Magnesium reducing agent for producing titanium trihalide catalyst component

Claim 1

A process comprising contacting magnesium metal, a primary alkyl halide or alkyl dihalide, said halide or dihalide being selected from chloride and bromide, said alkyl radical containing from 1 to 12 carbon atoms in the case of the halide and 2 to 12 in the case of the dihalide, and titanium tetrachloride essentially simultaneously and subjecting same to intensive milling by means of ball milling, rod milling, pebble milling, or vibratory ball milling in the absence of any extraneous diluent; thereafter activating the thus produced titanium catalyst component by contacting same with an activator comprising a trialkylaluminum compound, a dialkylaluminum chloride, and a polar organic adjuvant which is an electron donor, said adjuvant further being characterized as a 1 to 4 carbon atom alkyl ester of a substituted or unsubstituted benzoic acid, a mole ratio of said aluminum compound to said adjuvant being within the range 1:1 to 350:1; an atom ratio of aluminum to titanium being within the range of 40:1 to 150:1, said magnesium metal and organic halide being introduced in a ratio within the range of 0.75:1 to 1:1 gram atoms of Mg:moles of organic halide, and wherein an atom ratio of the titanium to magnesium used is within the range of 0.75:1 to 1.25:1.