Process for the production of stable noncorrosive amorphous polyalphaolefins

A process for preparing a stable, non-corrosive amorphous polyalphaolefin which comprises:

• I. withdrawing from a polymerization zone, maintained at a temperature between about 130.degree. F. and 175.degree. F. and a pressure sufficient to maintain at least a portion of the monomer in liquid phase, a reactor effluent comprised of (a) unreacted monomer and (b) amorphous polyalphaolefin containing active catalyst residues comprised of aluminumalkyl and titanium halide catalyst residues in a molar ratio of Al/Ti in the range from about 50:1 to about 600:1;
• II. heating the reactor effluent;
• III. separating molten amorphous polyalphaolefin by flashing off monomer from the effluent;
• IV. intimately contacting the molten amorphous polyalphaolefin from step (III) with steam resulting from addition of from about 3 to about 15 moles of water per mole of aluminum present in said polyalphaolefin to inactivate and to neutralize said catalyst residues present in the molten amorphous polyalphaolefin;
• V. removing any excess steam not consumed in step (IV) from the molten amorphous polyalphaolefin containing the inactivated, neutralized catalyst residues of step (IV);
• VI. stabilizing the molten amorphous polyalphaolefin of step (V) with a hindered phenolic antioxidant, and
• VII. recovering a stable, noncorrosive amorphous polyalphaolefin containing the inactivated, neutralized catalyst residues directly from step (VI).