Oxygen tailoring of polyethylene blow molding resins
AssigneeExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc.
InventorsAnthony Poloso, Jerry Johnson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Processes are disclosed for oxygen-tailoring polyethylene blow molding resin. Polyethylene resin is conveyed through a feed zone, a melt-mixing zone and a melt zone, wherein the temperature of the polyethylene resin is from about 216° C. to about 260° C. in the melt zone. The resin is contacted with oxygen in an amount of at least about 20 parts by weight oxygen per million parts by weight resin. The oxygen-treated resin can be used to make polyethylene blow molded articles having improved melt strength, processability, and die swell.
Claims28
A process for oxygen-tailoring a polyethylene blow molding resin, the process comprising:
- (a) conveying the polyethylene resin having a MWD greater than about 12 through a feed zone, a melt-mixing zone downstream of the feed zone, and a melt zone downstream of the melt-mixing zone, wherein the temperature of the polyethylene resin ranges from about 216° C. to about 260° C. in the melt zone;
- and
- (b) contacting the resin with at least about 20 parts by weight oxygen per million parts by weight resin (ppm (wt) O2.
A process for oxygen-tailoring a high density polyethylene blow molding resin having a bimodal molecular weight distribution, the process comprising:
- (a) conveying the polyethylene resin having a MWD greater than about 12 through a feed zone, a melt-mixing zone downstream of the feed zone, and a melt zone downstream of the melt-mixing zone, wherein the temperature of the polyethylene resin ranges from about 216° C. to about 260° C. in the melt zone;
- (b) contacting the resin in the melt-mixing zone with from about 20 to about 500 parts by weight oxygen per million parts by weight resin (PPm (wt) O2).
A process for oxygen-tailoring polyethylene blow molding resin, the process comprising:
- (a) conveying the polyethylene resin having a MWD greater than about 12 through a feed zone, a melt-mixing zone downstream of the feed zone, and a melt zone downstream of the melt-mixing zone, wherein the temperature of the polyethylene resin ranges from about 216° C. to about 260° C. in the melt zone;
- and
- (b) contacting the resin with sufficient oxygen to form an oxygen-contacted resin, wherein the oxygen-contacted resin has a tailoring ratio ranging from about 20 to about 35.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.