Technology: driving force behind innovation and growth of polyolefins

The scientific and industrial significance of Ziegler-Natta catalysis for t he development of polyolefin polymerisation processes and the improvement o f product properties has been proven by the explosive growth of their world wide consumption. The key of this huge evolution, still in progress, has been the revolutiona ry developments of the catalytic system, which can be considered as the tru e 'engine' for the technological innovation. A long and systematic research effort resulted in the truly scientific unde rstanding of the complex catalysis mechanisms. This has allowed a great process simplification, which has culminated in th e polymer particles themselves working as rnicroreactors. This catalysis an d process breakthrough, the reactor granule technology (RGT) has made multi monomer polymerisations possible, enhancing enormously the degree of freedo m in achieving new materials. In order to continue the guaranteeing of the achievement of novel propertie s, a continuous development in the catalyst performance is needed. In recent years, a lot of attention has been focused on metallocene catalys ts and polymeric materials they have generated. In spite of the huge expenditure from companies for research and developmen t, metallocene polymers have acquired only niche positions in the marketpla ce due to their poor processability and catalyst costs. The possibility to combine Ziegler-Natta and metallocene (singe site, more in general) catalysts has been explored. Polymerisations synergistically coupling with the advantages of the two cat alytic systems will allow the improvement and enlarging of the property env elope of today's polyolefins. The full exploitation of this potentiality will make the future for the rev italised Ziegler-Natta catalysis brighter still. (C) 2001 Published by Else vier Science Ltd.