Mathematical modeling and computer simulator/database for emulsion polymerizations

Though emulsion polymerization has been commercialized for more than half a century, some important aspects like particle nucleation, coagulation, etc. are still not well understood. To simulate this complicated process, a general approach has been adopted. Information from classical modeling sources in the literature (e.g. [J Macromol Sci, Rev Macromol Chem C11 (1974) 177; J Polym Sci Chem 19 (1981) 25; ACS Symp Ser 313 (1986) 219; J Macromol Sci, Rev Macromol Chem 38 (1998) 207]; just to mention a few) has been carefully reviewed and general mass (molar), energy, population (dead polymer molecules and radicals) and particle balances have been written and evaluated with experimental data, with the final aim to develop a model that is flexible, reliable and practical at the same time. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.