The dynamic behavior of continuous solution polymerization reactors—VII. Experimental study of a copolymerization reactor

The dynamic behavior of continuous free-radical solution copolymerization reactors was studied, using VA (vinyl acetate) and MMA (methyl methacrylate) as comonomers. Due to the lack of data in the literature, a mathematical model was built and some kinetic parameters were determined for different operation conditions. This model was used to build a set of bifurcation diagrams, where oscillatory and ignition-extinction phenomena could be predicted as a function of operation conditions. Additional experiments validated the model predictions and showed that the dynamic behavior of these reactors may be extremely sensitive to changes in the feed composition.