United States Patent (19) 11) 4,224,426 Odar 45) Sep
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
United States Patent (19) 11) 4,224,426 Odar 45) Sep. 23, 1980 (54) POLYMERIZATION PROCESS FOR 3,222,347 12/1965 Farrar et al. CIS-1,4-POLYBUTADIENE USING 3,222,348 12/1965 Duck . CYCLOALKANE SOLVENTS AND AN 3,284,431 11/1966 Gippin . AROMATIC POLYMERIZATION 3,331,826 7/1967 Talcott ............................... 526/335 REGULATOR 3,646,001 2/1972 Lasis et al. 3,928,303 12/1975 Yasui et al. .......................... 526/335 75 Inventor: Joseph Odar, South Euclid, Ohio FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 73) Assignee: The B. F. Goodrich Company, Akron, 924427 4/1963 United Kingdom. Ohio 926036 5/1963 United Kingdom. 21 Appl. No.: 960,388 Primary Examiner-Harry Wong, Jr. 22) Filed: Nov. 13, 1978 Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Nestor W. Shust (51) Int. Cl’.............................................. CO8F 36/06 57 ABSTRACT (52) U.S. C. ....................................... 526/92; 526/335 Substantially gel-free cis-1,4-polybutadiene is produced 58) Field of Search .................................. 526/335, 92 by polymerizing butadiene in the presence of a catalyst comprising a mixture of a cobalt compound, at least one (56) References Cited organoaluminum compound and water, the improve U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS ment being the use of a cycloalkane having 5 to 8 car 2,999,089 9/1961 Short et al. bon atoms in the ring and from 0.1 to 2 percent of an 3,046,265 7/1962 Hazen et al. alkyl substituted benzene as a polymerization regulator. 3,094,514 6/1963 Tucker . 3,135,725 6/1964 Carlson et al. 12 Claims, No Drawings 4,224,426 1. 2 POLYMERIZATION PROCESS FOR SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION CIS-1,4-POLYBUTADIENE USING The polymerization of butadiene-1,3 is carried out in CYCLOALKANE SOLVENTS AND ANAROMATIC the presence of a catalyst comprising a mixture of cobalt POLYMERIZATION REGULATOR 5 compound, an organoaluminum compound and water. The present invention deals with the improvement in BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION the process of butadiene polymerization the improve ment being the use as a solvent a cycloaliphatic hydro Polymerization of conjugated dienes, especially carbon and from 0.1 to 2% by weight of an alkyl sub butadiene-1,3, is well known in the art using a variety of 10 stituted benzene to produce substantially linear gel-free catalysts and a variety of solvents. Thus U.S. Pat. No. cis-1,4-polybutadiene. 3,135,725 discloses cobalt salt-hydrocarbyl aluminum catalysts and U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,265 discloses alkyl DETAILED DISCLOSURE aluminum, cobalt halide and acetyl halide catalysts, This invention is directed to an improved process of both employing a variety of diluents including aliphatic, 15 polymerizing butadiene-1,3 to produce primarily linear, cycloaliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. U.S. Pat. gel-free cis-1,4-polybutadiene. More specifically, the Nos. 3,094,514 and 3,646,001 even suggest the use of a improved process is carried out in the presence of a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons but catalyst comprising a mixture of a cobalt compound, at clearly stating that the mixture must contain at least least one organoaluminum compound and water, the 15% by weight of an aromatic solvent. The former 20 improvement which comprises using as a solvent a cy patent notes that the presence of the aromatic hydrocar cloalkane having 5 to 8 carbon atoms in the ring and bon produces somewhat faster reactions. from 0.1 to 2 percent, based on the weight of cycloal Although generally the order of addition of the reac kane, of an alkyl substituted benzene as a polymeriza tants and the catalysts apparently was not considered to tion regulator. be of critical importance, various patents disclose differ 25 It was unexpectedly found that when a cycloalkane ent orders of addition. Thus in British Pat. No. 926,036 was used as the chief solvent in the polymerization of the reactants and catalysts were added in the order of a butadiene, the polymerization proceeded at too fast a solvent, an aluminum compound, cobalt chloride in rate as a result of which it was difficult to control the pyridine and finally butadiene while in British Pat. No. polymerization temperature. The resulting cis 924,427 the order was: an aromatic solvent, cobalt and 30 polybutadiene possessed a higher degree of vinyl con then aluminum compounds as catalysts, an additional tent and did not possess the desired physical properties. aromatic solvent, an aliphatic solvent and finally butadi It was also unexpectedly found that a small amount of ene. U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,431 discloses adding to the an alkyl substituted benzene substantially slowed down reaction vessel an aromatic solvent, butadiene, an alumi the initial rate of polymerization so that it could be 35 easily controlled. This was unexpected since prior art num compound catalyst, an activator and finally a co taught that butadiene polymerization proceeds faster in balt compound catalyst. Another order of addition is an aromatic solvent than in a non-aromatic solvent (e.g. disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,001 where cobalt and U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,514). Thus the present invention is aluminum catalysts, such as cobalt octoate and diethyl an improved process of butadiene-1,3 polymerization aluminum chloride, are prereacted in wet benzene at a employing a cycloalkane solvent and from 0.1 to 2 per temperature below 20 C. and then are added butadiene cent by weight of an alkyl substituted benzene as a and additional solvents such as benzene and butene-l. polymerization regulator. Therefore the process of the Published Japanese patent application SHO-44-10276 present invention successfully eliminates the need for discloses dissolving a cobalt catalyst in dry toluene, benzene yet yields substantially linear, gel-free cis-1,4- feeding butadiene-1,3 to the reaction vessel and then 45 polybutadiene having good physical properties. adding an aluminum catalyst to begin polymerization. Cycloalkanes useful in the process are those having 5 As a rule the most preferred solvent for butadiene to 8 carbon atoms in the rings. They also include methyl polymerization has been benzene. However, from the and ethyl substituted cycloalkanes. Illustrative exam point of view of health safety, benzene is an undesirable ples of cycloalkanes are cyclopentane, cyclohexane, material as evidenced by recent severe restrictions 50 cycloheptane, cyclooctane, methylcyclopentane, me placed by the Occupational Safety and Health Agency thylcyclohexane, methylcycloheptane, methylcyclooc (OSHA) on the concentration of benzene permissible in tane, dimethylcyclopentane, dimethylcyclohexane, the work area. For this reason it is imperative to find a dimethylcycloheptane, ethylcyclopentane, ethylcy solvent or solvent combinations for butadiene polymer clohexane, ethylcyclooctane and the like. Preferred are izations that would yield cis-1,4-polybutadiene having 55 unsubstituted and methyl substituted cycloalkanes. the same or better properties than those of polybutadi Most preferred, for economic reasons, is cyclohexane. ene prepared in benzene. The second critical component of the improved pro The difficulty with most solvents is, however, that cess, a polymerization regulator, is a lower alkyl sub the polymerization rate is too fast making the reaction stituted benzene having 1 to 4 alkyl substituents of 1 to practically uncontrollable, or it is too slow and there 60 4 carbon atoms. Preferably there are 2 or 3 methyl or fore not economically feasible. The initial rate of con ethyl substituents. Illustrative examples of the useful version (polymerization) of the monomer is of critical alkyl substituted benzenes are toluene, o, m or p-xylene importance since a difference of only a few percentage or a mixture of xylene isomers, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene points may make the difference between having a con (mesitylene) and other isomers of trimethylbenzene, or trollable and an uncontrollable polymerization. Fur 65 a mixture thereof, 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene (durene) thermore, if the polymer is formed at a certain polymer and other isomers of tetramethylbenzene, or a mixture ization rate it will not have the required desirable prop thereof, ethylbenzene, 1,2-, 1.3- or 1,4-diethylbenzene, erties. or a mixture of said isomers, n-propylbenzene, 1,4-n- 4,224,426 3 4. dipropylbenzene, n-butylbenzene and the like, or a mix organic portion of the molecule contains about 5 to 20, ture of various alkyl substituted benzenes. Preferred are preferably 8 to 18 carbon atoms and one or two carbox various xylene isomers or a mixture thereof, various ylic functions, as well as acetylacetonate, as are well diethylbenzene isomers or a mixture thereof and mesity known to those skilled in the art. lene. The alkyl substituted benzene is used in the The other essential catalyst component is an alkyl amount of from 0.1 to 1 percent by weight of the total aluminum halide which can be used as a mono- or dial charge, and preferably from 0.2 to 0.7 percent by kyl aluminum halide, a mixture thereof, or a mixture of weight. R3A1, R2A1X, RAIX2 or AlX3 type compounds wherein One of the purposes of a solvent in this process is to R is an alkyl and X is halogen, more preferably, the control the polymerization temperature by refluxing the 10 chloride. The alkyl groups normally contain 1 to 12 solvent. Often the desired temperature control is diffi carbon atoms, more preferably, about 2 to 8 carbon cult to accomplish with only one solvent. However, by atoms. Particularly useful are dialkyl aluminum chlo selecting two or more solvents which have certain de rides wherein the alkyl contains 2 to 6 carbon atoms, sirable boiling points, the polymerization temperature and the so-called sesquichloride which is a mixture of can be relatively easily controlled. Therefore, the selec 15 aluminum trichloride and trialkyl aluminum, normally tion of the secondary solvent will depend primarily on having a composition of about R1.5-1.9AlX1.6-1.1.