Radiation-induced polymerization of ethylene in pilot plant. IV. Kinetic analysis

✍ Scribed by Hiromasa Watanabe; Sueo Machi; Hirondo Kurihara; Takeshi Wada; Kouichi Yamaguchi; Terutaka Watanabe; Masaaki Takehisa

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1980
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 358 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/app.1980.070250212

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The kinetics of the radiation‐induced polymerization of ethylene in a flow system using tert‐butyl alcohol aqueous solution as a medium were studied. The polymerization was carried out in a large‐scale pilot plant with a 50‐liter central source‐type reactor at various mean residence times and does rates under constant pressure of 300 kg/cm^2^, temperature of 30°C, and ethylene molar fraction of ca. 0.4. The reaction mixture in the reactor was back‐mixed flow from the residual polymer concentration in the reactor. The results of the polymerization were analyzed by kinetic treatment based on a reaction mechanism with both first‐and second‐order terminations for the propagating radical. The apparent rate constants, except for that of second‐order termination (k~t2~), were consistent with those determined by small‐scale batch experiments. The k~t2~ is 20 to 40 times larger than that in the batch experiments. The k~t2~ increases with decrease in mean residence time and with agitation, probably because of mobility of the propagating radical.