US Patent 7776974 Olefin polymerization process

A slurry process for polymerizing ethylene is disclosed. The process comprises polymerizing ethylene in a first reactor in the presence of hydrogen and a catalyst comprising an activator and a supported dimethylsilyl-bridged indeno[1,2-b]indolyl zirconium complex to produce an ethylene homopolymer, removing some of the unreacted hydrogen, and reacting the homopolymer slurry in a second reactor with ethylene and a C3-C10 α-olefin to produce polyethylene. The polyethylene has weight-average molecular weight greater than 150,000, broad molecular weight distribution, low long-chain branching, and it provides pipes or molded articles with good environmental stress crack resistance.