Study On Droplet Size Distribution In Suspension Polymerization

One of the most important issues in the operation of suspension polymerization reactor is the control of final droplet size distribution (DSD) which has a direct effect on the end-use properties of product (e.g. plasticizer absorption) and significantly affects storage, transport and polymer processingconditions. Moreover, DSD has an effect on heat transfer coefficient during the polymerization. In order to produce polymer particles with a desired DSD, a few experimentalhave been performed which has been mainly about breakage/coalescence phenomena. These studies have shownthat DSD in general, has a strong dependence on several factors in liquid-liquid dispersions. These factors are: Operational parameters. Temperature, polymerization time,the pint where the stabilizer is added, stirring speed, and quality of agitation which depends on the type of reactor(design of internal elements of reactor, diameter and type of impeller, reactor geometry). Physical properties. Density, viscosity and interfacial tensionof dispersed and continuous phases Surface effects. Type and concentration of stabilizer, hydrolysis degree of water-miscible stabilizerDetermination of the droplet size is typically carried out by indirect methods, which measure the variation of some physical parameter of the suspension with the size of suspended particles and in the literature, DSD has been measured by a number of techniques (Table 1).