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High‐Pressure Polymerization of Ethylene in Tubular Reactors: A Rigorous Dynamic Model Able to Predict the Full Molecular Weight Distribution
Author(s) -
Asteasuain Mariano,
Brandolin Adriana
Publication year - 2009
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.200900013
Subject(s) - molar mass distribution , branching (polymer chemistry) , biological system , process (computing) , polymerization , ethylene , monomer , materials science , thermodynamics , molecular dynamics , function (biology) , statistical physics , chemistry , computer science , mechanics , polymer , computational chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , composite material , catalysis , evolutionary biology , biology , operating system
A rigorous dynamic model of the high‐pressure polymerization of ethylene in tubular reactors is presented. The model is capable of predicting the full molecular weight distribution (MWD), average branching indexes, monomer conversion and average molecular weights as function of time and reactor length. The probability generating function method is applied to model the MWD. This technique allows easy and efficient calculation of the MWD, in spite of the complex mathematical description of the process. The reactor model is used to analyze the dynamic responses of MWD and other process variables under different transition policies, as well as to predict the effects of process perturbations. The influence of the material recycle on the process dynamics is also shown.