobutene. 

The highly substituted derivative 186, in the form of the potassium salt, has been recommended for use in detonators in place of the more dangerous mercury fulminate. l,2,3-Benzotriazine-4-thione (39, R — H) has been used in photographic transfer emulsions as an inhibitor and toning agent, and heavy metal salts of the oxygen analog 10, R = H are employed as photodevelopable emulsions. The latter compound is also claimed to be useful as a stabilizer in olefin polymers and as an antioxidant in certain other polymers. Dimeric derivatives of 10 have... 

Ethylene is conveniently polymerized in the laboratory at atmospheric pressure using a titanium-based coordination catalyst [34]. It may also be polymerized less conveniently in the laboratory under high pressures using free radical catalysts at high and low temperatures [35-37]. Other olefins such as propylene, 1-butene, or 1-pentene homopolymerize free radically only to low molecular weight polymers and require ionic or coordination catalysts to afford high molecu-... 

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