Traditionally, manufacture of polymers was done in batch reactors with little fundamental understanding of the interaction of kinetics and transport phenomena. With the growth of demand for polymers and increased price competition, more efficient polymerization methods are being developed. Manufacturers of high volume commodity polymers now have fewer product lines and have moved to the use of continuous reactors. Producers of relatively low volume, high quality (and value) polymers are finding that their competitive edge comes from a deeper understanding of the relationship between polymerization conditions and product quality. Through his research efforts, the PI expects to design and control reactors capable of producing a more uniform and higher quality polymer. One crucial aspect of new, controllable reactor designs is the requirement for improved understanding of the dynamics of polymerization reactors. Polymerization is often characterized by large heat release, high viscosity, and difficult heat removal--all of which contribute to difficulties in controlling the dynamic behavior of the reactor. A second area of particular importance in polymerization reaction engineering is the development of continuous liquid and gas phase processes for polyolefin production (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, and copolymers). A third area with great potential for process improvements is in developing new processes for polymers made by polycondensation. This class of polymers encompasses many fibers and engineering plastics. In this project the PI will pursue research on these problems through both experimental and quantitative theoretical studies of continuous polymerization reactors. He plans to develop a quantitative understanding of the governing chemical and physical phenomena (i.e., through detailed mathematical models comfirmed by experimental data) and to use this new understanding (i) To devise improved reactor designs which provide better control of polymer properties and also minimize difficult dynamics. By quantitatively determining the ranges of operating conditions and system parameters for which oscillations and stability problems arise, he expects to provide design procedures which satisfy the polymer product specifications and have good economics but which avoid those parameter combinations leading to difficult dynamic behavior. (ii) To develop new types of on-line sensors for the reactor and polymer particles which allow closer quality control of the product and to combine these new on-line polymer property sensors with feedback strategies to provide control schemes which lead to safe dynamic operation and close control of product quality. (iii) To devise new reactor designs for existing and emerging classes of polymer products. * * * //
