A new look at kinetic modeling of nonlinear free radical polymerizations with terminal branching and chain transfer to polymer

The authors' previously developed method for the general kinetic analysis of nonlinear irreversible polymerizations based on moment generating functions is used for simulating free radical polymerization systems in which terminal branching and chain transfer to polymer are present, leading possibly to gel formation. The numerical solution of the equations needed for postgel predictions of sol fraction and average molecular weights (a major difficulty) is discussed with some detail. Finally, some different combinations of kinetic parameters were tested in order to assess their influence on the molecular weight development in a batch reactor.