Online Monitoring of the Thermal Degradation of POM During Melt Extrusion

Because of its high stiffness, chemical resistance, and low viscosity, Poly (oxymethylene) (POM) is of high relevance for technical applications. The thermal degradation of POM during processing affects its final properties and decreases the long-term stability. The degradation is indicated by the emission of formaldehyde (FA) gas. The aim of this study is to monitor the thermal degradation of POM online, during the melt extrusion in a co-rotating twin screw extruder (TSE). The effect of the processing conditions on the thermal stabilisation of the POM is observed by FA emission and online viscosity measurements. The effect of processing conditions on the compounding of POM with two different FA scavengers is also studied. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is used for the online measurement of FA gas and acetyl acetone colour measurement for the offline characterisation. The online viscosity is measured by passing the melt through a slit die at constant volume flow rate. An enhanced thermal degradation is found with decreasing throughput and increasing screw speed. A good correlation between the online viscosity and offline FA measurement is observed. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 2394-2401, 2010