Continuous stirred tank reactor CSTR polymerization

Various reactor combinations are used. For example, the product from a relatively low solids batch-mass reactor may be transferred to a suspension reactor (for HIPS), press (for PS), or unagitated batch tower (for PS) for finishing. In a similar fashion, the effluent from a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) may be transferred to a tubular reactor or an unagitated or agitated tower for further polymerization before devolatilization. 

CSTR reactor system, 23 396. See also Continuous- stirred tank reactor (CSTR) anionic polymerization C-toxiferine, 2 74, 99 C-type inks, 14 324, 326 C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), 5 186-187... 

Although the early literature described the application of a tubular reactor for the production of SBR latexes(1), the standard continuous emulsion polymerization processes for SBR polymerization still consist of continuous stirred tank reactors(CSTR s) and all of the recipe ingredients are normally fed into the first reactor and a latex is removed from the last one, as shown in Figure 1. However, it is doubtful whether this conventional reactor combination and operation method is the most efficient in continuous emulsion polymerization. As is well known, the kinetic behavior of continuous emulsion polymerization differs very much according to the kind of monomers. In this paper, therefore, the discussion about the present subject will be advanced using the... 

Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors. (CSTR). The first analysis of continuous reactors for polymerization was by Denbigh (14). He treated the same mechanisms in a CSTR that Gee and Melville (21) had treated in a batch reactor. The problem is simpler in a steady state CSTR since the equation for each dead and live specie is an algebraic rather than a differential equation. These are solved sequentially. The PSSA is not needed. He predicted a narrower molecular weight distribution for a continuous chain polymerization than for the same polymerization carried... 

Polystyrene can be easily prepared by emulsion or suspension techniques. Harkins (1 ), Smith and Ewart(2) and Garden ( ) have described the mechanisms of emulsTon polymerization in batch reactors, and the results have been extended to a series of continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR)( o Much information on continuous emulsion reactors Ts documented in the patent literature, with such innovations as use of a seed latex (5), use of pulsatile flow to reduce plugging of the tube ( ), and turbulent flow to reduce plugging (7 ). Feldon (8) discusses the tubular polymerization of SBR rubber wTth laminar flow (at Reynolds numbers of 660). There have been recent studies on continuous stirred tank reactors utilizing Smith-Ewart kinetics in a single CSTR ( ) as well as predictions of particle size distribution (10). Continuous tubular reactors have been examined for non-polymeric reactions (1 1 ) and polymeric reactions (12.1 31 The objective of this study was to develop a model for the continuous emulsion polymerization of styrene in a tubular reactor, and to verify the model with experimental data. 

Reactors used in ethylene polymerizations range from simple autoclaves and steel piping to continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) and vertical fluidized beds. Since the 1990s, a trend has emerged wherein combinations of processes are used with transition metal catalysts. These combinations allow manufacturers to produce polyethylene with bimodal or broadened molecular weight distributions (see section 7.6). 

Low-temperature solution processes are state-of-the-art for the production of ethylene/propylene or ethylene/propylene/diene elastomers (EPDR or EPDM). A continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) or a series of two or even more such reactors is used [2]. n-Hexane, n-heptane, or Ce, C7 fractions are the solvents. Catalyst, co-catalyst and other compounds are introduced with the solvent into the reactor. The monomers (ethylene, propylene) are injected as gases other olefins are introduced in liquid form. The polymerization process runs around 50 °C and at pressures up to 2 MPa. Downstream the catalyst/co-catalyst system is deactivated and their residues are dissolved in dilute acid or aqueous NaOH. The copolymer is stabilized with an antioxidant. Steam treatment removes the rest of the solvent and monomers, and agglomerates the product to crumbs. These crumbs are then dried and finished to bales or pellets. 

Also, polymerization reactions are carried out in a variety of reactors including agitated batch reactors, continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR), multizone autoclaves, loop reactors, tubular reactors, fluidized bed reactors, and a combination of these reactors. 

In addition to the above investigations, free-radical high-pressure polymerizations should also be studied in continuously operated devices for three reasons. (1) Because of the wealth of kinetic information contained in the polymer properties, product characterization is mandatory. Sufficient quantities of polymer, produced under well defined conditions of temperature, pressure, and monomer conversion, are best provided by continuous polymerization, preferably in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR). (2) Copolymerization of monomers that have rather dissimilar reactivity ratios, such as in ethene-acry-late systems, will yield chemically inhomogeneous material if the reaction is carried out in a batch-type reactor up to moderate conversion. To obtain larger quantities of copolymer of analytical value, the copolymerization has to be performed in a CSTR. (3) Technical polymerizations are exclusively run as continuous processes. Thus, in order to stay sufficiently close to the application and to investigate aspects of technical polymerizations, such as testing initiators and initiation strategies, fundamental research into these processes should, at least in part, be carried out in continuously operated devices. 

The Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) has provided a chemical paradigm for nonlinear complex dynamics for almost a century. Advances in this regard are reviewed with special emphasis on polymerization. 

Continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) are used for large productions of a reduced number of polymer grades. Coordination catalysts are used in the production of LLDPE by solution polymerization (Dowlex, DSM Compact process [29]), of HDPE in slurry (Mitsui CX-process [30]) and of polypropylene in stirred bed gas phase reactors (BP process [22], Novolen process [31]). LDPE and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) are produced by free-radical polymerization in bulk in a continuous autoclave reactor [30]. A substantial fraction of the SBR used for tires is produced by coagulating the SBR latex produced by emulsion polymerization in a battery of about 10 CSTRs in series [32]. The CSTRs are characterized by a broad residence time distribution, which affects to product properties. For example, latexes with narrow particle size distribution cannot be produced in CSTRs. 

Semibatch and continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) are much more commonly found in polyolefin production. Semibatch reactors are the standard choice for laboratory-scale polymerizations, while CSTRs dominate industrial production, as will be seen in Section 2.5. The equations derived above are easily translated into semibatch and CSTR operation mode by simply adding terms for the inflow and outflow streams in the reactor. For instance, consider Equation 2.49 for the zeroth moment of dead chains. The molar flow rate [mol s ] leaving the reactor is given by... 

Commercial implementation of emulsion polymerization is mostly carried out in stirred-tank reactors operated semicontinuously. Continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) are used for the production of some high-tonnage emulsion polymers such as SBR. Batch processes are only used to polymerize monomers with similar reactivities and low heat generation rate (e.g., acrylic-fluorinated copolymers for textile apphcations). 

These linear elastomers are produced by coordination polymerization using a Phillips or Z-N catalyst at low P and T. Here belongs Mxsten XLDPE from Eastman Chem. and Attane ULDPE from Dow. The first metallocene-catalyzed VLDPE was a hexene copolymer with p = 0.912 g mL made in the UNIPOL gas-phase process with Z-N catalyst and introduced by ExxonMobil as Exceed metallocene VLDPE. The resin has outstanding sealing properties (hot tack and seal strength) compared with ZN-VLDPE. The solution polymerization in a hydrocarbon usually is carried out in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR), at r = 160-300 °C and P = 2.5-10 MPa with the residence time of 1-5 min [Dow in 1992 and UCC in... 

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