Manufacture of homopolymers and copolymers of α-monoolefins

Claim 1

A process for the manufacture of homopolymers and copolymers of α-monoolefins of 2 to 6 carbon atoms by polymerizing the monomer or monomers at from 30° to 200° C and pressures of from 0.1 to 200 bars, using a Ziegler catalyst system comprising (1) a titanium-containing catalyst component and (2) a metal compound of the general formula Me A.sub.m-n X.sub.n where Me is aluminum, magnesium or zinc, A is a hydrocarbon radical of 1 to 12 carbon atoms, X is chlorine, bromine, iodine or hydrogen, m is the valency of the metal Me and n is a number from 0 to m-1, with the proviso that the atomic ratio of titanium from catalyst component (1) to metal (Me) from catalyst component (2) is from 1 : 0.1 to 1 : 500, wherein the titanium-containing catalyst component (1) employed is the solid-phase product (VI) obtained by first (1.1) bringing into contact (1.1.1) a finely divided, porous, inorganic oxidic material (I) which has a particle diameter of from 1 to 1,000 μm, a pore volume of from 0.3 to 3 cm 3 /g and a surface area of from 100 to 1,000 m 2 /g and which has the formula SiO 2 .aAl 2 O 3 , where a is a numbe from 0 to 2 and (1.1.2) an aluminum compound (II), dissolved in an organic solvent, the compound having the general formula Al B.sub.3-p Y.sub.p where B is a hydrocarbon radical of 1 to 12 carbon atoms, Y is chlorine, bromine, iodine, hydrogen or OR, R is a hydrocarbon radical of 1 to 12 carbon atoms and p is a number from 0 to 3 to form a solid-phase product (III), with the proviso that the weight ratio of inorganic oxidic material (I) employed to aluminum compound (II) employed is from 1 : 0.05 to 1 : 10, and then (1.2) bringing into contact (1.2.1) the solid-phase product (III) obtained from stage (1.1) and (1.2.2) a solution (IV) obtained by bringing together (IVa) 100 parts by weight of an alcohol of the general formula Z--OH where Z is a saturated hydrocarbon radical of 1 to 8 carbon atoms, (IVb) from 0.01 to 6 parts by weight (calculated as titanium) of a titanium trihalide, where the halogen may be chlorine and/or bromine and (IVc) from 0.01 to 4 parts by weight (calculated as magnesium) of a magnesium compound which is soluble in the alcohol (IVa) to form a dispersion (V), with the proviso that the weight ratio of solid-phase product (III -- calculated as inorganic oxidic material I) -- to titanium in the titanium trihalide (IVb) is from 1 : 0.01 to 1 : 0.2 and the weight ratio of solid-phase product (III -- calculated as inorganic oxidic material I) -- to magnesium in the magnesium compound (IVc) is from 1 : 0.01 to 1 : 0.25, and evaporating the dispersion (V) at below 200° C, and above the melting point of the alcohol (IVa) used, the evaporation being substantially complete in about 1 to 10 hours, until it reaches a dry consistency, i.e. until the solid-phase product (VI) is formed, any residual alcohol being left in said solid-phase product (VI).