Ethylene polymerization process

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS OF POLYMERIZING ETHYLENE AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE IN THE PRESENCE OF A DIPEROXYDICARBONATE ESTER CATALYST TO FORM NORMALLY SOLID POLYETHYLENE, THE IMPROVED METHOD OF OPERATION COMPRISING: CONTINOUSLY INTRODUCING ETHYLENE AND, AS A SEPARATE PHASE, AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A DETERGENT, IN WHICH THE CONCENTRATION OF THE DETERGENT IS BETWEEN 0.005 AND ABOUT 0.2 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF THE AQUEOUS SOLUTION INTO THE INLET END OF A POLYMERIZATION ZONE UNDER THE SAID ELEVATED PRESSURE; CONTINUOUSLY POLYMERIZING ETHYLENE THEREIN AT SAID ELEVATED TEMPERATURE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ETHYLENE PHASE, THE SAID AQUEOUS PHASE CONSTITUTING 25 TO 90 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF THE TOTAL REACTION MIXTURE; CONTINOUSLY WITHDRAWING REACTION MIXTURE COMPRISING SAID PHASES FROM THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE, SUBJECTING THE SAID MIXTURE TO HEAT INTERCHANGE TO MAINTAIN A SUBSTANTIALLY, UNIFORM POLYMERIZATION TEMPERATURE, AND INTERNALLY RECYCLING THE MIXTURE TO THE SAID POLYMERIZATION ZONE AT A RATE SUFFICIENT THOROUGHLY TO MIX THE SAID PHASES AND TRANSFER POLYMER TO THE AQUEOUS PHASE IN THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE; WITHDRAWING ANOTHER PORTION OF REACTION MIXTURE FROM THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE; CENTRIFUGALLY SEPARATING ETHYLENE PHASE FROM AQUEOUS PHASE OF SAID OTHER PORTION AND RETURNING SO-SEPARATED ETHYLENE TO THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE; FLOWING WITHDRAWN EFFLUENT FROM WHICH ETHYLENE HAS BEEN CENTRIFUGALLY SEPARATED TO A ZONE UNDER PRESSURE SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER THAN THE PRESSURE IN THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE AND THEREIN SEPARATING ETHYLENE FROM PLYETRHYLENE AND AQUEOUS PHASE; AND RECOVERING POLYETRHYLENE FROM THE SAID AQUEOUS PHASE.