Model-based reactor design in free-radical polymerization with simultaneous long-chain branching and scission

Abstract

Polymers are the products of processes and their microstructure can be changed significantly by the reactor systems employed, especially for nonlinear polymers. The Monte Carlo simulation technique, based on the random sampling technique, is used to explore the effect of reactor types on the branched polymer structure, formed through free-radical polymerization with simultaneous long-chain branching and scission, as in the case of low-density polyethylene synthesis. As a simplified model for a tower-type multi-zone reactor, a series of continuous stirred-tank reactors, consisting of one big tank and the same N-1 small tanks is considered theoretically. By simply changing the tank arrangement, various types of branched polymers, from star-like globular structure to a more randomly branched structure, can be obtained, while keeping the following properties of the final products, the monomer conversion to polymer, the average branching and scission densities, and the relationship between the mean-square radius of gyration and molecular weight.