화학공학소재연구정보센터
Chemie Ingenieur Technik, Vol.67, No.5, 570-577, 1995
Modeling of Mass-Exchange of Volatile Organic-Compounds in High-Viscosity Media
Polymers may contain low-molecular weight organic components as a result of incomplete reaction during polymerisation, contamination of the reactants, and undesired side reactions. Aqueous of polymers are usually applied to surfaces (emulsion paints, adhesives, paper finishing agents, etc.). Since low molecular components then escape into the air, they are removed after polymerisation by stripping product with an inert gas. While the engineering used for this step is well developed, the mass transfer processes involved have received little yet controversial attention. This paper presents a mechanistic mathematical model which includes the transfer steps occurring during stripping in a stationary continuously operating apparatus with complete back-mixing. Measurements of the position of phase equilibria and determination of the depletion achievable in an aerosol jet loop reactor demonstrate that, provided that the temperature of treatment exceeds the glass transition temperature, the stripping process is determined solely by the partition coefficients of the exchanged components between the phases, the hydrodynamic parameters, and the reactor operating conditions. This contradicts the claims of some authors that diffusion processes in the latex particles are of decisive importance.