CONTINUOUS PREPARATION OF CALCINED CHEMICALLY-TREATED SOLID OXIDES

• US 20100322836A1
• Filed: 06/23/2009
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (Chevron Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (Chevron Corp.)
• Inventors: Benham, Elizabeth A., McDaniel, Max P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,289,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 423/278
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00176 outside the reactor
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/0053 Controlling multiple zones along the direction of flow, e.g. pre-heating and after-cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00548 Flow
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/0084 inside the bed, e.g. baffles
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00938 Flow distribution elements
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/182 horizontal
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2531/48 Zirconium
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 31/143 of aluminium
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 31/2295 Cyclic compounds, e.g. cyclopentadienyls
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 6/004 using hot gas streams in which the material is moved
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/1827 the fluidising gas being a reactant
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/1836 Heating and cooling the reactor B01J8/42 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/34 with stationary packing material in the fluidised bed, e.g. bricks, wire rings, baffles
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/36 with fluidised bed through which there is an essentially horizontal flow of particles

Abstract

The present invention discloses a continuous calcination vessel which can be used to prepare calcined chemically-treated solid oxides from solid oxides and chemically-treated solid oxides. A process for the continuous preparation of calcined chemically-treated solid oxides is also provided. Calcined chemically-treated solid oxides disclosed herein can be used in catalyst compositions for the polymerization of olefins.

Claims

1. A continuous calcination vessel comprising:

(a) a substantially horizontal fluidized bed vessel;

(b) a particulate material inlet capable of introducing inlet particulate material into the fluidized bed vessel;

(c) a fluidizing gas inlet capable of introducing a fluidizing gas into the fluidized bed vessel;

(d) a fluidizing gas path capable of directing the fluidizing gas from the fluidizing gas inlet into the fluidized bed vessel to fluidize the inlet particulate material;

(e) a heating zone within the fluidized bed vessel;

(f) an outlet capable of removing outlet particulate material from the fluidized bed vessel.

2. The continuous calcination vessel of claim 1, wherein the inlet particulate material comprises a solid oxide, a chemically-treated solid oxide, or a combination thereof.

3. The continuous calcination vessel of claim 1, wherein the outlet particulate material comprises a calcined chemically-treated solid oxide.

4. The continuous calcination vessel of claim 1, wherein the heating zone comprises at least one baffle, and wherein the fluidized bed vessel contains sufficient baffles to cause a substantially plug flow profile through the fluidized bed vessel.

5. The continuous calcination vessel of claim 1, further comprising a filter apparatus adapted to remove a portion of the inlet particulate material and/or the outlet particulate material entrained in the fluidizing gas.

6. The continuous calcination vessel of claim 1, further comprising a cooling system downstream of the outlet of the fluidized bed vessel.

7. The continuous calcination vessel of claim 1, further comprising a zone dividing wall defining at least two heating zones located substantially horizontal in relation to one another, the zone dividing wall comprising at least one zone dividing wall opening to allow the inlet particulate material and/or the outlet particulate material to be introduced into a next downstream heating zone.

8. The continuous calcination vessel of claim 1, wherein the fluidized bed vessel comprises a first heating zone and a second heating zone, wherein:

the fluidizing gas in the first heating zone comprises air, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, water, or any combination thereof; and

the fluidizing gas in the second heating zone comprises helium, neon, argon, nitrogen, or any combination thereof.

9. A catalyst preparation system comprising:

(a) a metallocene or transition metal compound addition system configured to add a metallocene or transition metal compound to the catalyst preparation system at a controlled rate;

(b) a co-catalyst addition system configured to add a co-catalyst to the catalyst preparation system at a controlled rate;

(c) the continuous calcination vessel of claim 3 configured to add the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide to the catalyst preparation system at a controlled rate; and

(d) a controller programmed with an algorithm to control the rate of addition of the metallocene or transition metal compound and the co-catalyst based on the rate of addition of the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide from the continuous calcination vessel.

10. A process for continuously preparing a calcined chemically-treated solid oxide comprising:

(a) (i) introducing a solid oxide into a continuous calcination vessel comprising a fluidized bed; and

contacting the solid oxide with a compound and a first agent at a calcination temperature for an average residence time to produce the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide;

or

 

(ii) introducing a chemically-treated solid oxide into a continuous calcination vessel comprising a fluidized bed; and

contacting the chemically-treated solid oxide with a first agent at a calcination temperature for an average residence time to produce the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide;

and

(b) contacting the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide with a second agent in the continuous calcination vessel, downstream of the continuous calcination vessel, or a combination thereof.

11. The process of claim 10, wherein the first agent comprises air, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, water, or any combination thereof.

12. The process of claim 10, wherein the second agent comprises helium, neon, argon, nitrogen, or any combination thereof.

13. The process of claim 10, wherein the solid oxide comprises silica, alumina, silica-alumina, aluminophosphate, titania, zirconia, magnesia, boria, zinc oxide, a mixed oxide thereof, or any combination thereof.

14. The process of claim 10, wherein the compound comprises SO₃, ammonium sulfate, sulfuric acid, F₂, BF₃, hydrogen fluoride, silicon tetrafluoride, titanium tetrafluoride, perfluorohexane, perfluorobenzene, fluoromethane, trifluoroethanol, Cl₂, hydrogen chloride, carbon tetrachloride, perchlorobenzene, chloromethane, dichloromethane, chloroform, trichloroethanol, a freon, or any combination thereof.

15. The process of claim 10, wherein the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide comprises fluorided alumina, chlorided alumina, sulfated alumina, fluorided silica-alumina, chlorided silica-alumina, sulfated silica-alumina, or any combination thereof.

16. The process of claim 10, wherein the calcination temperature is in a range from about 300°

C. to about 1000°

C. and the average residence time is in a range from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours.

17. The process of claim 10, wherein contacting the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide with the second agent in step (b) reduces a residual oxygen content of the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide to less than about 100 ppm, a residual moisture content of the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide to less than about 100 ppm, or a combination thereof.

18. The process of claim 10, further comprising cooling the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide in the presence of an inert agent in a cooling system downstream of the fluidized bed.

19. The process of claim 10, further comprising recycling a filtered portion of the solid oxide, the chemically-treated solid oxide, and/or the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide back to the same or an upstream location in the continuous calcination vessel, wherein substantially none of the respective solid oxide, chemically-treated solid oxide and/or the calcined chemically-treated solid oxide is lost overhead.

20. The calcined chemically-treated solid oxide produced by the process of claim 10.