Abstract
To simulate thermal behavior in suspension polymerization, the equations of mass and energy balances based on the kinetics of the free radical polymerization were used by incorporating an overall heat transfer coefficient as a function of reaction conversion to the energy balance equation. In the experiments of batch-suspension polymerization of styrene, variations of reaction temperature during polymerization were measured for various reaction conditions of a monomer (styrene) and an initiator, ratios ranging 2–3 wt%. As the results of the simulation with the above equations, theoretical reaction temperature profiles were in good agreement with experimentally measured temperature, especially for the runaway reaction. Also, it was found that initial overall heat transfer was very sensitive to the runaway reaction during suspension polymerization of polystyrene.
