Simulation of nylon 6 polymerization in tubular reactors with recycle

Abstract

AbstractIn the hydrolytic polymerization of ϵ‐caprolactam, the ring opening of the monomer is much slower than the polyaddition reaction. Hence, the mixing of aminocaproic acid to the feed results in a faster conversion of the monomer. Industrially, this fact is exploited by using a recycle stream. An isothermal plug flow reactor (PFR) with a recycle is simulated in this study, using two techniques: the method of successive substitutions and Wegstein's method. It is found that, under certain operating conditions, the use of a recycle stream gives higher monomer conversions and lower cyclic dimer concentrations than either a PFR or a homogeneous continuous‐flow stirred‐tank reactor (HCSTR), with the degree of polymerization almost the same as that obtained in an HCSTR, and thus offers a considerable advantage. However, when a recycle reactor is coupled with a subsequent flashing operation and a finishing reactor, these advantages are considerably reduced.