Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Christopher Dobie, Professor Kamelia Boodhoo
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
The feasibility of enhancing the latex yield and colloid characteristics in the surfactant-free emulsion polymerisation (SFEP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methyl acrylate (MA) through the use of intensified processing technologies is reported in this paper. The effects of high power ultrasonic energy as a well-established technique for mixing and mass transfer enhancements were compared with thermal initiation in a conventional mechanically agitated reactor. Although increases in ultrasonic power input resulted in higher rates of reaction and larger particles in the MMA polymerisation, reaction yields were nevertheless found to be low compared with the thermally initiated stirred tank reactor experiments. This was attributed to the low frequency ultrasound used (24 kHz) that was observed to provide excellent emulsification but was ineffective in terms of radical generation. The results for a thermally initiated SFEP of MA in a narrow channel reactor as an example of a continuous flow reactor technology showed that reaction rates were comparable with those achieved in the stirred tank reactor but at only a fraction of the specific power input whilst smaller particles with a tighter distribution are generated. These effects highlight the process intensification characteristics of the narrow channel reactor for the SFEP of MA.
Author(s): Dobie CG, Boodhoo KVK
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification
Year: 2010
Volume: 49
Issue: 9
Pages: 901-911
Print publication date: 10/08/2010
ISSN (print): 0255-2701
ISSN (electronic): 1873-3204
Publisher: Elsevier BV
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2010.08.005
DOI: 10.1016/j.cep.2010.08.005
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
