Micro- and Macromixing in Polymerization Reactors

Abstract

Abstract The paper deals with the influence of the local mixing state on the product properties in a mass styrene-acrylonitrile copolymerization stirred tank reactor in steady state. Experimental investigations at different stirrer speeds have been carried out in a specially constructed bench scale reactor. The idealized models for microfluid and complete segregation were used to calculate the polymer mass fraction, the weight average polymerization degree and the molecular nonuniformity at the outlet of the reactor. The apparatus operated as an “ideally mixed” continuous stirred tank reactor under all chosed conditions as demonstrated by measurements of the residence time distributions. The results are: the segregation model describes the experimentals at low stirrer speeds and the microfluid model is appropriate at high agitator revolutions. Polymer mass fraction, weight average polymerization degree and molecular nonuniformity as functions of average residence time calculated on the basis of both the idealized models indicate intersection points. A high extent of microfluid must not tend to decrease the molecular nonuniformity. The agitator speed can be limited in such a way that it is just sufficiently high to approximate the residence time distribution of an “ideally mixed” continuous stirred tank reactor in order to avoid dead spots and channelling. Segregation is not dangerous for the reactor performance and the product properties.