Patent ID: 6881800

Claim:
A process for continuous solution polymerization of a feed of olefinically unsaturated monomer in a hydrocarbon solvent under pressure, having a continuous stirred tank reactor arrangement to which a single site catalyst is supplied, to form a polymer containing polymerization reaction mixture, and downstream thereof separating means for continuous separation of the solvent and unreacted monomer from the mixture, which separating means includes at least an initial liquid phase separator to separate the polymerization mixture into a lean phase and a concentrated phase wherein A) a high capacity, low viscosity pump raises the pressure of the feed to at least 75 bar and causes the mixture to pass from the reactor arrangement through a heating stage up to a pressure reducing means upstream of the liquid phase separator through the action of the pump and in the absence of further pumping means between the reactor arrangement and the pressure reducing means; and B) a catalyst killer is added downstream of reactor arrangement and upstream of the liquid phase separator to suppress further polymerization in the separator of the heated polymerization mixture undergoing separation, the lean phase being passed through a cooler, and optionally a drier, back to the inlet side of the pump; the concentrated phase being subjected to additional solvent removal downstream to obtain a solid polymer.