Polymerization process

Claim 1

AN OLEFIN POLYMERIZATION PROCESS WHICH COMPRISES CONTACTING A NORMALLY GASEOUS 1-OLEFIN DISSOLVED IN A LOW BOILING PARAFFIN SOLVENT WITH A POLYMERIZATION CATALYST SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF COMPLEXES FORMED BY THE REACTION OF A HALIDE OF A METAL OF GROUPS IV, V, AND VI WITH A METAL ALKYL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKYL DERIVATIVES OF ALUMINUM, ZINC, BERYLLIUM, CHROMIUM, MAGNESIUM, SODIUM, POTASSIUM AND LITHIUM AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM 150* F. TO 250* F., AT A PRESSURE SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN THE OLEFIUN AND SOLVENT IN LIQUID PHASE, RECOVERING A REACTION PRODUCT COMPRISING POLYMER CARRYING OCCLUDED CATALYST PARTICLES, SEPARATING A SLURRY OF POLYMER PARTICLES IN SOLVENT AND UNREACTED OLEFIN, COMMINUTING THE POLYMER PARTICLES IN THE PRESENCE OF A CATALYST DEACTIVATOR TO FORM A SLURRY COMPRISING DISCRETE PARTICLES OF POLYMER AND DEACTIVATED CATALYST, PASSING THE SLURRY TTO A DRYING TOWER, CONTACTING IT THEREIN WITH AN UPWARDLY FLOWING STREAM OF HEATED GASES IN A QUANTITY SUFFICIENT TO EVAPORATE THE LIQUID COMPPONENT OF THE SLURRY, THGE VELOCITY OF THE GASES BEING SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO CARRY THE POLYMER PARTICLES UPWARDLY, BUT SUFFICIENTLY LOW TO ALLOW THE DEACTIVATED CATALYST PARTICLES TO SETTLE, RECOVERING DEACTIVATED CATALYST PARTICLES FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE DRYING TOWER, RECOVERING POLYMER PARTICLES ESSENTIALLY FREE OF DEACTIVATED CATALYST FROM THE UPWARDLY FLOWING GASES, SEPARATING THE UPWARDLY FLOWING GASES INTO TWO PORTIONS, HEATING ONE OF THE PORTIONS, RETURNING THE HEATED PORTION OF THE GASES TO THE DRYING TOWER, AND UTILIZING IT THEREIN AS THE AFOREMENTIONED UPWARDLY FLOWING STREAM OF HEATED GASES.