Recovery and purification of polyolefins

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS OF POLYMERIZILNG AN ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED HYDROCARBON WITH A CATALYST COMPRISING A TITANIUM COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TITANIUM HALIDES, TITANIUM ACETYLACETONATES AND MIXTURES THEREOF, AND AN ORGANOALUMINUM COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALUMINUM HYDROCARBONS, ALUMINUM HYDROCARBON HALIDES, ALUMINUM HYDROCARBON HYDRIDES AND MIXTURES THEREOF, WHEREBY THE POLYMER IS OBTAINED IN THE FORM OF GRANULES, WITHIN WHICH CATALYST PARTICLES ARE ENCLOSED, THE IMPROVEMENT IN RECOVERY AND PURIFICATION OF THE POLYMER WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF STEEPING THE POLYKMER IN AN INERT SOLVENT SLURRY OF A CONCENTRATION OF ABOUT 10% TO 80% POLYMER WITH AN ALIPHATIC ALCOHOL OF 1 TO 18 CARBON ATOMS IN AN AMOUNT IN THE RANGE OF 1 TO 300% OF THE WEIGHT OF THE POLYMER TO FORM A COMPLEX SOLUTION OF THE CATALYST DISPERSED IN THE SLURRY AND IN THE POLYMER GRANULERS, SUBSEQUENTLY CONTACTING THE SLURRY CONTAINING THE COMPLEX SOLUTION OF THE CATALYST AND POLYMER WITH A SOLUTION OF AN ALKALI METAL HYDROXIDE AND AN ALKALI METAL SALT OF AN ORGANIC ACID OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF GLUCONIC ACID, TARTARIC ACID, AND CITRIC ACID IN WATER, THE CONCENTRATION OF THE ALKALI METAL HYDROXIDE BEING LESS THAN 4%, BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF THE WATER AND THE AMOUNT BEING SUFFICIENT TO REACT WITH THE CATALYST AND PRODUCE A PH OF 5 TO 12 IN THE AQUEOUS SOLUTION, THE AMOUNT OF THE ORGANIC ACID BEING AT LEAST 0.5 TO 2 TIMES THE WEIGHT OF THE METALS OF THE CATALYST IN THE SLURRY AND THE AMOUNT OF WATER BEING 15 TO 300% OF THE WEIGHT OF THE POLYMER IN THE SLURRY.