Impurities vinyl acetate monomer process

The effect of oxygen on the polymerization characteristics of the monomer is quite dramatic. In bulk polymerization of reasonably purified vinyl acetate, the process is autoaccelerated from the start and goes nearly to completion with a residual monomer content of 2-4%. When the monomer distillation is carried out in contact with air, inhibiting impurities form quite rapidly. These lead to dead-end polymerizations with 30-40% unreacted monomer left in the product [17]. 

Free radical polymerization is a key method used by the polymer industry to produce a wide range of polymers [37]. It is used for the addition polymerization of vinyl monomers including styrene, vinyl acetate, tetrafluoroethylene, methacrylates, acrylates, (meth)acrylonitrile, (meth)acrylamides, etc. in bulk, solution, and aqueous processes. The chemistry is easy to exploit and is tolerant to many functional groups and impurities. 

Vinyl acetate is normally inhibited with hydroquinone to prevent polymerisation. A combination of too low a level of inhibitor and warm, moist storage conditions may lead to spontaneous polymerisation. This process involves autoxidation of acetaldehyde (a normal impurity produced by hy droly sis of the monomer) to a peroxide which initiates exothermic polymerisation as it decomposes. In bulk, this may accelerate to a dangerous extent. Other peroxides or radical sources will initiate the exothermic polymerisation. 

Copolymersof vinyl chloride with vinylidine chloride, produced by the suspension method, are more stable than the latex copolymers. The rates of thermal decomposition of polyvinyl chloride and the copolymer of vinyl chloride with vinylidine chloride, produced by the latex method, are practically the same for the latex copolymer, just as for the latex homopolymer, reversibility of the process of dehydrochlorination is observed [21]. In an investigation of the stability of copolymers of vinyl chloride with vinyl acetate, vinylidine chloride, and with vinylisobutyl ether in nucleophilic substitution reactions, it was found that the copolymer with vinyl acetate is the least stable to the action of alcoholic alkali the copolymers with vinylidine chloride and vinylisobutyl ether proved more stable [56]. The stability of the copolymer of vinyl chloride witii methyl acrylate is substantially increased when the degree of homogeneity of the copolymer with respect to composition is increased, and when monomers with a smaller content of impurities are used, as well as when the copolymerization is conducted in the presence of chain carriers [57, 58]. 

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