Modeling of Particle Size Distribution in Emulsion Polymerization of Butyl acrylate and Butadiene

The particle size distribution (PSD) is one of the most important parameters of emulsion polymerization latexes. This parameter affected the rheological and optical properties, adhesion, film formation and mechanical strength of latexes. Therefore, the modeling of PSD is of utmost importance in terms of application and mechanistic studies. Dynamic evolution of PSD is described by a set of population balance equations which involved various phenomena such as nucleation, growth, and coagulation. The extensive application and especially annually massive production of poly(butylacrylate) and polybutadiene produced by emulsion polymerization, highlights the significant of modeling these processes, which could resulted in better mechanistic knowledge and tailor-made polymer materials. In this paper, a mechanistic model based on population balance equations is developed for butyl acrylate and butadiene emulsion polymerization in a batch reactor. This model is used to predict the evolution of particle size distribution and the finite volume method as a precise technique is used for discritizing PBEs. The simulation results compared with the measured values during the evolution of conversion and average particle diameter for different initial surfactant concentrations.