New Trend in polymer reaction engineering

Some among the recent developments in polymer reaction engineering are briefly reported. To this aim, selected examples from Authors’ experience are used instead of attempting an exhaustive overview. In the first section, a detailed model of emulsion copolymerization is used to evaluate the distributions of molecular weights and chain ends of a fluorinated polymer. Then, the important phenomenon of particle coagulation in dispersed polymerizations is addressed and the results of a few illustrative calculations are discussed. As new processes (second section), living free-radical polymerizations, those in supercritical carbon dioxide and frontal polymerizations are presented. Comments about the potential of these processes with respect to industrially attractive applications are reported. Finally, process monitoring and control, essential items of all industrial polymerization processes, are examined in the third section. The capabilities of different sensors, suitable to be applied to both homogeneous and heterogeneous processes, are reviewed along with applications of polymer quality control.