PROCEDE DE FABRICATION EN PHASE GAZEUSE DE COPOLYMERES DU PROPYLENE A L'AIDE D'UN SYSTEME CATALYTIQUE DE HAUTE ACTIVITE

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing in gas phase copolymers of propylene with 20 to 80% by weight of ethylene and/or 1-butene and optionally one or more C5 to C12 alpha-olefins. The catalyst used in the process is obtained by contacting a spherical MgCl2 support containing an organic electron-donor D1 free from labile hydrogen with an internal electron-donor D3 chosen from aromatic carboxylic acid esters, and then with TiCl4, the support having a well-defined diameter and a narrow particle size distribution. The process comprises in a first stage a prepolymerisation performed by contacting propylene with the catalyst and a cocatalyst consisting of a trialkylaluminium and/or of an alkylaluminium halide not complexed with an external electron-donor. In a second stage, the copolymer is obtained by contacting the prepolymer with an alpha-olef in mixture containing 20 to 80% by volume of propylene.