Metallocene Catalyst Breakthrough

    At the heart of corporate secrets in the plastics industry, you'll find catalyst recipes.  Some companies are reluctant to release this information to their own employees unless it is absolutely necessary.  Catalysts are the difference between one company producing 100,000 tons per year and another producing 150,000 tons per year at the same costs.  In polymer reactions, catalysts are responsible for "holding" small molecules together so they can be linked into larger molecules.
    Metallocene catalysts are becoming increasingly popular in the plastics industry.  Metallocenes are made of a single metal atom held between two carbon rings.  University of Rochester chemist Guillermo Bazan announced a breakthrough with metallocene catalysts by adding boron atoms to the standard structures.  The new catalysts show extreme promise in the production of alpha-olefins (small plastic building blocks).  The new boron catalyst allows the production of nearly 100% pure products at much milder reaction conditions than currently used.  Traditionally, alpha-olefins are produced at hundreds of atmospheres and degree Celsius.  The boron catalyst works at atmospheric pressure and needs little heat.  Combine with these factors the fact that the catalyst also allows improved control of the product's structure and the implications are huge. Consider the cost of a regular vessel designed to hold atmospheric pressures compared with one that has to withstand 400 atmospheres:

    It's not hard to see why the alpha-olefin big boys are very interested in this technology.  But, the catalyst is not all peaches and cream yet.   It hasn't been tested on a large scale and the cost of the catalyst needs to be explored farther.  Currently used catalyst are so inexpensive that they are not recovered.  An expensive catalysts requiring recovery would mean major equipment changes.