Title: Advances in the modelling and simulation of emulsion polymerisation

Authors: Bingzhu Zhang, Shubo Feng

Addresses: College of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050018, China. ' College of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050018, China

Abstract: Several different modelling strategies describing homopolymerisation, copolymerisation and terpolymerisation are presented, including zero-one kinetic model, pseudo-bulk kinetic model, level-one model and level-two model, heterogeneous polymerisation and pseudo-homopolymerisation, lumped model and population balance equations (PBEs) model, artificial neutral network model, first-principle model and Monte Carlo model. The mathematical model of the process was solved to obtain several typical product quality indexes of characterising a latex, such as particle size distribution (PSD), molecular weight distribution (MWD), monomer conversion, mean particle diameter and solid content. Micelle nucleation mechanism, particle growth mechanism and coagulation mechanism are presented. Dialectical relations between model prediction conciseness and model quality are discussed based on process control technology. The corporation of chemical engineering model with kinetic model ensures the addition of information about a number of additional phenomena that might affect the PSD into the dynamic model. The perspective and methods of modelling and simulating the process is proposed.

Keywords: emulsion polymerisation; dynamic modelling; simulation; homopolymerisation; copolymerisation; terpolymerisation; kinetic modelling; population balance equations; PBEs; artificial neutral networks; first-principle model; Monte Carlo simulation; mathematical modelling; product quality; nucleation; particle growth; coagulation; process control; chemical engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIC.2010.037038

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control, 2010 Vol.11 No.3/4, pp.262 - 273

Published online: 21 Nov 2010 *

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