Modeling of living free-radical polymerization processes. II. Tubular reactors

A tubular reactor model for living free-radical polymerization is developed in this study. The model may be used as a tool to design efficient processes for tailored polymers from living free-radical polymerization. Examples presented include preparing bimodal polymers and copolymers of n-butyl acrylate and styrene. Residence time distribution effects on polymer properties are investigated by varying the Peclet number, to show the degree of backmixing that adversely affects polymer properties. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.