On the Modeling of Acrylic Acid Copolymerizationin an Aqueous Solution: A Modular, IntegratedApproach

摘要

A complete mathematical model of the free-radical copolymerization of acrylic acid in an aqueous solution, taking place in a pilot-scale tubular reactor equipped with static mixers, is presented. The developed kinetic/reactor model is numerically integrated in terms of a coupled deterministic–stochastic numerical approach that combines the advantages of speed, effi - ciency, and increased predictive capabilities. A series of experimental measurements on the monomer conversion and the molecular weight characteristics of the produced copolymer, under a wide range of process conditions, are used for the identifi cation of the kinetic model parameters while a thorough analysis of the compositional characteristics of the produced copolymers is also carried out in terms of a series of bivariate distributed properties.