Reactive and conventional processing of polymers

挤出是一种非常重要的聚合物加工操作。传统挤出包括将聚合物材料熔融、均化和成型成连续的最终塑料产品，如薄膜和纤维。反应挤出将前面提到的操作与熔融聚合物中的反应(S)相结合，目的是生产具有增强性能的新材料。典型的应用包括反应性混合，在其他惰性聚合物上添加官能团，以及改变分子量和结构。每个操作都受材料特性和加工条件之间的潜在相互作用的制约。建议的研究计划的主要目的是从根本上了解这些在工业上具有重要意义的反应性和常规聚合物加工操作中的相互作用。了解这些复杂的现象可以导致先进的聚合物挤出工艺的优化设计和操作，以生产具有增强性能的新型聚合物材料/结构。本申请中提出的研究工作的目标是研究：(I)用于聚合物材料的化学改性和升级的反应挤出操作，(Ii)使用超临界流体的新型常规和反应挤出操作，(Iii)聚合物挤出中的混合现象，以及(Iv)先进的薄膜挤出操作。作为这些研究的结果，将开发机械过程模型，以将应用特性与工艺条件联系起来。拟议的研究计划的结果将使聚合物树脂制造商、塑料加工商和加工设备制造商受益。它将增进我们在聚合物加工/制造技术领域的知识，更具体地说，在反应聚合物挤出、聚合物共混和超临界流体挤出聚合物等重要领域。这些知识将有助于与聚合物化学改性、混合和聚合物增容相关的技术的发展，从而提高加拿大行业的竞争力，这些元素被行业视为下一阶段塑料技术和市场开发的关键要素。

Extrusion is a very important polymer processing operation. Conventional extrusion involves melting, homogenizing and shaping of polymeric materials into continuous final plastic products such as films and fibres. Reactive extrusion combines the previously mentioned operations with reaction(s) in the molten polymer for the purpose of producing new materials with enhanced properties. Typical applications involve reactive blending, addition of functional groups on otherwise inert polymers, and modification of molecular weight and structure. Each operation is governed by underlying interactions between material properties and processing conditions. The main thrust in the proposed research program is the  fundamental understanding of these interactions in industrially important reactive and conventional polymer processing operations.Understanding of these complex phenomena can lead to optimal design and operation of advanced polymer extrusion processes for the purpose of producing novel polymeric materials/structures with enhanced properties. The objective of the research work proposed in this application is to study : (i) reactive extrusion operations for the chemical modification and upgrade of polymeric materials, (ii) novel conventional and reactive extrusion operations employing supercritical fluids, (iii) mixing phenomena in polymer extrusion, and ( iv) advanced film extrusion operations. As a result of these studies, mechanistic process models will be developed to relate application properties to processing conditions. The outcome of the proposed research plan will benefit polymer resin manufactures, plastics processors, and processing equipment manufacturers. It will advance our knowledge in the area of polymer processing/manufacturing technology and more specifically in the important sectors of reactive polymer extrusion, polymer blending and polymer extrusion with supercritical fluids . Such knowledge will boost the competitiveness of the Canadian industry by helping in the evolution of technology related to polymer chemical modification, mixing, and polymer compatibilization, elements deemed crucial by the industry for the next phase of technical and market development in plastics.