MFI vs Cat A ow rate
MFI vs Temperature
60.00
1.50 3.00 2.50 2.00 3.50 4.50 4.00 5.00 5.50 6.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
2.00 4.00 6.00
20.00 16.00 18.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00
85.00
90.00
95.00 100.00 105.00 110.00
120.00 115.00
Catalyst A Mass ow rate (kg/h)
Temperature (C)
MFI vs Pressure
MFI vs H ow rate
3.000
300.0
250.0
2.950
200.0
2.900
150.0
2.850
100.0
2.800
50.0
4250 4150 4200 3950 4000 4050 4100 3850 3900 3800 Reactor pressure (kPa) 2.750
1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 00.0 0.50 1.00 H Mass ow rate (kg/h) 0.0
5.00 4.00 4.50
Figure 1 Effect of operating conditions (catalyst A and B mass flow rates, temperature, pressure, and H2 mass flow rate) on polymer MFI
Effect of operating conditions on polymer MFI As shown in Figure 1 , increasing the catalyst mass flow rate, temperature, and pressure produces a higher polymer MFI. • Increasing catalyst type A flow rate from 2 to 20 kg/hr raised MFI from 0.5 to 60 g/10 min. • Raising temperature by 40% increased MFI from 1.5 to 6 g/10 min. • Increasing pressure by 15% raised MFI from 2.75 to 3.5 g/10 min. • Increasing hydrogen flow rate from 1 to 5 kg/hr spiked MFI from 0.5 to 300 g/10 min. These insights enable engineers to adjust the cata- lyst mass feed rate, temperature, or pressure to reach the
desired polymer MFI. They also support strategies to reduce off-grade product levels in silos. For instance, producing a polymer with a higher MFI that can be blended with an existing lower MFI polymer in off-grade silos to produce on-specification products becomes feasible. Effect of operating conditions on polymer density As shown in Figure 2 , temperature exerts the strongest influence on polymer density. A 40% temperature increase reduces polymer density from 950 to 932 kg/m³. In contrast,
Catalyst feed
10 12 14 16 18 20
Density vs temperature
Catalyst A Mass ow rate Catalyst B Mass ow rate
932.0 938.0 936.0 934.0 940.0 942.0 944.0 946.0 948.0 950.0
0 8 6 4 2
80.0
85.0 90.0
120.0 115.0 95.0 100.0 105.0 110.0
Temperature (C)
Figure 3 Monitoring catalyst A and B feed flow rates during grade transition
Figure 2 Effect of temperature on polymer density
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PTQ Q1 2026
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