APPLICATION OF THE PLUG-FLOW WITH AXIAL-DISPERSION MODEL FOR CONTINUOUS EMULSION POLYMERIZATION IN A PULSED PACKED-COLUMN

The performance of a pulsed packed column (PPC) has been investigated for the continuous emulsion polymerization of styrene. In a PPC, good local agitation is combined with little backmixing. Good local agitati on provides proper emulsification, intensive radial mixing and high ra tes of heal transfer to the reactor wall. As a result of the low backm ixing in the PPC, sustained oscillations in conversion and particle nu mber, which are often observed in a CSTR, can be avoided completely. T his indicates that the PPC is a promising reactor for continuous emuls ion polymerization and that the performance of the PPC can be predicte d by a steady-state model. In this study a comprehensive steady-stale model has been derived for the continuous production of seed latexes i n a PPC. The model is based on micellar nucleation and plug flow with axial dispersion. A rate equation for particle nucleation has been der ived from batch experiments. It has been shown for the emulsion polyme rization of styrene that there is a good agreement between simulations with the developed model and experiments in the PPC. Copyright (C) 19 96 Elsevier Science Ltd.