KINETICS OF MESOPHASE FORMATION IN A STIRRED TANK REACTOR AND PROPERTIES OF THE PRODUCTS .3. CONTINUOUS REACTOR

A continuous stirred tank reactor was used for studying the kinetics of mesophase formation from a petroleum pitch. The conversion of the pitch was analysed by determination of the tetrahydrofuran insolubles and the mesophase content, the glass transition temperature, the density, and the coke yield of the products. Mesogenic molecules {MA} or mesophase {MP} represent consecutive products of poly-aromatics {PA} as an intermediate, which are formed from the original pitch {A + a} after initial evaporation of highly volatile constituents {a}: {A + a} --> -{a} {A} --> k1 {PA} --> k2 {MA} = {MP} This result is in full agreement with earlier results obtained with a discontinuous stirred tank reactor. As compared to the latter reactor, the synthesis in the continuous stirred tank reactor leads to a product with a broader molecular mass distribution.