Modeling of the ATRcoP Processes of Methyl Methacrylate and 2‐(Trimethylsilyl) Ethyl Methacrylate in Continuous Reactors: From CSTR to PFR

Abstract

From the chemical reactor engineering viewpoint, the material flow pattern in continuous reactor can influence the reaction characteristics and reactor performance. Based on the molar balance equations and the method of moments, a tubular reactor model was developed, which was validated using the experimental data from the open reports. Then the atom transfer radical copolymerization (ATRcoP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 2‐(trimethylsilyl) ethyl methacrylate (HEMA‐TMS) under different axial dispersions in tubular reactor were simulated using the developed model. The main ATRcoP behaviors and polymer micro‐characteristics were obtained. Finally, the effects of flow patterns (including the CSTR and PFR modes) on the ATRcoP characteristics were investigated using the models. The simulation results show that the reaction characteristics of the same ATRcoP system produced in flow with different axial dispersion levels are obviously different. Moreover, the comparison of properties such as monomer conversion, dispersity, copolymer composition, and chain‐end functionality between two extreme flow patterns, i.e plug flow in tubular reactor and completely mixed flow in CSTR, were performed. The compositions along the copolymer chain for the two flow modes are very close. As for the other three properties, the tubular reactor has its own comparative advantages over the CSTR.