Polymerization reactions continuous free radical

DebUng J, Villalobos M. Modelling and simulation of continuous free radical polymerization with multiple monomers exhibiting reversible propagation. DECHEMA 7th International Workshop on Polymerization Reaction Engineering 2001 Hamburg, DE. 

Such polymerizations often exhibit a second, discontinuous phase. They frequently exhibit high exothermicity, but this is more characteristic of the reaction mechanism than of bulk polymerization as such. Bulk polymerizations of the free-radical variety are most common, although commercially important condensation processes also have a highly viscous continuous phase. 

In free-radical polymerizations, three basic reactions occur during polymerization. They are initiation, propagation, and termination reactions. In initiation reactions, continuous generation of free radicals takes place. In propagation reactions, the free radicals are responsible for the growth... 

Continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) are perhaps the most widely used in industrial continuous free-radical polymerization processes. Monomers, solvents, initiators, and additives (e.g., chain transfer agents) are continuously fed to a mechanically agitated reactor and the product solution is removed continuously from the reactor. In a CSTR, the reaction mixture is... 

Reviews dealing with a specific reaction or property from the heterocyclic point of view have been rarer—tautomerism (continued from Volume 1), free radical substitution, metal catalysts and pyri-dines, acid-catalyzed polymerization of pyrroles, and diazomethane reactions have been covered in this volume. 

In this short initial communication we wish to describe a general purpose continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) system which incorporates a digital computer for supervisory control purposes and which has been constructed for use with radical and other polymerization processes. The performance of the system has been tested by attempting to control the MWD of the product from free-radically initiated solution polymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using oscillatory feed-forward control strategies for the reagent feeds. This reaction has been selected for study because of the ease of experimentation which it affords and because the theoretical aspects of the control of MWD in radical polymerizations has attracted much attention in the scientific literature. 

As the polymerization reaction proceeds, scosity of the system increases, retarding the translational and/ or segmental diffusion of propagating polymer radicals. Bimolecular termination reactions subsequently become diffusion controlled. A reduction in termination results in an increase in free radical population, thus providing more sites for monomer incorporation. The gel effect is assumed not to affect the propagation rate constant since a macroradical can continue to react with the smaller, more mobile monomer molecule. Thus, an increase in the overall rate of polymerization and average degree of polymerization results. 

The most favorable conditions for reactive processing of monolithic articles are created when the frontal reaction occurs at a plane thermal front. For example, a frontal process can be used for methyl methacrylate polymerization at high pressure (up to 500 MPa) in the presence of free-radical initiators. The reaction is initiated by an initial or continuous local increase in temperature of the reactive mass in a stationary mold, or in a reactor if the monomer is moving through a reactor. The main method of controlling the reaction rate and maintaining stability is by varying the temperature of the reactive mass.252... 

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