Tubular reactors for emulsion polymerization: II. Model comparisons with experiments

Abstract

AbstractA dynamic model for emulsion polymerization in a tubular reactor has been developed and compared with experimental data. The model uses an axial dispersion coefficient to fit experimentally measured residence time distributions and to represent axial mixing during reaction. Very general emulsion polymerization kinetics are assumed so that a wide range of monomers and operating conditions can be handled. Orthogonal collocation on finite elements was chosen as the numerical solution technique. Comparisons show good agreement between model and experiments for two different monomers.