Polymerization continued styrene-acrylic

Polymerization processes are characterized by extremes. Industrial products are mixtures with molecular weights of lO" to 10. In a particular polymerization of styrene the viscosity increased by a fac tor of lO " as conversion went from 0 to 60 percent. The adiabatic reaction temperature for complete polymerization of ethylene is 1,800 K (3,240 R). Heat transfer coefficients in stirred tanks with high viscosities can be as low as 25 W/(m °C) (16.2 Btu/[h fH °F]). Reaction times for butadiene-styrene rubbers are 8 to 12 h polyethylene molecules continue to grow lor 30 min whereas ethyl acrylate in 20% emulsion reacts in less than 1 min, so monomer must be added gradually to keep the temperature within hmits. Initiators of the chain reactions have concentration of 10" g mol/L so they are highly sensitive to poisons and impurities. 

Four polymerization examples are presented here to illustrate both available sensitivity, experimental difficulties, and hopefully some interesting aspects of the polymerization processes. The first two examples are the semi-continuous emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene, respectively. The third example is a batch charged copolymerization of butyl acrylate (BA) with MMA. The fourth example is a semi-continuous solution polymerization of an acrylic system. In this last example aliquots were taken manually and analyzed at 29.7°C under static conditions. No further polymerization occurred after the samples were cooled to this temperature. 

The extruder can be used for a variety of polymerizations even if no preformed polymer is present.89 These include the continuous anionic polymerization of caprolactam to produce nylon 6,90 anionic polymerization of capro-lactone 91 anionic polymerization of styrene 92 cationic copolymerization of 1,3-dioxolane and methylal 93 free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate 94 addition of ammonia to maleic anhydride to form poly(succin-imide) 95 and preparation of an acrylated polyurethane from polycaprolactone, 4,4 -methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate), and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate.96 The technique of reaction injection molding to prepare molded parts is slightly different. Polyurethanes can be made this way by... 

Copolymers containing allyl methacrylate have found application as an additive to other resin to enhance the properties of the system. For example, in one patent disclosure, an aqueous emulsion polymer was formed in water using 0.03 gm of sodium carbonate, 50 gm of methyl methacrylate, 2.0 gm of ethyl acrylate, and 0.1 gm of allyl methacrylate, and 0.40 gm of the sodium salt of an allyl Ci3-alkyl ester of sulfosuccinic acid. The polymerization was initiated with sodium persulfate and heated at 83°C for 1 hr. To this latex, 40 gm of butyl acrylate, 10 gm of styrene, 1.0 gm of allyl methacrylate, and another 0.40 gm of the above surfactant were added while polymerization continued. In a third... 

To represent dispersion polymerization in conventional liquid media, several models have been reported in the literature, mainly focused on the particle formation and growth [33, 34] or on the reaction kinetics. Since our first aim is the reliable description of the reaction kinetics, we focus on the second type of models only. The model developed by Ahmed and Poehlein [35, 36], applied to the dispersion polymerization of styrene in ethanol, was probably the first one from which the polymerization rates in the two reaction loci have been calculated. A more comprehensive model was later reported by Saenz and Asua [37] for the dispersion copolymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate in ethanol-water medium. The particle growth as well as the entire MWD were predicted, once more evaluating the reaction rates in both phases and accounting for an irreversible radical mass transport from the continuous to the dispersed phase. Finally, a further model predicting conversion, particle number, and particle size distribution was proposed by Araujo and Pinto [38] for the dispersion polymerization of styrene in ethanol. 

First-stage polymerization of styrene in ether (33.4 g styrene, 0.200 g ether, 0.34 g V-65, or AIBN in a 300-ml Parr reactor system) was carried out at 80°C up to five times initiator half-life. Then, the reactor fluid was withdrawn through a 1/8-in. copper tube that is immersed in ice-water bath. The cold reactor fluid was collected into a 1000-ml glass reactor that contains 400 ml distilled water and 12 g acrylic acid (AA). The mixture was continuously mixed at room temperature for at least 2 h in order to soak-in the AA monomer into the polymer-rich domains. Then, the... 

The continuous bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate was used as an example in Section 5.2. A stirred bulk polymerization like that used for styrene (Section 5.4) could be adapted for methyl methacrylate. A suspension process for poly(methyl methacrylate) was described in Section 5.4. The polymerization of ethyl acrylate most often is carried out in emulsion. A process such as that used for vinyl acetate is suitable (Section 16.4). Like vinyl acetate, the monomer is slightly water soluble, so true emulsion polymerization kinetics are not followed. That is, there is initiation of monomer dissolved in water in addition to that dissolved in growing polymer particles. Ethyl acrylate is distinguished by its rapid rate of propagation. Initiation of a 20% monomer emulsion at room temperature by the redox couple persulfate-metabisulflte can result in over 95% conversion in less than a minute. As with vinyl acetate polymerization, a continuous addition of monomer at a rate commensurate with the heat transfer capacity of the reactor is necessary in order to control the temperature. 

The free radical initiators are more suitable for the monomers having electron-withdrawing substituents directed to the ethylene nucleus. The monomers having electron-supplying groups can be polymerized better with the ionic initiators. The water solubility of the monomer is another important consideration. Highly water-soluble (relatively polar) monomers are not suitable for the emulsion polymerization process since most of the monomer polymerizes within the continuous medium, The detailed emulsion polymerization procedures for various monomers, including styrene [59-64], butadiene [61,63,64], vinyl acetate [62,64], vinyl chloride [62,64,65], alkyl acrylates [61-63,65], alkyl methacrylates [62,64], chloroprene [63], and isoprene [61,63] are available in the literature. 

The polymerization process of two monomers with different polarities in similar ratios is a difficult task due to the solubility problems. Using the miniemulsion process, it was possible to start from very different spatial monomer distributions, resulting in very different amphiphilic copolymers in dispersion [88]. The monomer, which is insoluble in the continuous phase, is miniemulsified in order to form stable and small droplets with a low amount of surfactant. The monomer with the opposite hydrophilicity dissolves in the continuous phase (and not in the droplets). As examples, the formation of acryl-amide/methyl methacrylate (AAm/MMA) and acrylamide/styrene (AAm/Sty) copolymers was chosen using the miniemulsion process. In all cases the synthe-... 

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