Supercritical behavior in free radical polymerization of ethylene in the medium pressure range.
Free radical polymerization of ethylene in an intermediate pressure and temperature range (P(ethylene) < 250 bar and 50 °C < T < 90 °C) in the presence of an organic solvent has been studied. Under selected conditions (P, T) and according to the amount of organic solvent added, either a supercritical monophasic or a biphasic medium is obtained. In the case of a biphasic medium, polymerization occurred in the liquid phase in which radical initiator and ethylenes are dissolved. The transition between a monophasic to a biphasic medium has been predicted using thermodynamic calculations and has been related to experimental observations such as the dependence of polymerization activity versus solvent volume.
Grau
Etienne
E
Université de Lyon, Univ. Lyon 1, CPE Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5265 Laboratoire de Chime Catalyse Polymères et Procédés (C2P2), LCPP Team, Bat 308F, 43 Bd du 11 novembre 1918, F-69616 Villeurbanne, France. grau@lcpp.cpe.fr
Broyer
Jean-Pierre
JP
Boisson
Christophe
C
Spitz
Roger
R
Monteil
Vincent
V