Simulations of grafting monomers and associated degradation of polypropylene in a modular co-rotating twin screw extruder

Kinetic models of grafting maleic anhydride (MAH) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) on polypropylene (PP) were developed for screw extrusion. However, the kinetic models were insufficient to explain the grafting reactions along the length of modular co-rotating twin screw extruders because the rheological properties and the residence time of PP changed owing to degradation of PP during the grafting reaction. In order to model this system for a modular co-rotating twin screw extruder, the kinetic model of grafting reaction and models for degradation of PP were combined with fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Given the geometrical configurations of the screw, the operating conditions, and the physical properties of the polypropylene, the simulations predicted variation of molecular weight and mean residence time due to degradation of PP. The weight percent of grafted MAH or MMA on PP profiles along the screw axis was also calculated in the simulation. These predictions were compared with experimental data for various operating conditions.