THE SELF-WIPING CO-ROTATING TWIN-SCREW EXTRUDER AS A POLYMERIZATION REACTOR FOR METHACRYLATES

The self-wiping co-rotating twin-screw extruder was studied as a reactor for two polymerizations in bulk: the homopolymerization of n-butylmethacrylate and the copolymerization of n-butylmethacrylate with 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate. The influence of the extrusion parameters on the product was analyzed. With both reactions, conversions up to 95% were obtained. Nevertheless, a significant difference was observed in the working domain of both polymerizations, in which a stable reactive extrusion process could be attained wherein the discharge rate is constant and equals the feed rate. In the case of the relatively fast copolymerization, both the throughput and the screw rotation rate could be raised without endangering the stability of the process. This was not the case for the homopolymerization studied. It was determined that the stability of the process depends on the reaction velocity and the product viscosity. Within the boundaries of the working domain, the molecular weight could be influenced by adjustments of the extrusion parameters.