High Pressure Polyethylene Product Cooling
AssigneeExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc.
InventorsHenri A. Lammens, Paul J. Clymans, Cindy Dewitte
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Abstract
This disclosure relates to systems and processes for cooling polymer product mixtures manufactured at high pressure. The processes of the invention involve cooling and then subsequently reducing the pressure of the product mixture from the reactor. In the systems of the invention, a product cooler is located downstream of the high pressure reactor and upstream of a high pressure let down valve.
Claims20
A process for producing an ethylene-based polymer, the process comprising:
- a. compressing ethylene monomer to a pressure of at least 122 MPa;
- b. in a reactor, forming a product mixture comprising an ethylene-based polymer from the compressed ethylene monomer;
- and
- c. cooling the product mixture in a product cooler located downstream of the high pressure reactor and subsequently reducing the pressure of the product mixture in a high-pressure let down valve downstream of the product cooler, wherein the product cooler has a length of at least 200 m and an internal diameter of at least 60 mm, and wherein the velocity of the product mixture in the product cooler is at least 20 m/s.
The process of claim 13, wherein the recovered ethylene-based polymer comprises at least about 6 wt % of units derived from vinyl acetate comonomer.
A system for producing an ethylene-based polymer, the system comprising:
- a. a. a compressor system adapted to compress ethylene monomer to a pressure of at least 122 MPa;
- b. a reactor;
- c. a high pressure let down valve downstream of the reactor;
- and
- d. a product cooler downstream of the reactor and upstream of the high pressure let down valve, wherein the product cooler has a length of at least 200 m and an internal diameter of at least 60 mm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.