Generating continuous chaotic mixing in a twin screw extruder as a means of improving the dispersion of nano-materials and polymer blends

摘要

High shear twin screw extruders are capable of dispersing a wide range of additives and producing polymer blends, however they have only limited ability to generate prolonged elongation flows and materials with extended micro-structures. The tendency of some solid additives to form compaction agglomerates further restricts the range of materials that can be successfully processed. Recent work using techniques developed during an FP6 project on methods to produce conductive polymers demonstrated a cost effective method of generating continuous chaotic mixing which can be retrofitted to all twin screw compounders. Materials such as carbon nanotubes, nanoclays and other shear sensitive materials including pigments, active drugs etc benefit from this technology.