Temperature Dynamics and Start-up of a Continuous Flow Stirred Tank Polymerisation Reactor

Experimental results have been obtained for the potassium persulphate initiated polymerisation of acrylamide in a continuous flow stirred tank reactor. Variables investigated included monomer and initiator concentrations and feed inlet temperature and flowrate. Results were compared with a theoretical model and satisfactory agreement obtained for steady state temperature and conversion. During the start-up period, during which temperature measurements only were made, comparison with theory showed that the induction periods observed experimentally under certain conditions were not predicted. Allowance for heat transfer from the reactor to the surroundings has been shown to be important.