MODELING OF THE STYRENE MICROEMULSION POLYMERIZATION

A mathematical model was developed to simulate the polymerization kinetics of styrene oil-in-water microemulsions. Nucleation of particles in microemulsion droplets was assumed to account for the number of particles generated. It was found that the entry rate coefficient of radicals into microemulsion droplets is much smaller than the entry rate coefficient into monomer-swollen particles. All particles contain at most one growing radical. Various radical entry mechanisms were evaluated using the simulation. The possibility of flocculation between particles during the later stages of the polymerization and the high desorption rate of monomeric radicals was suggested by the simulation results. The likelihood of re-entry of desorbed radicals was demonstrated.