Patent ID: 6225422
Filing Date: 2001-05-01
Classification: C08F

Abstract:
In a continuous gas fluidized bed process for the polymerization of an olefin monomer selected from the group consisting of (a) ethylene, (b) propylene, (c) mixtures of ethylene and propylene and (d) one or more other alpha-olefin mixed with (a), (b) or (c) in a fluidized bed reactor by passing a gaseous stream comprising at least some of the ethylene and/or propylene through a fluidized bed in said reactor in the presence of a polymerization catalyst under reactive conditions, withdrawing a gaseous stream having entrained therein catalyst and/or polymer particles from said reactor, at least part of said gaseous stream withdrawn from said reactor being passed through a separator to separate liquid therefrom, and continuously recycling separated gas back to the reactor, the improvement comprising:charging the separator with liquid;maintaining the separator at least partially filled with the liquid; andseparating substantially all of the entrained catalyst and/or polymer particles from the gaseous stream in the separator while agitating the liquid in the separator to maintain substantially all of the separated particles in a suspended state in the liquid in the separator.