Viscosity polymer concentration effects

Figure 1. Experimental viscosity ratio vs. volume fraction polymer concentration effects. (Reproduced with permission from reference 19. Copyright 1992 Society of Petroleum Engineers.)...

Solution parameters such as viscosity, polymer concentration, molecular mass of the polymer, electrical conductivity, elasticity and surface tension exert important effects on the morphology of the polymer and on its solution characteristics. 

The Effective Viscosity of PS(B) in Tensleep Cores. The rheology of the polymer in reservoir rock at reservoir conditions must be defined to design an EOR process that depends on pseudoplastic polymers for mobility control. The amount of polymer ne ed can be determined by defining the effective viscosity/polymer concentration relationship. The effective viscosity (/leff) of the poly-... 

Sihcate solutions of equivalent composition may exhibit different physical properties and chemical reactivities because of differences in the distributions of polymer sihcate species. This effect is keenly observed in commercial alkah sihcate solutions with compositions that he in the metastable region near the solubihty limit of amorphous sihca. Experimental studies have shown that the precipitation boundaries of sodium sihcate solutions expand as a function of time, depending on the concentration of metal salts (29,58). Apparently, the high viscosity of concentrated alkah sihcate solutions contributes to the slow approach to equihbrium. 

To maintain a high polymerization rate at high conversions, reduce the residual amount of the monomer, and eliminate the adverse process of polyacrylamide structurization, polymerization is carried out in the adiabatic mode. An increase in temperature in the reaction mixture due to the heat evolved in the process of polymerization is conductive to a reduction of the system viscosity even though the polymer concentration in it rises. In this case, the increase in flexibility and mobility of macromolecules shifts the start of the oncoming gel effect into the range of deep transformation or eliminates it completely. 

Since non-Newtonian flow is typical for polymer melts, the discussion of a filler s role must explicitly take into account this fundamental fact. Here, spoken above, the total flow curve includes the field of yield stress (the field of creeping flow at x < Y may not be taken into account in the majority of applications). Therefore the total equation for the dependence of efficient viscosity on concentration must take into account the indicated effects. 

Table I provides an overview of general reactor designs used with PS and HIPS processes on the basis of reactor function. The polymer concentrations characterizing the mass polymerizations are approximate there could be some overlapping of agitator types with solids level beyond that shown in the tcd>le. Polymer concentration limits on HIPS will be lower because of increased viscosity. There are also additional applications. Tubular reactors, for example, in effect, often exist as the transfer lines between reactors and in external circulating loops associated with continuous reactors.

Figure 1 Is a flow sheet showing some significant aspects of the Iterative analysis. The first step In the program Is to Input data for about 50 physical, chemical and kinetic properties of the reactants. Each loop of this analysis Is conducted at a specified solution temperature T K. Some of the variables computed In each loop are the monomer conversion, polymer concentration, monomer and polymer volume fractions, effective polymer molecular weight, cumulative number average molecular weight, cumulative weight average molecular weight, solution viscosity, polymerization rate, ratio of polymerization rates between the current and previous steps, the total pressure and the partial pressures of the monomer, the solvent, and the nitrogen.

The large viscosity increases that accompany increased polymer concentrations have a strong effect on reactor performance. This phenomenon is illustrated through a simplified yet realistic example (also used in Reference 1 to study the effects of radial convection). In this case the polymerization rate is first order in monomer concentration and the physical properties are constant, except for viscosity, which is given by the following expression ... 

Here c is the polymer concentration by weight. < the density of the polymer, a an effective bond length or measure of the coil dimensions, and to the monomeric friction factor. The subscript zero indicates the pure polymer. Since 2 (H), the mean-square end-to-end chain separation, the viscosity will be directly proportional to the polymer concentration unless the plasticizer modifies the coil swelling. At high molecular weight the monomeric friction factor is increased by the factor (MIMf)" and M, is increased relative to the undiluted polymer [equation (55)]. Thus... 

The rheological properties of a fluid interface may be characterized by four parameters surface shear viscosity and elasticity, and surface dilational viscosity and elasticity. When polymer monolayers are present at such interfaces, viscoelastic behavior has been observed (1,2), but theoretical progress has been slow. The adsorption of amphiphilic polymers at the interface in liquid emulsions stabilizes the particles mainly through osmotic pressure developed upon close approach. This has become known as steric stabilization (3,4.5). In this paper, the dynamic behavior of amphiphilic, hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl celluloses (HM-HEC), was studied. In previous studies HM-HEC s were found to greatly reduce liquid/liquid interfacial tensions even at very low polymer concentrations, and were extremely effective emulsifiers for organic liquids in water (6). 

V, is the molar volume of polymer or solvent, as appropriate, and the concentration is in mass per unit volume. It can be seen from Equation (2.42) that the interaction term changes with the square of the polymer concentration but more importantly for our discussion is the implications of the value of x- When x = 0.5 we are left with the van t Hoff expression which describes the osmotic pressure of an ideal polymer solution. A sol vent/temperature condition that yields this result is known as the 0-condition. For example, the 0-temperature for poly(styrene) in cyclohexane is 311.5 K. At this temperature, the poly(styrene) molecule is at its closest to a random coil configuration because its conformation is unperturbed by specific solvent effects. If x is greater than 0.5 we have a poor solvent for our polymer and the coil will collapse. At x values less than 0.5 we have the polymer in a good solvent and the conformation will be expanded in order to pack as many solvent molecules around each chain segment as possible. A 0-condition is often used when determining the molecular weight of a polymer by measurement of the concentration dependence of viscosity, for example, but solution polymers are invariably used in better than 0-conditions. 

I.e. the results of Fonte Carlo experiment show that the effect of the fractionation is too small to explain the experimental fact of significant decrease of sol viscosity with an increase of the polymer concentration. ... 

R. Hayashi, S. Tazuke, and C. W. Frank, Twisted intramolecular charge-transfer phenomenon as a fluorescence probe of microenvironment. Effect of polymer concentration on local viscosity and microscopic polarity around a polymer chain of poly(methyl methacrylate), Macromolecules 20, 983 (1987). 

An Ostwald viscometer is similar to an Ubbelohde-type rheometer except that it is simpler in design and is less expensive. A schematic of an Ostwald viscometer is shown in Fig 3.6(b). It is characterized by a lower bulb that acts as a solution reservoir. A solution of known polymer concentration is placed in the lower bulb. A single capillary tube in which the measurement is taken is connected to the bottom of the bulb and to two small bulbs at the top of the capillary. Fluid is forced from the lower bulb through the capillary into the two small bulbs attached to the top of the capillary. There is a line between the two bulbs and at the exit of the lower bulb. The fluid is then allowed to drain back into the lower bulb through the capillary, and the time for the fluid to travel between the two lines is recorded. The time, if there were no end effects, is proportional to the kinematic viscosity (/j/p). 

In the mucosal environment, effects of salt, pH, temperature, and lipids need to be taken into consideration for possible effects on viscosity and solubility. A pH range of 4-7 and a relatively constant temperature of 37°C can generally be expected. Observed solution properties as a function of salt and polymer concentration can be referred to as saline compatibility. Polyelectrolyte solution behavior [27] is generally dominated by ionic interactions, such as with other materials of like charge (repulsive), opposite charge (attractive), solvent ionic character (dielectric), and dissolved ions (i.e., salt). In general, at a constant polymer concentration, an increase in the salt concentration decreases the viscosity, due to decreasing the hydrodynamic volume of the polymer at a critical salt concentration precipitation may occur. 

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