Copolymerizates of ethylene and/or higher alpha-olefins with non-conjugated diolefins and process for producing the same

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING ELASTOMERIC COPOLYMERS OF NONCONJUGATED DIOLEFINS CONTAINING AT LEAST ONE TERMINAL UNSATURATION OF VINYL TYPE AND FROM FIVE TO 15 CARBON ATOMS WITH AT LEAST ONE MONOOLEFIN SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ETHYLENE AND ALIPHATIC ALPHA-OLEFINS CONTAINING FROM THREE TO EIGHT CARBON ATOMS, SAID COPOLYMERS BEING ESSENTIALLY LINEAR AND AMORPHOUS UNDER X-RAYS EXAMINATION, COMPLETELY EXTRACTABLE WITH BOILING N-HEPTANE, MADE UP OF MACROMOLECULES CONTAINING COPOLYMERIZED UNITS OF ALL OF THE STARTING MONOMERS AND IN WHICH PRACTICALLY ALL OF THE COPOLYMERIZED DIOLEFIN UNITS ARE POLYMERIZED 1, 2 AND HAVE UNSATRUATIONS IN SIDE GROUPS, SAID COPOLYMERS HAVING A MOLECULAR WEIGHT HIGHER THAN 20,000 AND BEING READILY SULFUR-VULVANIZABLE TO SYNTHETIC RUBBERS HAVING LOW DEFORMATION AT BREAK, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES COPOLYMERIZING A MIXTURE OF THE MONOMERS, ONE OF WHICH IS A NON-CONJUGATED DIOLEFIN, IN A REACTION MIXTURE WHICH CONSISTS ESSENTIALLY OF THE MONOMERS MIXTURE IN THE LIQUID STATE OR CONSISTS OF AN INERT HYDROCARBON SOLVENT, IN CONTACT WITH A CATALYST PREPARED BY MIXING HYDROCARBONSOLUBLE COMPOUNDS OF VANADIUM SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF VANADIUM TRIACETYLACETONATE, VANADYL DIACETYLACETONATE, VANADYL HALOGEN-ACETYLACETONATES, TETRAHYDROFURANATES AND DIALKYL ETHERATES OF VANADIUM TRICHLORIDE, VANADIUM TETRACHLORIDE AND VANADYL TRICHLORIDE, AND PYRIDINATES, AMINATES AND QUINOLINATES OF VANADIUM TRICHLORIDE, VANADIUM TETRACHLORIDE AND VANADYL TRICHLORIDE, WITH AT LEAST ONE ALKYL METAL HALIDE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF DIALKYL ALUMINUM HALIDES AND ALKYL ALUMINUM DIHALIDES IN WHICH THE ALKYL GROUPS CONTAIN FROM ONE TO SIX CARBON ATOMS, IN A MOLAR RATIO OF THE ALKYL METAL HALIDE TO VANADIUM COMPOUND COMPRISED BETWEEN TWO AND 30, BOTH THE PREPARATION OF THE CATALYST AND THE COPOLYMERIZATION BEING CARRIER OUT AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN -80*C AND 0*C, AND THE CONCENTRATION OF THE MONOMERS TO BE COPOLYMERIZED BEING MAINTAINED SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT DURING THE COPOLYMERIZATION REACTION.