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Process modeling for the synthesis of unsaturated polyester
Author(s) -
Shah M.,
Zondervan E.,
de Haan A.B
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.22038
Subject(s) - non random two liquid model , materials science , thermodynamics , maleic anhydride , distillation , polymer , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , activity coefficient , organic chemistry , chemistry , composite material , physics , aqueous solution , engineering , copolymer
This work presents a dynamic model for a polyesterfication reaction in a system containing a batch‐wise operating reaction vessel connected to a flash separation unit. This model includes kinetics, description of the change of rate order during the reaction, the polymer nonrandom theory of liquid (NRTL) nonideal thermodynamic model based on NRTL and mass balances. The reaction between maleic anhydride and propylene glycol has been taken as a case study. The reaction scheme is complex, and the proposed model takes four types of reactions into account, ring opening, polyesterfication, isomerization, and saturation reactions. The acid value of the polyester, number–average molecular weight, distilled mass, and glycol concentration in the distillate have been subsequently used to validate the model, and the model predicts these important variables reliably. The process description is improved by using the vapor–liquid equilibrium data predicted from the polymer NRTL model. Particularly, the prediction of distilled mass [regression coefficient ( R 2 ) = 0.995] and the prediction of propylene glycol concentration ( R 2 = 0.97) in the distillate are significantly improved. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers