REACTIVE EXTRUSION OF STYRENE POLYMERS

Reactive extrusion is the term used to denote a plastics processing method in which an extruder is used as a reactor for the continuous synthesis and modification of polymers. This paper describes the manufacture of polystyrene and styrene-isoprene copolymers by a reactive extrusion process: anionic ''living'' s-butyllithium-initiated bulk polymerization was performed in a co-rotating closely intermeshing twin-screw extruder. The results of the process analysis show that living polymerization of styrene can be performed in a screw-type reactor, despite the high reaction temperatures of over 200-degrees-C. The polystyrene melt can be modified in bulk with comonomers or coupling reagents immediately after polymer synthesis. Depending on the raw material, formulation, and process parameters, the process variants developed and analyzed at the Institut fur Kunststoffverarbeitung for homopolymerization of styrene, copolymerization of styrene-isoprene mixtures, and sequential polymerization of styrene and isoprene resulted in styrene polymers with widely differing structural characteristics and properties. For example, the copolymerization of styrene-isoprene monomer mixtures produced poly [isoprene-co-styrene)-b-styrene]. The sequential polymerization of styrene and isoprene led to poly(styrene-b-isoprene) contaminated with partly cross-linked low molecular weight polyisoprene. The polyisoprene content is presumably formed by side reactions due to the high reaction temperatures.