Model Lab-Scale Devolatilizer for in-Line Volatile Concentration Measurements

A lab-scale "cold" static devolatilizer is presented for investigating the dependencies of devolatilization efficiency on process parameters. O-2 enriched silicon oil (10 Pa center dot s) is chosen as model system, to simulate volatile removal in high temperature static devolatilizer. The flexibility of the apparatus is demonstrated by the continuous measurement of residual volatile content at different initial volatile concentrations, residence times, degree of vacuum and polymer flow rates. The transparent vessel allows the direct observation of the steady state foam, generated by degassing. The magnitude of inlet volatile concentration that can be fed, ranges from 10(2) to 10(3) ppm and the residence time can be changed from seconds to minutes.