Vanadium tetrachloride stabilization

Claim 5

The method according to claim 2 wherein the decomposition retardant is incorporated in an amount of from 1 to 10 percent per mol of vanadium present in the solution.

Claim 6

The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the decomposition retardant comprises an ester of an halogenated organic acid.

Claim 7

The method according to claim 4 wherein the decomposition retardant is selected from the group consisting of alkyl trihaloacetates, esters of ethylene glycol monoalkyl ethers with trichloroacetic acid, alkyl perchlorocrotonates and mixtures thereof.

Claim 8

The method according to claim 5 wherein the decomposition retardant is selected from the group consisting of methyl trichloroacetate, ethyl trichloroacetate, ethylene glycol mono ethyl ethertrichloroacetate, butyl perchlorocrotonate, methyl perchlorocrotonate and mixtures thereof.

Claim 9

The method according to claim 4 wherein the decomposition retardant comprises butyl perchlorocrotonate.

Claim 10

The method according to claim 1 wherein the inert organic solvent comprises a hydrocarbon or halogenated hydrocarbon.

Claim 11

The method according to claim 8 wherein the solvent is selected from heptane, kerosene, cyclohexane, benzene, trichloroethylene, hexane, and perchloroethylene.

Claim 12

The method according to claim 8 wherein the solvent comprises hexane.

Claim 13

The method according to claim 1 wherein the solution comprises from 0.01 to 2.0 weight percent olefinic compounds.

Claim 14

The method according to claim 11 wherein said olefinic compound is an alpha olefin.

Claim 15

The method according to claim 12 wherein the or one of the olefinic compounds comprises propylene.

Claim 16

The method according to claim 11 wherein the or one of the olefinic compounds is a cyclic non-conjugated diene or a diolefin.

Claim 17

The method according to claim 14 wherein the or one of the olefinic compounds comprises 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene (ENB), dicyclopentadiene or 1,4-hexadiene.

Claim 18

The method according to claim 1 wherein the solution is at a temperature of from -50° to 100° C.

Claim 19

The method according to claim 16 wherein the solution temperature is in the range 15° to 70° C.

Claim 20

The method according to claim 1 wherein the solution comprises from 0.001 to 1.0 mol of vanadium tetrachloride per liter of solution.

Claim 21

The method according to claim 1 where said halogen atoms are activated by an electron donor group adjacent the carbon atom to which they are attached and/or by a carboncarbon double bond alpha-beta to said carbon atom.

Claim 22

A vanadium tetrachloride solution stabilized by the method according to claim 1.

Claim 23

In a continuous process for polymerizing one or more olefins in an inert organic solvent using a vanadium compound as catalyst and an organo-aluminum compound as co-catalyst, in which the catalyst is dissolved in a catalyst make up zone and then introduced in solution into a polymerization zone for contact with solvent, olefin(s) and co-catalyst; polymerization is performed in said polymerization zone; the polymerization product mixture is withdrawn from the polymerization zone, quenched, de-ashed and subjected to a solvent separation stage; and separated solvent is recycled to the polymerization zone and to said catalyst make up zone; the improvement comprising utilizing vanadium tetrachloride as the catalyst and the catalyst solution introduced into the polymerization zone is a stabilized vanadium tetrachloride solution according to claim 20.

Claim 24

The process according to claim 21 wherein the temperature of the catalyst solution introduced into the polymerization zone is from 15° to 70° C.

Claim 25

The process according to claim 21 wherein the olefins which are polymerized comprise ethylene, a higher alpha-olefin, the polymer product being an ethylene copolymer.

Claim 26

The process according to claim 23 wherein the ethylene copolymer product comprises EPM or EPDM.

Claim 27

The process according to claim 21 in which the organo-aluminium compound used as co-catalyst has the general formula R n AlX 3-n in which R represents a C 1 to C 20 hydrocarbon radical, X represents a halogen radical or alkoxy group and n is an integer or noninteger of from 1 to 3.

Claim 28

The process according to claim 23, wherein the olefins further comprise a linear or cyclic diene or higher polyene having non-conjugated double bonds.