What's new in industrial polymerization with supercritical solvents? A short review

This review attempts to answer the following questions: what are the intere st and benefits of polymerizing in supercritical media and what type of pol ymer and polymerization process can be used? Supercritical fluids (SCFs) in theory offer many advantages since they have intermediate properties betwe en liquids and gases. Also, at a time when the environment is undergoing su ch great impacts as the depletion of the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the use of CO2 seems an attractive alternative for sustainability and conservation. This is why heterogeneous polymerization methods, particu larly suspension and dispersion processes, offer great potential with an SC F as a suspending medium. Unfortunately, polyolefins and other commodities, such as poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), may not benefit from SCF technology to day for profitability reasons, but acrylics, styrenics and other fluorinate d plastics are open to this new technology, Furthermore, SCFs may have an i mpact on polyamides, polycarbonates and other speciality polymers.