Simulated and Experimental Research on Increasing the Monomer Conversion of Emulsion Polymerization for Styrene Butadiene Rubber

Abstract

The nucleation stage in emulsion polymerization for styrene-butadiene-rubber was established by classic theory and the influences of emulsifier and initiator concentration on the reaction were simulated by Monte Carlo method. The results showed that the relationship of the number of latex particle [Np], emulsifier concentration [S] and initiator concentration [I] is to Np = k[S]^0.6062[I]^0.4055, which agrees well with the Smith-Ewart theory. The simulation results showed that the monomer conversion in emulsion polymerization increased from 62 to 70 % in the premise of ensuring product quality, the emulsifier incremental amount between 12.6 and 22.16 % and the initiator incremental amount between 12.9 and 34.89 %. The experiments were investigated on increasing monomer conversion by emulsifier and emulsifier incremental amount in emulsion polymerization for styrene-butadiene-rubber according to the simulation results. The experimental results verify the simulation results.