Fundamental Studies of Polymerization Processes

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More than 100 billion pounds/year of synthetic polymers were produced in the U.S. in 1997 in a wide variety of polymerization reactors. Ultimately the products from these reactors are used in, among others, synthetic clothing, automotive structural components, optical disks, and latex paints.The PI plans to continue his research on fundamental studies of polymerization processes. In this project he plans to make use of detailed models for both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic polymerization reactors to analyze and explain observed experimental measurements of polymerization rates, molecular weight distribution, copolymer composition, chain branching, tactility, and other properties. Special emphasis will be on determining the kinetic behavior and polymer product characteristics of metallocene and other single-site catalysts. Close comparison of experimental results and model predictions will be made in order to validate the models. From these models, the PI expects to predict the range of reactor design and operation parameters for which target polymer properties and desired process behavior are possible in full scale reactors. As part of the study, multiphase thermodynamic models will be created through the use of microscale simulations and experimental data. These will be used to create equation-of-state models and phase-separation models for several classes of polymerization processes. The expected work products are a deeper understanding and better models - enabling the design and operation of reactors capable of producing more uniform and higher quality polymer products.