REDUCING FOULING IN HEAT EXCHANGERS

摘要

In the solution polymerization of ethylene co and homopolymers the solution leaving the reactor is heated to separate polymer from solvent and residual monomers. Fouling in the heat exchanger may be reduced by by adding to the solution from 0.01 to 100 ppm by weight of a polyoxyalkylene compound of the formula HO-(CH2CH2O)M[CH2CH(CH3)O]N(CH2CH2O)PH wherein M, N and P each represent the average number of repeating units and M is from 0 to 20, N is from 2 to 50 and P is from 0 to 20 and passing the solution through a heat exchanger to increase its temperature by at least 20° C.