This invention pertains to highly filled polymer compositions comprising a low molecular weight ethylene and/or alpha olefin homopolymers and copolymers, or blends therefrom, filled with high concentrations of fillers or additives. Examples of such fillers or additives include fire retardants, talc, ceramic manufacturing agents, color concentrates, crosslinking agents, and blowing agents. Because of the low crystallinity (and therefore high percentage of amorphous phase) and low viscosities of the base polymers, highly processable compositions can be formed containing even if containing relatively high loadings of fillers or additives. Such highly filled compositions are thus ideally suited as concentrates or masterbatch formulations for a variety of different compounding applications.
This application is a U.S. National Stage Application, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 371, of International Application No. PCT/US03/33192, filed on Oct. 17, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/419,285, filed on Oct. 17, 2002.
The present invention relates to an ethylene/.alpha.-olefin interpolymer product comprising at least one .alpha.-olefin interpolymerized with ethylene and, characterized in at least one aspect, as having improved properties when utilized in a hot melt adhesive formulation. The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing the interpolymer product wherein the process comprises employing two or more single site catalyst systems in at least one reaction environment (or reactor) and wherein the at least two catalyst systems have (a) different comonomer incorporation capabilities or reactivities and/or (b) different termination kinetics, both when measured under the same polymerization conditions. The interpolymer products are useful, for example, in applications such as hot melt adhesives, and also for impact, bitumen and asphalt modification, adhesives, dispersions or latexes and fabricated articles such as, but not limited to, foams, films, sheet, moldings, thermoforms, profiles and fibers.
