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Development of a 2D Single Particle Model to Analyze the Effect of Initial Particle Shape and Breakage in Olefin Polymerization
Author(s) -
Najafi Mohsen,
Parvazinia Mahmoud,
Ghoreishy Mir Hamid Reza,
Kiparissides Costas
Publication year - 2014
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.201300124
Subject(s) - breakage , polymerization , particle (ecology) , materials science , olefin polymerization , polymer chemistry , polymer , composite material , oceanography , geology
A two‐dimensional (2D) finite element single particle model is developed to examine the effects of the initial catalyst shape and particle breakage on the average molecular weight properties and polymerization rate in heterogeneous Ziegler–Natta olefin polymerization. The 2D monomer diffusion‐reaction equation is solved using the finite element method. We reveal the impact of the initial particle shape and postulated particle breakage mechanism on the polymerization rate and the molecular properties. Simulation results show that non‐spherical catalyst particles are getting spherical as the polymerization proceeds due to the difference in the 2D directional particle growth rates. Finally, in order to validate the developed 2D model, the results are compared with an analytical solution for a 1D benchmark problem also with literature under the same conditions.