SBIR Phase I: Pilot-Scale Production of Stereoblock Polypropylene (sbPP) Thermoplastic Elastomers

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在展示成功的试点‐规模生产立构嵌段聚丙烯（sbPP）热塑性弹性体，该热塑性弹性体可以以程序化的方式以无限范围的不同基本形式生产，这是由于能够对与增长速率竞争的可逆过程的相对速率施加外部控制。 研究工作将涉及调查这些过程的速率，以开发商业上可行的生产sbPP材料的程序。 预期的结果是，可以生产具有定制物理性能的商业相关量（1千吨）的sbPP热塑性弹性体，作为现有商业材料的技术上可行的替代品。 该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是，大规模的商业活动‐作为现有商业材料的技术替代品的sbPP热塑性弹性体的规模（1千吨）生产将用于利用廉价丙烯单体的增加的可用性，丙烯单体是最近石化工业从原油向丰富的北美天然气转变的产物。这一转变极大地加剧了成本波动，导致全球原油短缺， 历史上曾被使用过的单体 为 的 商业 生产 热塑性弹性体。成功实现该项目的既定目标将有助于以高化学效率提供各种不同等级的高纯度sbPP材料，这些材料具有定制的特性，可以为粘合剂，薄膜包装和医疗市场带来变革。在该项目期间开发的程序也将促进利用相同催化剂技术的更广泛的丙烯基聚合物的未来商业生产。社会将进一步受益于引入一种更环保和可持续的化学技术，为目前的商业热塑性弹性体提供替代品。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to demonstrate successful pilot‐scale production of stereoblock polypropene (sbPP) thermoplastic elastomers that can be produced, in programmed fashion, over an unlimited range of different fundamental forms by virtue of the ability to exert external control over the relative rates of reversible processes that are competitive with the rate of propagation. The research effort will involve investigation into the rate of these processes in order to develop a commercially viable procedure for the production of sbPP materials. The anticipated result is that commercially relevant volumes ( 1 kiloton)of sbPP thermoplastic elastomers can be produced with tailored physical properties as technologically viable replacements for existing commercial materials. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that the large-­‐scale (1 kiloton) production of sbPP thermoplastic elastomers as technological replacements for existing commercial materials will serve to capitalize on the increased availability of inexpensive propylene monomer that is the product of a recent shift by the petrochemical industry from crude oil to abundant North American natural gas. This shift has contributed significantly to increased cost volatility and global shortages of crude oil derived higher carbon-­numbered monomers that have been historically utilized for the commercial production of thermoplastic elastomers. Successful realization of the stated goals of this project will serve to deliver, with high chemical efficiency, a variety of different grades of high purity sbPP materials with tailored properties that can be transformational for the adhesives, film-packaging and medical markets. The procedures developed during this project will also facilitate future commercial production of a wider range of propylene based polymers utilizing the same catalyst technology. Society will further benefit from the introduction of a more environmentally benign andsustainable chemical technology that provides an alternative to current commercial thermoplastic elastomers.