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Continuous Miniemulsion Polymerization
Author(s) -
Schork F. Joseph,
Guo Juchen
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
macromolecular reaction engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1862-8338
pISSN - 1862-832X
DOI - 10.1002/mren.200800003
Subject(s) - miniemulsion , polymerization , radical polymerization , materials science , continuous reactor , polymer chemistry , residence time distribution , monomer , bulk polymerization , chemical engineering , chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , catalysis , engineering , composite material , inclusion (mineral) , mineralogy
Abstract Most miniemulsion polymerizations are carried out in batch reactors. However, continuous reactors or continuous reactor trains can provide a high level of consistency when operated at steady state. In this feature article, progress in continuous miniemulsion polymerization will be reviewed. Special attention will be given to issues of monomer diffusion and secondary nucleation. A large portion of the paper will be devoted to controlled radical polymerization for two reasons. First, this is a relatively new field, particularly when continuous reactors are considered, and second, for controlled radical polymerization in continuous reactors, the molecular weight distribution of the product is a direct function of the reactor residence time distribution.