Titanium trichloride catalyst and process for the production thereof

Abstract

A titanium trichloride catalytic complex is produced by reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo-metal compound and then treating the resulting reduced solids product with a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having three to eight carbon atoms in the presence of a complexing agent. The resulting titanium trichloride complex composition, when employed as a co-catalyst with an organo-metal compound for Ziegler-type catalysts in polymerization of .alpha.-olefins, results in uniform polymer grains with unexpectedly high polymerization activity and high stereoregular polymer yielding ratios.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a titanium trichloride catalyst useful as a catalyst component for the stereoregular polymerization of .alpha.-olefins and a process for the production thereof, and more particularly, it is concerned with a titanium trichloride catalyst for the stereoregular polymerization of .alpha.-olefins, whereby uniform polymer grains can be given with a high polymerization activity and a high stereoregular polymer ratio, and a process for producing the same.

2. Discussion of Prior Art

As a catalyst used for the stereoregular polymerization of .alpha.-olefins, in general, are known halides of transition metal elements of low valency, for example, .alpha.-type titanium trichloride obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride with hydrogen, an eutectic substance of .alpha.-titanium trichloride and aluminum chloride, obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride with aluminum, .delta.-type titanium trichloride obtained by crushing this eutectic substance and the like. As a method of modifying titanium trichloride, it has been proposed to add metal halides, alkylaluminum compounds, halogenated hydrocarbons, ethers, esters, ketones, etc., optionally followed by grinding. For example, Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 59185/1973, published May 30, 1973, describes a method of modifying .alpha.-type titanium trichloride by crushing .alpha.-type titanium trichloride with halogenated hydrocarbons such as carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dichloromethane and hexachloroethane. However, this method is disadvantageous in that other type titanium trichlorides than .alpha.-type titanium trichloride cannot be used, preparation of the catalyst is complicated because of requiring a crushing treatment, etc., and the resulting catalyst is unsatisfactory in polymerization activity and stereoregular polymer yielding ratio.

Furthermore, there have been proposed in the art a method comprising reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo aluminum compound, treating the thus obtained reduced solid containing titanium trichloride with a complexing agent to extract and remove the aluminum compounds and then treating with titanium tetrachloride (Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 34478/1972, published Nov. 21, 1978), a method comprising treating the same with carbon tetrachloride (Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 112289/1975, published Sept. 3, 1975) and a method comprising reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo aluminum compound and then treating the thus obtained reduced solid containing titanium trichloride with a mixture of a complexing agent and carbon tetrachloride (Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 143790/1975, published Nov. 19, 1975).

Furthermore, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,524, there is disclosed a process for producing a titanium trichloride catalyst having high activity which includes extracting a crude titanium trichloride composition, obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organoaluminum chloride, with a mixed solvent system composed of (i) a main solvent of aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic chlorinated hydrocarbons or trichloroethylene, and (ii) an auxilliary solvent, including ethers.

However, the first method wherein the aftertreatment is carried out using titanium tetrachloride is poor economy since an expensive high concentration solution of titanium tetrachloride is required and the second method wherein the aftertreatment is carried out using carbon tetrachloride is advantageous in that expensive titanium tetrachloride can be substituted by cheap carbon tetrachloride, but is not always satisfactory since the yield of titanium trichloride is low due to the tendency of carbon tetrachloride to dissolve titanium trichloride and the resulting catalyst exhibits a low polymerization activity, low stereoregular polymer yielding ratio and unfavorable grain shape of polymer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We, the inventors, have made efforts to obtain a titanium trichloride catalyst whereby the disadvantages of these known titanium trichlorides or titanium trichloride compositions are overcome and consequently have found that a titanium trichloride catalyst comprising a titanium trichloride-containing reduced solid obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo metal compound, in particular, organo aluminum compound, a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms and a complexing agent can exhibit very excellent properties or performances when used as a catalyst for the polymerization of .alpha.-olefins. The present invention is based on this finding.

That is to say, the present invention provides a titanium trichloride catalyst comprising a titanium trichloride-containing reduced solid obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo metal compound, a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms and a complexing agent, which can be prepared by reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo metal compound and then treating the resulting product with a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms in the presence of a complexing agent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The titanium trichloride-containing reduced solid obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo metal compound according to the present invention (which will hereinafter be referred to as "reduced solid") is a reduced solid substance which color is brown to red violet and which contains metal compounds, for example, aluminum compounds and has a complicated composition. As the organo metal compound there are generally used, individually or in combination, organo aluminum compounds, organo magnesium compounds and organo zinc compounds (which will hereinafter be referred to as "organo metal compounds"). In particular, the reduction is preferably conducted by the use of organo aluminum compounds. The reduced solid obtained in this way contains a metal compound or a mixture or complex compound thereof, in particular, an aluminum compound or a mixture or complex compound thereof in uniform state, which possibly interact with a complexing agent or a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms to some extent, thus improving the catalytic property.

As the above described organo aluminum compound there is generally used an organo aluminum compound represented by the general formula R.sub.n AlX.sub.3-n wherein R represents an alkyl group or aryl group, X represents a halogen atom and n represents a suitable numeral within a range of 1.ltoreq.n.ltoreq.3, or a mixture or complex compound thereof. In particular, it is preferable to use alkylaluminum compounds having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, preferably 2 to 6 carbon atoms, such as trialkylaluminums, dialkylaluminum halides, monoalkylaluminum dihalides and alkylaluminum sesquihalides, mixtures or complex compounds thereof. Examples of the trialkylaluminum are trimethylaluminum, triethylaluminum and tributylaluminum. Examples of the dialkylaluminum halide are dimethylaluminum chloride, diethylaluminum chloride, dibutylaluminum chloride, diethylaluminum bromide and diethylaluminum iodide. Examples of the monoalkylaluminum dihalide are methylaluminum dichloride, ethylaluminum dichloride, butylaluminum dichloride, ethyl aluminum dibromide and ethylaluminum diiodide. Moreover, ethylaluminum sesquichloride is given as an example of the alkylaluminum sesquichloride. Triethylaluminum, diethylaluminum chloride, ethylaluminum dichloride, ethylaluminum sesquichloride or their mixtures or complex compounds, for example, a mixture of diethylaluminum chloride and ethylaluminum dichloride is particularly preferable because these compounds are readily obtainable commercially and exhibit excellent effects.

The reduction of titanium tetrachloride is ordinarily carried out by adding the above-described organo metal compound or its solution dropwise to a solution of titanium tetrachloride dissolved in an aliphatic hydrocarbon having 5 to 12 carbon atoms at a temperature of from -50.degree. C. to +30.degree. C., particularly about -5.degree. C. to about +5.degree. C., for a period of time of 30 minutes to three hours and the reverse addition method can be employed. The quantity of an organo metal compound used is ordinarily 1 to 5 gram atoms as metal per 1 gram atom of titanium. When titanium tetrachloride is reduced with diethylaluminum chloride (DEAC) or a mixture of DEAC and ethylaluminum dichloride (EADC), these reagents are preferably mixed in a molar ratio of TiCl.sub.4 :DEAC=1:1 to 1:5 and TiCl.sub.4 :DEAC:EADC=1:1:0.1 to 1:4:1.2. Furthermore, a mixture of titanium tetrachloride and an organo metal compound may be aged at a temperature of 20.degree. to 100.degree. C. for 1 to 3 hours, but this treatment is not always necessary. Then the resulting reduced solid is separated by a suitable method, optionally washed with an inert solvent and optionally dried, e.g., by heating to thus obtain the reduced solid of the invention. The reduced solid obtained in this way contains in a uniform state 0.2 gram atom or more of a metal compound or a mixture or complex thereof as the metal, for example, aluminum per 1 gram atom of titanium.

The titanium trichloride catalyst complex of the present invention can be obtained by subjecting the so obtained reduced solid to a treatment with a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms in the presence of a complexing agent. As the chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms there can be used, for example, octachloropropane, heptachloropropane, hexachloropropane, pentachloropropane, tetrachloropropane, trichloropropane, dichloropropane, monochloropropane, tetrachlorobutane, trichlorobutane, dichlorobutane, trichloropentane, dichloropentane, dichlorohexane, dichloroheptane, dichlorooctane, and mixtures thereof. Said chlorinated saturated aliphatic 3 to 8 carbon atom hydrocarbons also may be used with other chlorinated hydrocarbons, e.g., dichlorobenzene, trichlorobenzene, monochlorobenzene, dichloropropene, trichloropropene and dichlorobutene. Of the various chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons, above all, those having 3 to 8 carbon atoms and 2 to 6 chlorine atoms have larger effects and hexachloropropane, pentachloropropane, tetrachloropropane and dichlorobutane are particularly preferable. This chlorinated hydrocarbon treatment is carried out by contacting the above-described reduced solid with a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms in the presence of a complexing agent, but, in practice, it is simplest to effect this treatment by adding a mixture of the chlorinated hydrocarbon and a complexing agent or a mixture of the chlorinated hydrocarbon, a complexing agent and an inert solvent to the reduced solid or an inert solvent containing the reduced solid. Of course, other methods can be employed, for example, which comprise firstly treating the reduced solid with a complexing agent and then contacting with the chlorinated hydrocarbon, or firstly contacting the reduced solid with the chlorinated hydrocarbon and then with a complexing agent. As the method for contacting the reduced solid with the chlorinated hydrocarbon and/or a complexing agent, it is also possible to add the reduced solid or a dispersion of the reduced solid in an inert solvent to the chlorinated hydrocarbon and/or a complexing agent or a mixture thereof with an inert solvent. Furthermore, it is possible to add the chlorinated hydrocarbon, a complexing agent and optionally an inert solvent to the reduced solid, followed by crushing.

For the above-described treatment with a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms there are optimum conditions depending on the property, composition and the like of the reduced solid, but in general, at a low temperature, this treatment should be carried out over a long time and at a high temperature, it can be carried out for a relatively short time. For example, the treatment time is generally 5 minutes to 20 hours at 0.degree. to 170.degree. C., preferably 30 minutes to 20 hours at 20.degree. to 150.degree. C. more preferably 1 to 10 hours at 50.degree. to 100.degree. C., and most preferably at about 60.degree. to about 100.degree. C. for 1 to 10 hours, but this is not always necessary.

The quantities of a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms and a complexing agent are not particularly limited, but, in the case of using 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane, for example, 0.2 to 3.0 mols, preferably 0.4 to 2.0 mols of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane and 0.1 to 2.5 mols, preferably 0.3 to 0.8 mol of a complexing agent are used per 1 gram atom of titanium.

When the reduced solid is treated with a complexing agent and then with the chlorinated hydrocarbon, for example, 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane, the contact with the complexing agent is carried out at 0.degree. to 120.degree. C. for 5 minutes to 8 hours, preferably at 20.degree. to 90.degree. C. for 30 minutes to 3 hours and then the contact with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane is carried out at 20.degree. to 150.degree. C. for 30 minutes to 20 hours, preferably at 50.degree. to 100.degree. C. for 1 to 10 hours, and most preferably at about 60.degree. to about 100.degree. C. for 1 to 10 hours. In this case also, the quantities of a complexing agent and 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane are not particularly limited, but, in general, 0.1 to 2.5 mols, preferably 0.3 to 0.8 mol of a complexing agent and 0.2 to 3.0 mols, preferably 0.4 to 2.0 mols of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane are used per 1 gram atom of titanium.

The complexing agent used in the present invention means a compound containing one or more electron donating atoms or groups. That is to day, ethers, thioethers, thiols, organo phosphorus compounds, organo nitrogen compounds, ketones, esters and the like are used as such a compound. Useful examples of the ether are diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, di-n-butyl ether, diisobutyl ether, diisoamyl ether, di-2-ethylhexyl ether, di-2-ethylheptyl ether, allyl ethyl ether, allyl butyl ether, diphenyl ether, anisole, phenetole, chloroanisole, bromoanisole, dimethyoxybenzene, etc. Useful examples of the tioether are diethyl thioether, di-n-propyl thioether, dicyclohexyl thioether, diphenyl thioether, ditolyl thioether, ethyl phenyl thioether, propyl phenyl thioether, diallyl thioether, etc. Useful examples of the organo phosphorus compound are tri-n-butylphosphine, triphenylphosphine, triethyl phosphite, tributyl phosphite, etc. Useful examples of the organo nitrogen compound are diethylamine, triethylamine, n-propylamine, di-n-propylamine, tri-n-propylamine, aniline, dimethylaniline, etc. In particular, ethers are preferably used and, above all, those having 4 to 16 carbon atoms are more desirable, especially aliphatic ether compounds having 4 to 16 carbon atoms. As the inert solvent there are suitably used hydrocarbons, for example, aliphatic hydrocarbons such as pentane, hexane, heptane, octane and the like, alicyclic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane, cyclopentane and the like, aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene and the like, and mixtures thereof.

The so obtained titanium trichloride catalyst of the present invention is separated from the chlorinated hydrocarbon, complexing agent and inert solvent, optionally washed with an inert solvent and then contacted with an organo aluminum compound as a cocatalyst in conventional manner as it is or after drying, thus obtaining a catalyst for the polymerization of .alpha.-olefins. During the above described treatment-activation step, the titanium trichloride of the reduced solid is converted whereby the so obtained titanium trichloride catalyst contains titanium trichloride of the .delta.-type, according to the classification generally adopted (Journal of Polymer Science, 51, 1961, pp. 399-410). The so obtained titanium trichloride catalyst has a violet to purple color.

The titanium trichloride catalyst complex of the present invention can exhibit best catalytic performances when containing a metal compound, in particular, aluminum compound, a mixture thereof or a complex compound thereof corresponding to the metal in a proportion of 0.0001 to 0.2 gram atom per 1 gram atom of titanium, the chlorinated saturated aliphatic 3 to 8 carbon atom hydrocarbon in a proportion of 0.005 to 0.2 mol per 1 gram atom of titanium and a complexing agent in a proportion of 0.005 to 0.2 mol per 1 gram atom of titaium.

The titanium trichloride catalyst complex of the present invention is ordinarily used as a catalyst for the polymerization of .alpha.-olefins in contact with an organo metal compound which is used as a co-catalyst for the Ziegler type catalyst, for example, monoalkylaluminum dichloride, dialkylaluminum monochloride or trialkylaluminum. If necessary, various compounds, for example, complexing agents such as used in the present invention can further be added as a third component.

The catalyst for the polymerization of .alpha.-olefins consisting of the titanium trichloride catalyst of the present invention and an organo aluminum compound is very excellent as a catalyst for the homopolymerization or copolymerization of .alpha.-olefins such as propylene, butene-1, 4-methylpentene-1, etc., and can give uniform polymer grains with a high polymerization activity and a high stereoregular polymer ratio in the polymerization of .alpha.-olefins in a gaseous phase, liquid monomer or inert solvent. Therefore, this catalyst will render great services to the industry.

The present invention will now be illustrated in detail by the following Examples in which a reduced solid obtained by reducing titanium tetrachloride with DEAC or a mixture of DEAC and EADC is used for the sake of convenience, but is not intended to be limited thereby. The following Examples, namely Examples 1 through 9, 13 through 22, 25, 29, 30, 32 and 40, all comparative Examples, and Examples 41 through 60 are based on experiments actually performed and Examples 10-12, 23, 24, 26-28, 31 and 33-39 are extrapolations therefrom.

EXAMPLE 1

700 ml of purified heptane and 250 ml of titanium tetrachloride were charged into a 2000 ml flask equipped with a stirrer and placed in a thermostat at 0.degree. C. and mixed. Then a mixture of 315 ml of DEAC (1.1 mol to 1 mol of titanium tetrachloride), 117 ml of EADC (0.5 mol to 1 mol of titanium tetrachloride) and 400 ml of purified heptane was dropwise added to this heptane solution of titanium tetrachloride kept at 0.degree. C. for a period of 3 hours. After the dropwise addition, the reaction mixture was heated for 1 hour to 65.degree. C. while stirring and the stirring was further continued at the same temperature for another hour to obtain a reduced solid. The resulting reduced solid was separated, washed with purified heptane and dried at 65.degree. C. for 30 minutes under reduced pressure. The resulting reduced solid was red violet and the X-ray diffraction spectrum thereof showed that the peak at 2.theta.=42.4.degree. (.beta.-type crystal) was considerably smaller than the peak at 2.theta.=51.3.degree. (.delta.-type crystal).

25 g of this reduced solid was suspended in 100 ml or purified heptane to prepare a suspension, to which 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane was then added in a proportion of 1 mol of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane to 1 gram atom of titanium in the form of a solution containing 25 g of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane in 100 ml of di-n-butyl ether was further added in a proportion of 0.6 mol of di-n-butyl ether to 1 gram atom of titanium, followed by the stirring.

The thus mixed liquor was then heated with agitation to 80.degree. C. and held for 5 hours, thus obtaining a titanium trichloride catalyst of the present invention. The resulting titanium trichloride catalyst was further washed five times with 100 ml of purified heptane and then dried at 60.degree. C. for 30 minutes to obtain a powdered titanium trichloride catalyst with a yield of 95% as titanium.

The titanium trichloride catalyst obtained in this way contained aluminum compounds corresponding to 0.031 gram atom of aluminum, 0.010 mol of di-n-butyl ether and 0.033 mol of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane per 1 gram atom of titanium.

A polymerization test was carried out as to a polymerization catalyst using the titanium trichloride catalyst of the present invention. 100 mg of the titanium trichloride catalyst and DEAC in a proportion of 4 mols to 1 gram atom of titanium were charged in a 1000 ml autoclave, into which 600 ml (Normal State) of hydrogen and then 800 ml of liquid propylene were introduced. The contents in the autoclave were heated at 67.degree. C. and polymerization was carried out for 30 minutes. Thereafter, the unreacted propylene was removed and then removal of the catalyst was carried out in conventional manner, by contacting the polymer with atmospheric moisture and by drying under vacuum, to obtain 181 g of polypropylene powder having a bulk density of 0.45 g/cc (ASTMD-1895, method A). Therefore, the polymerization activity (g of formed polymer per 1 g of catalyst, i.e., catalytic efficiency hereinafter referred to as "E") was 1810. The melt flow rate of this polypropylene (Melt Flow Rate-ASTM D 1238, hereinafter referred to as "MFR") was 4.5. The heptane-insoluble content (hereinafter referred to as "HI") of this propylene was 97.5% measured by extracting with heptane for 5 hours using a Soxhlet extractor. These results are shown in Table I. P.S.D. index is an index to show the particle size distribution of a polymer powder calculated by the following formula:

P.S.D. index=log (particle diameter (.mu.) at 90% of integral particle diameter distribution curve/particle diameter (.mu.) at 10% of integral particle diameter distribution curve)

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

A polymerization test was carried out in the similar manner to Example 1 except using a reduced solid not treated with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane and di-n-butyl ether in place of the titanium trichloride catalyst used in Example 1, thus obtaining results shown in Table I. It is apparent from this result that the performance of the titanium trichloride catalyst is remarkably improved by the treatment with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane according to the present invention.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

A polymerization test was carried out using a reduced solid treated in an analogous manner to Example 1 except that 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane was not used, thus obtaining results shown in Table 1. It is apparent from this result that it is important for the present invention to use 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

When the reduced solid was treated in an analogous manner to Example 1 except that di-n-butyl ether (complexing agent) was not used, the reduced solid became massive. The reduced solid was then subjected to a treatment with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane, as in Example 1, at a treatment temperature of 35.degree. C. over a treatment time of 16 hours without using the complexing agent, thus obtaining a titanium trichloride catalyst. Using this catalyst, a polymerization test was carried out in an analogous manner to Example 1 to obtain a powdered polypropylene with E=400 and HI=94%.

It is apparent from the above-described result that it is important for the titanium trichloride catalyst of the present invention to treat the reduced solid with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane in the presence of a complexing agent.

EXAMPLES 2 TO 5

A polymerization test was carried out using a titanium trichloride catalyst obtained by the same procedure as that of Example 1 except varying the temperature and period of time when the reduced solid of Example 1 was treated with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane, thus obtaining results as shown in Table I.

TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________ Example Comparative Example 1 2 3 4 5 1 2__________________________________________________________________________Complexing Agent Di-n-butyl Di-n-butyl Di-n-butyl Di-n-butyl Di-n-butyl -- Di-n-butyl Ether Ether Ether Ether Ether EtherMol of Complexing 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 -- 0.6Agent per 1 GramAtom of TiMol of 1,1,2,2,3,3- 1 1 1 1 1 -- --Hexachloropropaneper 1 Gram Atom of TiTreatment Temper- 80 70 70 80 90 -- 80ature (.degree.C.)Treatment Time (hr) 5 2 5 2 2 -- 5E 1810 1580 1650 1670 1700 410 760HI 97.5 95.5 96 96 97.0 77 68MFR 4.5 5.1 5.3 4.8 6.1 9.0 6.8Bulk density (g/cc) 0.45 0.46 0.46 0.45 0.45 0.32 0.29PSD Index 0.22 0.19 0.20 0.21 0.20 1.05 0.47Per 1 mol of CatalystSolidMol of Complexing 0.010 0.011 0.010 0.009 0.008 -- 0.09AgentMol of Aluminum 0.031 0.033 0.032 0.030 0.029 0.54 0.11CompoundMol of 1,1,2,2,3,3- 0.033 0.034 0.031 0.032 0.031 -- --hexachloropropane__________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLES 6 TO 12

A titanium trichloride catalyst was prepared and a polymerization test was carried out in an analogous manner to Example 1 except varying the quantity and variety of the complexing agent when the reduced solid was treated with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane as in Example 1, thus obtaining results as shown in Table II.

TABLE II__________________________________________________________________________ Example 6 7 8 9 10 11 12__________________________________________________________________________Complexing Agent Di-n-butyl Di-n-butyl Di-n-amyl Diisoamyl Di-n-heptyl Di-2-ethyl- Anisole Ether Ether Ether Ether Ether hexyl EtherMol of Complexing 0.3 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6Agent per 1 GramAtom of TiMol of 1,1,2,2,3,3- 1 1 1 1 1 1 1hexachloropropaneper 1 Gram Atom of TiTreatment Temper- 80 80 80 80 80 80 80ature (.degree.C.)Treatment Time (hr) 5 5 5 5 5 5 5E 1010 1700 1650 1800 1700 1590 1550HI 94 98 97 97.5 97 96.5 97.0MFR 4.3 4.7 6.0 5.0 4.9 4.5 4.3Bulk density (g/cc) 0.43 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.44 0.45Per 1 mol of CatalystSolidMol of Complexing 0.005 0.015 0.013 0.014 0.016 0.017 0.020AgentMol of Aluminum 0.100 0.029 0.030 0.031 0.032 0.030 0.035CompoundsMol of 1,1,2,2,3,3- 0.031 0.035 0.029 0.028 0.031 0.029 0.025hexachloropropane__________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLES 13 TO 16

A titanium trichloride catalyst was prepared and a polymerization test was carried out in an analogous manner to Example 1 except varying the quantity of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane used when the reduced solid was treated with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane as in Example 1, thus obtaining results as shown in Table III.

TABLE III______________________________________ Example 13 14 15 16______________________________________Complexing Agent Di-n- Di-n- Di-n- Di-n- butyl butyl butyl butyl Ether Ether Ether EtherMol of Complexing 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6Agent per 1 GramAtom of TiMol of 1,1,2,2,3,3- 0.5 0.8 1.5 2.0hexachloropropaneper 1 Gram Atom of TiTreatment Temper- 80 80 80 80ature (.degree.C.)Treatment Time (hr) 5 5 5 5E 1450 1700 1780 1650HI 95 97 97 96.5MFR 5.3 6.2 4.5 4.9Bulk density (g/cc) 0.44 0.45 0.45 0.44Per 1 mol of CatalystSolidMol of Complexing 0.015 0.011 0.012 0.011AgentMol of Aluminum 0.035 0.029 0.030 0.031CompoundsMol of 1,1,2,2,3,3- 0.027 0.031 0.033 0.034hexachloropropane______________________________________

EXAMPLE 17

The reduced solid obtained in Example 1 was suspended in heptane to prepare a suspension, to which di-n-butyl ether was then added in a proportion of 0.6 mol to 1 gram atom of titanium in the reduced solid, and the mixture was stirred at 65.degree. C. for 1 hour. Then 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane in a proportion of 1 mol per 1 gram atom of titanium in the reduced solid was added thereto in the form of the same solution as that of Example 1 and heated at 80.degree. C. for 4 hours.

Thereafter, the procedure of Example 1 was repeated to prepare a catalyst and then to effect a polymerization test using the same, thus obtaining a result of E=1760 and HI=97.4%.

EXAMPLE 18

A titanium trichloride catalyst was prepared in an analogous manner to Example 1 except that titanium tetrachloride was reduced with DEAC only. This titanium trichloride catalyst contained aluminum compounds corresponding to 0.031 gram atom of aluminum, 0.010 mol of butyl ether and 0.033 mol of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane per 1 gram atom of titanium.

Using the so obtained titanium trichloride catalyst, a polymerization test was carried out in an analogous manner to Example 1, thus obtaining a powdered polypropylene with E--1800, HI=97%, MFR=4.9 and bulk density=0.44 g/cc.

EXAMPLE 19

A polymerization test was carried out in an analogous manner to Example 1, using the titanium trichloride catalyst obtained in Example 1 but adjusting the polymerization temperature to 73.degree. C. and the polymerization time to 3 hours, thus obtaining a powdered polypropylene with E=10,000, HI=96%, MFR=5.3 and bulk density=0.44 g/cc.

EXAMPLE 20

The reduced solid obtained in Example 1 was suspended in 100 ml of purified heptane, mixed with di-n-butyl ether in a proportion of 0.6 mol to 1 gram atom of titanium and kept at 60.degree. C. for 1 hour. The reduced solid was separated therefrom, mixed with 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane in a proportion of 1 mol to 1 gram atom of titanium in the form of a solution containing 25 g of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane in 100 ml of heptane and heated at 80.degree. C. for 5 hours to obtain a titanium trichloride catalyst, followed by washing and drying in an analogous manner to Example 1. Using this titanium trichloride catalyst, a polymerization test was carried out in the same manner as that of Example 1, thus obtaining a polypropylene powder with E=1650, HI=97%, MFR=5.1 and bulk density=0.45 g/cc.

EXAMPLE 21

The procedure of Example 20 was repeated except adding the heptane solution of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane without separating the reduced solid after treating with the complexing agent in Example 20. Using this titanium trichloride catalyst, a polymerization test was carried out in an analogous manner to Example 1, thus obtaining a polypropylene powder with E=1730, HI=97.5%, MFR=3.7 and bulk density of 0.45 g/cc.

EXAMPLES 22 TO 39

A titanium trichloride catalyst was prepared and a polymerization test was carried out by the same method as that of Example 1 except using other chlorinated hydrocarbons of C.sub.3 or higher than 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane in Example 1, thus obtaining results shown in Tables IV to VI.

TABLE IV______________________________________ Example 22 23 24 25 26 27 28______________________________________Chlorinated *1 *2 *3 *4 *5 *6 *7CompoundMol of Chlorinated 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0Compound per 1Gram Atom of TiMol of n-Butyl 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6Ether per 1 GramAtom of TiTreatment 80 80 80 80 80 80 80Temperature .degree.C.Treatment Time 5 5 5 5 5 5 5E 1650 1580 1700 1510 1450 1450 1400HI 97.5 96.8 97.3 96.7 96.5 96.0 95.8MFR 4.9 4.3 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.1 4.5Bulk Density (g/cc) 0.45 0.45 0.46 0.45 0.44 0.44 0.44Per 1 mol ofCatalyst SolidMol of Chlorinated 0.035 0.036 0.031 0.033 0.032 0.033 0.035CompoundMol of Aluminum 0.027 0.030 0.029 0.035 0.033 0.034 0.031CompoundsMol of n-Butyl 0.009 0.010 0.008 0.010 0.011 0.012 0.013Ether______________________________________ Note: *1 1,1,2,3,3pentachloropropane, *2 1,1,2,3tetrachloropropane, *3 1,1,1,2tetrachloropropane, *4 1,1,1,2,2,3,3heptachloropropane, *5 octachloropropane, *6 1,1,2trichloropropane, *7 1,1dichloropropane TABLE V______________________________________ Example 29 30 31 32 33 34______________________________________Chlorinated *1 *2 *3 *4 *5 *6CompoundMol of Chlorinated 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0Compound per 1Gram Atom of TiMol of n-Butyl 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6Ether per 1 GramAtom of TiTreatment 80 80 80 80 80 80Temperature .degree.C.Treatment Time 5 5 5 5 5 5(hr)E 1700 1730 1470 1390 1430 1400HI 96.0 97.0 94.8 93.7 94.9 94.5MFR 5.1 5.3 4.3 4.1 3.5 3.3Bulk Density (g/cc) 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.45 0.44Per 1 mol ofCatalyst SolidMol of Chlorinated 0.029 0.030 0.027 0.031 0.026 0.030CompoundMol of Aluminum 0.036 0.035 0.033 0.037 0.034 0.033CompoundsMol of n-Butyl 0.015 0.013 0.014 0.011 0.009 0.009Ether______________________________________ Note: *1 1,2dichlorobutane, *2 1,4dichlorobutane, *3 1,5dichloropentane, *4 2,2dimethyl-1,3-dichloropropane, *5 1,6dichlorohexane, *6 1,8dichlorooctane TABLE VI__________________________________________________________________________ Example 35 36 37 38 39__________________________________________________________________________Chlorinated 1,1-Dichloro- 1,2,3-Trichlo- 1,3-Dichlo- 1,2-dichloro- o-Dichloro-Compound 1-propene 1-propene 2-butene cyclohexane benzeneMol of Chlorinated 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0Compound per 1Gram Atom of TiMol of n-Butyl 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6Ether per 1 GramAtom of TiTreatment 80 80 80 80 80Temperature .degree.C.Treatment Time 5 5 5 5 5(hr)E 1350 1410 1370 1300 1310HI 93.5 93.7 93.3 93.1 93.5MFR 3.8 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.1Bulk Density (g/cc) 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43Per 1 mol ofCatalyst SolidMol of Chlorinated 0.037 0.035 0.033 0.037 0.038CompoundMol of Aluminum 0.033 0.034 0.031 0.030 0.023CompoundsMol of n-Butyl 0.017 0.015 0.013 0.014 0.010__________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 40

A titanium trichloride catalyst was prepared and a polymerization test was carried out using the titanium trichloride catalyst, in an analogous manner to Example 1 except that 0.6 mol of di-n-butyl ether, 1 mol of 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane and 0.3 mol of 1,2,3-trichloropropene per 1 gram of titanium in the reduced solid were added in place of the 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane and di-n-butyl ether used for the treatment of the reduced solid in Example 1, followed by stirring and mixing, thus obtaining the following results.

Yield of titanium trichloride catalyst=97% as titanium, E=1900, HI=98%, MFR=5.0, Bulk Density=0.46 g/cc.

EXAMPLES 41 AND 42

41. (a) Two batches of titanium trichloride reduced solids material were prepared by the following procedure. 225 ml of refined dry n-dodecane and 55 ml titanium tetrachloride were introduced into a 1 l. flask under an argon atmosphere. The TiCl.sub.4 solution was then cooled to -5.degree. C. An homogeneous solution which was made from 350 ml dry n-dodecane and 115 ml of Al(C.sub.2 H.sub.5).sub.1.5 Cl.sub.1.5, was added slowly into the flask under stirring for a period of three hours. During the addition process, the temperature of the reaction system was kept the same. The reaction mixture was further continuously stirred with the same temperature kept for an additional 2 hours to complete the reducing reaction. After the reduction reaction, the liquid phase was separated and the solid was washed 8 times with dry n-heptane to obtain 94.5 g and 98.5 g, respectively of reddish purple reduced solid material.

(b) 25 g of the reduced solid material was then suspended in 330 ml n-hexane. A mixed solution of 105 ml di-n-butyl ether and 193 ml of carbon tetrachloride was then added slowly to the suspension at 30.degree. C. under continuous stirring. The amount of di-n-butyl ether used was 1.0 mol ratio to the titanium trichloride of the reduced solid material and the amount of carbon tetrachloride used was 4.0 mol ratio to the titanium trichloride. After the reaction addition the reactants were kept for 4 hours at the same temperature under stirring. The resulting formed solid was separated from the liquid phase and washed 8 times with n-hexane to obtain a purple solid catalyst. The amount of solid catalyst recovered equaled 52 wt.%, based upon the amount of reduced solid material used (Cat. Yield).

A polymerization test was then carried out in accordance with the procedure set forth in Example 1 utilizing 100 mg of the titanium trichloride catalyst of (b). The results are set forth in Table VII below.

42. 25 g of the reduced solid material obtained from the reduction step (a) of Example 41 was treated by repeating the treatment procedure (b) of Example 41, except 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexachloropropane was substituted for carbon tetrachloride. The same mol ratios of di-n-butyl ether (1.0 mol ratio to the titanium trichloride) and chlorinated hydrocarbon (4.0 hexachloropropane mol ratio to the titanium trichloride) were used. However, additional n-hexane diluent had to be added to dissolve the solid hexachloropropane at the amount employed. Consequently, the slurry concentration of the reduction product was forced to be lowered to 38 g/l, as compared to slurry concentration in Example 41 (b), which was 180 g/l. The same treatment conditions were employed (30.degree. C., 4 hr., continuous stirring) and the solid formed was separated and washed in the same manner, all as described in Example 41 (b). The recovered solid catalyst yield was 100 wt.%, based upon amount of reduced solid material treated. A polymerization test was carried out in accordance with Example 1 utilizing 100 mg of the obtained catalyst the results being set forth in the following Table VII.

TABLE VII______________________________________Ex. Activation Cat. HINo. R.S. Treatment Yield E (%) B.D. MFR______________________________________41 41(a) 1.0 n-BE + 52 1450 95.7 0.384 1.8 4.0 CCl.sub.4 ; 30.degree. C., 4 hrs.42 41(a) 1.0 n-BE + 100 590 51.8 CNM 12.3 4.0 C.sub.3 H.sub.2 Cl.sub.6 ; 30.degree. C., 4 hrs.______________________________________ Polymerization Test: Per Example 1 (C.sub.3 = bulk, 68.degree. C., 0.5 hr., DEAC/Ti = 4 mol/mol, H.sub.2 added) R.S. = reduced solids used Cat. Yield = wt. % of catalyst recovered after activationtreatment, based on reduced solids used E = catalyst polymerization activity, gramspolymer/grams-catalyst B.D. = bulk density (g/cc) MFR = melt flow rate (g/10 min) CNM = could not be measured

The results in Table VII show the catalyst produced in Example 41 did exhibit suitable polymerization activity and heptane insolubles performance. However, the activation-treatment procedure of Example 41 resulted in recovery in only 52 wt.% of active catalyst, based upon amount of reduced solids employed. Moreover, the bulk density of the polymer produced was only 0.38 which, as described more particularly below, is significantly inferior to that obtained by catalysts of the present invention.

The results of Example 42 set forth in Table VII show that use of hexachloropropane in the treatment process of Example 41 does not produce a catalyst of acceptable catalytic performance with respect to any measurements.

EXAMPLE 43

43. (a) A reduced solids product was produced specifically in accordance with the procedure described in Example 1, using 125 ml TiCl.sub.4 in 350 ml n-heptane and 158 ml DEAC with 59 ml EADC in 200 ml n-heptane (4:1 mol ratio). 205 g of reduced solids product was recovered.

(b) 25 g of the above-reduced solids product was then treated with carbon tetrachloride and di-n-butyl ether by repeating the procedure described in Example 1 (1 mol carbon tetrachloride per 1 g atom of titanium and 0.6 mol di-n-butyl ether per 1 g atom of titanium; 80.degree. C., 5 hrs.). Catalyst yield (wt.%, based upon reduced solids used) equaled 11 wt.%.

A polymerization test was then carried out in accordance with the procedure set forth in Example 1, utilizing 100 mg of the titanium trichloride catalyst of (b). The results are set forth in Table VII below.

TABLE VIII______________________________________Ex. Activation Cat. HINo. R.S. Treatment Yield E (%) B.D. MFR______________________________________ 1 1 0.6 n-BE + -- 1810 97.5 0.45 2.2 1.0 C.sub.3 H.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 ; 80.degree. C., 5 hrs.43 43(a) 0.6 n-BE + 11 0 CNM CNM -- 1.0 CCl.sub.4 ; 80.degree. C., 5 hrs.______________________________________ See footnotes of Table VII.

For comparison, the results of Example 1 are set forth in Table VIII. A comparison of the results in Table VIII show that substitution of carbon tetrachloride for the C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon in the activation treatment of the present invention does not produce an active .alpha.-olefin polymerization catalyst. As shown by Example 43, use of carbon tetrachloride for activation-treatment at 80.degree. C. for 5 hours resulted in an almost complete loss of titanium trichloride catalyst material. Moreover, that recovered was essentially useless for .alpha.-olefin polymerization.

EXAMPLES 44-46

44. 25 g of reduced solid product produced in Example 43 (a) (in accordance with Example 1) was treated according to the procedure of Example 41 (b). The treated catalyst yield equaled only 65 wt.%. A polymerization test according to Example 1 was carried out using 100 mg of the treated catalyst, the results of which are set forth in Table IX.

45 and 46. Two polymerization tests according to Example 1 were carried out, respectively, using, as the titanium catalyst component, 100 mg samples of the reduced solids material obtained from Example 43 (a) (per Example 1), and a commercial ball-milled polypropylene catalyst obtained from Toyo Stauffer Company, Tokyo, Japan, under the tradename "AA" Catalyst. The results of the polymerization test are set forth in Table IX.

TABLE IX______________________________________Ex. Activation Cat. HINo. R.S. Treatment Yield E (%) B.D. MFR______________________________________ 1 1 0.6 n-BE + 1.0 -- 1810 97.5 0.45 4.5 C.sub.3 H.sub.2 Cl.sub.6 ; 80.degree. C., 5 hrs.44 43(a) 1.0 n-BE + 65 640 85.1 0.280 8.3 4.0 CCl.sub.4 ; 30.degree. C., 4 hrs.45 43(a) none -- 410 74.1 0.330 20.046 -- commercial -- 550 95.5 0.375 4.2 "AA" catalyst______________________________________ See footnotes of Table VII

In Table IX, the results of Example 44 show use of the activation-treatment procedure of Example 41 (b) (di-n-butyl ether +CCl.sub.4 ; 30.degree. C., 4 hrs.), when used to activate the reduced solids produced in Example 43 (a) (per Example 1) resulted in only 65% catalyst yield and that the resulting catalyst did not have satisfactory catalyst performance, both from the standpoint of catalyst activity and heptane insolubles. Compare Example 44 to Example 1, set forth in Table IX for this purpose.

It will also be noted that, in Example 44, the activation treatment using carbon tetrachloride (per Example 41) resulted in a catalyst which produced a polymer product having only 0.280 g/cc bulk density, which is significantly lower than the bulk density of polymer produced using commercially available catalyst (Example 46, bulk density=0.375 g/cc). The bulk density of polymer produced using the reduced solid of Example 43 (a) (per Example 1) without an activation treat was 0.33 g/cc (Example 45). A comparison of Examples 44 and 45 show the activation treat using carbon tetrachloride in fact resulted in damaging the catalyst shape very much inasmuch as, as is known in the art, bulk density of resulting polymer product corresponds to titanium catalyst component particle shape. Moreover, the use of the catalyst produced in Example 41 (Table VII) resulted in a polymer of only 0.384, which was essentially comparable to that obtained with commercial "AA" catalyst (0.375, Example 46). On the other hand, as shown by Example 1, the activation procedure of the present invention resulted in a catalyst having significantly improved catalyst shape as compared to the reduced solids (Example 45) and commercial "AA" catalyst (Example 46). Such bulk density comparative data confirms catalysts of the present invention (e.g., Example 1) are different from catalysts produced by an activation treatment using carbon tetrachloride under low temperature conditions (e.g., Examples 41 and 44).

EXAMPLES 47-49

Titanium trichloride catalysts were prepared and polymerization tests were carried out by repeating Example 41, except in the activation step 41 (b), temperatures of 50.degree. C., 60.degree. C. and 70.degree. C. were respectively employed. The results obtained are set forth in Table X.

TABLE X______________________________________Ex. Activation Cat. HINo. R.S. Treatment Yield E (%) B.D. MFR______________________________________47 41.sup.(a) 1.0 n-BE + 17 1340 98.2 0.30 2.4 4.0 CCl.sub.4 ; 50.degree.C., 4 hrs.48 41.sup.(a) 1.0 n-BE + 4 4 CNM CNM CNM 4.0 CCl.sub.4 ; 60.degree. C., 4 hrs.49 41.sup.(a) 1.0 n-BE + 3 4 CNM CNM CNM 4.0 CCl.sub.4 ; 70.degree. C., 4 hrs.______________________________________ See footnotes for Table VII.

As shown by the results of Example 47, the activation procedure of Example 41, using carbon tetrachloride, at 50.degree. C. did result in production of a catalyst having high polymerization performance with respect to activity and heptane insolubles. However, the treatment used resulted in recovery of only 17 wt.% solid catalyst which confirmed substantial loss of the reduced solids material during activation. Moreover, the polymer product had a bulk density of 0.30 g/cc which, when compared to Example 41, shows damage to the catalyst particle properties. The results of Examples 48 and 49 confirm the results obtained in Example 43 to show that utilization of carbon tetrachloride at these activation treatment temperatures would be inoperable for production of a titanium catalyst component for .alpha.-olefin polymerization.

EXAMPLES 50-52

Titanium trichloride catalysts were prepared and polymerizations were carried out by repeating Example 1 using the reduced solids material produced in Example 43 (a), except, in the activation step of Example 1, temperatures of 50.degree. C., 60.degree. C. and 70.degree. C. were respectively employed. Results obtained are set forth in Table XI.

TABLE XI______________________________________Ex. Activation Cat. HINo. R.S. Treatment Yield E (%) B.D. MFR______________________________________50 43(a) 1.0 n-BE + 1.0 100 780 82.0 0.28 11.2 C.sub.3 H.sub.2 Cl.sub.6 50.degree. C., 5 hrs.51 43(a) 1.0 n-BE + 1.0 98 1280 95.8 0.41 5.1 C.sub.3 H.sub.2 Cl.sub.6 60.degree. C., 5 hrs.52 43(a) 1.0 n-BE + 1.0 90 1650 98.5 0.44 3.3 C.sub.3 H.sub.2 Cl.sub.6 70.degree. C., 5 hrs.______________________________________ See footnotes of Table VII.

The results of Example 50 show that, under the specific treatment conditions employed, i.e., 50.degree. C. for 5 hours using hexachloropropane and di-n-butyl ether, the treatment did not result in obtaining a titanium trichloride catalyst having high catalytic performance. However, the results of Examples 51 and 52 confirm catalysts with superior catalytic performance can be obtained according to the present invention at treatment temperatures as low as about 60.degree. C.

EXAMPLES 53-58

53. (a) A titanium trichloride reduced solids product was prepared as follows. A separable 2 liter flask, equipped with a stirrer, a dropping funnel, a thermometer, an inlet for nitrogen and an outlet for waste gas was charged with 1.5 liters of iso-octane. This system was then substituted with nitrogen. 132 ml of titanium tetrachloride were added to the flask and 110 ml of Et.sub.3 Al.sub.2 Cl.sub.3 was added dropwise at 0.degree. C. over 1 hour under stirring from the dropping funnel. After completion of the dropwise addition, the temperature was raised to 40.degree. C. for 10 hours. The resulting solids were withdrawn by decantation and washed 4 times with nitrogen-substituted hexane. With use of a glass filter, the solids were separated into a hexane-insoluble solid and the hexane washing liquor. The solid was dried under reduced pressure at room temperature to obtain a trichloride reduced solids composition (A-3).

(b) A portion of the reduced solids product A-3 was then treated by the following extraction washing step. A 500 ml separable flask equipped with a stirrer, a thermometer, an inlet for nitrogen and an outlet for waste gas was charged with 50 g of the titanium trichloride reduced solids composition A-3, and 300 ml of nitrogen-substituted toluene were added thereto. The temperature was raised to 70.degree. C. under agitation and then anisole was added in an amount such that the molar ratio of anisole to titanium trichloride catalyst composition based on titanium was 0.5. The extraction was conducted at 70.degree. C. for 2 hours. The extract and extraction residue were then separated in a nitrogen atmosphere with a G-3 glass filter, and the extraction residue on the filter was washed 3 times with 150 ml of nitrogen-substituted toluene and dried under reduced pressure to obtain a titanium trichloride catalyst. A polymerization test in accordance with Example 1 was conducted using 100 mg of the catalyst, whereby 62.6 g of polypropylene was obtained. The results of the test are set forth in Table XII.

54. (a) The preparation of a titanium trichloride reduced solids composition (A-3) in accordance with Example 53 (a) was repeated. This titanium trichloride composition (A-3) was then suspended in iso-octane and heated at 140.degree. C. for 2 hours. The resulting solids were withdrawn by decantation and washed 4 times with nitrogen-substituted hexane. With the use of a glass filter, the solids were separated into a hexane-insoluble solid and the hexane washing liquor. The solid was dried under reduced pressure at room temperature to obtain the titanium trichloride composition A-5.

(b) The titanium trichloride composition A-5 was then treated according to the extraction washing step of Example 53 (b), using toluene and anisole as described therein to obtain a titanium trichloride catalyst. A polymerization test according to Example 1 was then conducted, whereby 35.5 g of polypropylene was recovered. The test results are set forth in Table XII.

55. A titanium trichloride composition was prepared in accordance with the procedures of Example 54 (a). This titanium trichloride composition (A-5) was then treated according to the extraction washing step procedure of Example 53 (b), except that chlorobenzene was used instead of toluene as the main solvent to obtain a titanium trichloride catalyst. A polymerization test according to Example 1 was then conducted, with 31.7 g polypropylene obtained. The test results are set forth in Table XII.

56. A titanium trichloride composition was prepared in accordance with the procedure of Example 54 (a). This titanium trichloride composition (A-5) was then treated by the extraction washing step according to Example 53 (b), except that trichloroethylene was used instead of toluene as the main solvent to obtain a titanium trichloride catalyst. A polymerization test according to Example 1 was then conducted, with 36.6 g polypropylene obtained. The test results are set forth in Table XII.

57 and 58. Titanium Trichloride catalysts were prepared, respectively, according to the procedures of Examples 55 and 56, except that di-n-butyl ether was used in place of anisole in the respective extraction washing treatment steps. Results of the polymerization tests using the titanium trichloride catalysts obtained are set forth in Table XII.

TABLE XII______________________________________Ex. Extraction Wash Cat. HINo. R.S. Treatment Yield E (%) B.D.______________________________________53 53(a) 0.5 Anisole in toluene, 100 625 85.9 0.228 A-3 70.degree. C., 2 hrs.54 54(a) 0.5 Anisole in toluene, 100 354 90.0 0.259 A-5 70.degree. C., 2 hrs.55 54(a) 0.5 Anisole in Chloro- 100 317 89.0 0.248 A-5 benzene, 70.degree. C., 2 hrs.56 54(a) 0.5 Anisole in C.sub.2 HCl.sub.3, 100 366 91.4 0.240 A-5 70.degree. C., 2 hrs.57 54(a) 0.5 n-BE in Chloro- 100 460 91.8 0.242 A-5 benzene, 70.degree. C., 2 hrs.58 54(a) 0.5 n-BE in C.sub.2 HCl.sub.3, 100 370 92.5 0.242 A-5 70.degree. C., 2 hrs.______________________________________ Polymerization Test: Per Example 1 (C.sub.3 = bulk, 68.degree. C., 0.5 hr., DEAC/Ti = 4 mol/mol, H.sub.2 added) See footnotes of Table VII.

The results of Table XII show the procedures exemplified in Examples 53-58 did not result in production of a titanium trichloride catalyst having high overall catalytic performance for .alpha.-olefin polymerization. Catalysts prepared by these Examples were particularly lacking in catalyst activity (E) and catalyst particle properties (bulk density measurements). Compare results in Table XII to any of Examples of the present invention hereinabove, e.g., 1, 17, 22 and 29. A comparison of results of Examples 55 and 56 to those of Examples 53 and 54 also show that use of either chlorobenzene, an aromatic chlorinated hydrocarbon, or trichloroethylene, a C.sub.2 unsaturated chlorinated hydrocarbon, in place of toluene, an aromatic hydrocarbon, did not result in a further improved titanium trichloride catalyst. Moreover, a comparison of the results of Examples 55 and 56 to those of 57 and 58 show the use of di-n-butyl ether, an aliphatic ether, in place of anisole, an aromatic ether, in the extraction step used did not substantially affect the resulting catalytic performance of the titanium trichloride catalysts produced.

EXAMPLES 59 and 60

Titanium trichloride catalysts were prepared and polymerization tests were carried out by repeating Example 1 using the reduced solids product produced in Example 43 (a), except in the activation step of Example 1, chlorobenzene and trichloroethylene were respectively employed in place of hexachloropropane. The results obtained are set forth in Table XIII.

TABLE XIII______________________________________Ex. Cat. HINo. R.S. Treat Yield E (%) B.D. MFR______________________________________59 43(a) 0.6 n-BE + 1.0 100 920 90.4 0.33 5.0 Chlorobenzene, 80.degree. C., 5 hrs.60 43(a) 0.6 n-BE + 1.0 100 760 82.8 0.325 8.4 C.sub.2 HCl.sub.3 80.degree. C., 5 hrs.______________________________________ See footnotes of Table VII.

A comparison of the results set forth in Table XIII to any of those exemplifying the present invention (e.g., Examples 1, 17, 22 and 29) confirm unexpected results obtained by activation utilizing a C.sub.3 to C.sub.8 chlorinated saturated aliphatic hyrocarbon in accordance with the present invention. In Examples 59 and 60, activation treatment using either chlorobenzene or trichloroethylene in accordance with Example 1 did not result in a titanium trichloride catalyst of comparable catalytic performance for .alpha.-olefin polymerization. Moreover, the bulk density measurements of polymer product show use of chlorobenzene or trichloroethylene in the activation treatment step employed adversely affected the resulting catalyst particle properties, confirming different catalysts being produced.

Claims

1. In a process for the stereoregular polymerization of .alpha.-olefins, wherein an .alpha.-olefin is contacted with a titanium trichloride containing catalyst component and an organo metallic compound co-catalyst component under .alpha.-olefin polymerization conditions, the improvement comprising:

employing as said titanium trichloride containing component, a titanium trichloride catalyst complex produced by a process comprising;

reducing titanium tetrachloride with an organo metal compound of the formula R.sub.n AlX.sub.3-n wherein R is an alkyl or aryl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, X is a halogen atom, and n is a numeral within the range of 1 to 3, at a temperature of from about -50.degree. to about +30.degree. C. to produce a reduced solids product;

suspending said reduced solids product at a temperature in the range of about 60.degree. C. to about 100.degree. C. for about 1 to about 10 hours in a chlorinated saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon having 3 to 8 carbon atoms and 2 to 6 chlorine atoms in the presence of a complexing agent selected from an aliphatic ether compound having 4 to 16 carbon atoms; and

recovering the resulting treated reduced solids product as a highly active titanium trichloride catalyst component.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein said saturated aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbon is one of hexachloropropane, pentachloropropane, tetrachloropropane, dichlorobutane and mixtures thereof.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein said ether is one of di-n-butyl ether, di-n-amyl ether, diisoamyl ether and mixtures thereof.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein R is an alkyl group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms.