The Catalyst Review July 2024 - 8

SPECIAL FEATURE
the productivity of research expenditures in the selection of new catalyst systems. The utilization of pilot plants makes it possible
to realize systematic experimental runs, making available technical data for the critical equipment design and commercial
samples for customer testing/trials. The integration in the core project of the R&D work team with the marketing people, who can
represent the customer requirements and future trends, allow the best exploitation of the new development's potential. A good
communication supporting a dialogue between the different members of the working team is essential for a successful innovation
process and assures both a higher rate of success and faster time to market.
Intellectual property is the foundation on which the businesses of industry-leading technology providers rest. Without continuous
focus on innovation and development of their patent portfolio, their customers/licensees will not have access to evergreen
products and technologies with the ultimately risk to fall behind and lose their competitive standing. It is therefore essential that
any stakeholder in the polyolefin value chain retain core research as a fundamental business objective. This is the only path to
continued growth and profitability, and ultimately to a sustainable business.
Recently, the author has published in The Catalyst Review an article titled " Polyolefins Catalysts & Components: Technology
Advances & Market " which covered the major PO catalysts issues relevant to the PO technology market. In this current article,
the author then focuses on the process technology aspects in the frame of circularity and CO₂ emission mitigation. See January's
edition of The Catalyst Review for further information.
2. Leading
Process
Technologies
and
Recent
Advances
See in Table 1 a list of
commercial polyolefin
process technologies
using different types
of reactors (e.g., PP
homopolymerization
in liquid
propylene bulk
and copolymerization with ethylene in a gas phase -GP- reactor), and different types of catalyst types (ZN, metallocenes/SSC,
chrome based and so on) to produce several product slates. Sustainability still demands improved polymer materials in terms of
down gauging (lightweighting), or more efficient catalysts improving CAPEX and OPEX while the circular economy push polymer
recycling (mechanical and chemical) and use
of renewable raw materials. In the following the
recent combined catalyst-process technology
advances, the progress of the new initiatives
relevant to polyolefins chemical recycling
and renewable PO products technologies, are
reviewed.
Table 1 GP-Gas Phase. Source: Author 2020
a) Process/Catalyst Combination's Advances
● The Development and Deployment of MultiZone
Reactors
8
Figure 3 Hyperzone HDPE Technology. Source: Mei 2019
The Catalyst Review
LyondellBasell's development and
commercialization of its HDPE Hyperzone process,
based on a multizone circulating loop reactor,
during the last few years, is a major industry event
(see the innovative process flowsheet in Figure 3).
However, the ramifications of this concept have
broadened within the industry. This is because
combining the multi zone reactor concept with
July 2024

The Catalyst Review July 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Catalyst Review July 2024