Styrene Maleic Anhydride Copolymerization in a Recycle Tubular Reactor: Reactor Stability and Product Quality

Ahstrct-Styrene maleic anhydride copolymers (SMACs) are of particular commercial and academic interest. The bulk copolymer&&ion reaction is characterized by a very fast reaction rate and an important gel effect. The copolymer has a strong tendency to be alternate when maleic anhydride is in excess. In order to obtain a copolymer with less than 50% of incorporated MA, a good quality of mixing must be reached. As a matter of fact, the copolymer composition is particularly sensitive to local concentration and temperature fluctuations. For this purpose a tubular recycle reactor was developed to ensure good homogeneity of concentration and temperature. The composition of the copolymer obtained is in good agreement with predicted values and the uniformity of composition was measured for the entire molecular mass distribution. The characterization of the reactor (both hydrodynamic and stability) and the quality of the resulting polymer are presented herein. The limits of use of this reactor for the ST/MA copolymerization are described. Furthermore the effects of the operating parameters on the reactor and the copolymerization reaction are discussed.