Patent ID: 7473743

Claim:
A method for the polymerization of an olefin to produce a polyolefin comprising: a) providing a reactor system comprising a loop reactor having an internal wall surface providing a path for the flow of a polymer slurry within said reactor; b) polishing the internal wall surface of said loop reactor by an initial mechanical polishing procedure with abrasive sanding to provide said internal wall surface at the conclusion of said sanding with a roughness value Rq of no more than 70 RMS; c) subjecting said mechanically polished internal wall surface to a secondary polishing by an electrochemical polishing or chemical polishing to provide an internal reactor surface at the conclusion of said secondary polishing operation having a roughness value Rq of no more than 40 RMS; d) introducing an olefin monomer and a polymerization catalyst into said reactor system to produce a polyolefin slurry circulating through said loop reactor; and e) recovering said polyolefin from said loop reactor.