Graft Copolymerization of Styrene and Acrylonitrile in the Presence of Poly(propylene glycol): Modeling and Simulation of Semi‐Batch and Continuous Processes

An existing kinetic model for graft free‐radical copolymerization of styrene (St) and acrylonitrile (AN) in the presence of poly(propylene glycol) is extended to describe the semi‐batch process and to simulate the continuous process. A good predictive ability of the model for the semi‐batch process is demonstrated by comparing with experimental data, except for $\overline {M} _{{\rm w}} $ and polydispersity index at St/AN = 60/40 wt% in the feed. The continuous process is simulated under various reaction conditions. The solid content increases sharply with increasing monomer concentration. With decreasing St/AN weight ratio, the graft efficieny increases sharply and $\overline {M} _{{\rm w}} $ decreases.