Emulsion Polymerization Setup

The set-up is used to carry out the emulsion polymerization involving polymerization of a unsaturated monomer like Styrene. Emulsion is of the type: oil in water, monomer is oil soluble & the initiator is water soluble & an emulsifier is used to create a stable emulsion. Apparatus can be used to generate the kinetic data for emulsion polymerization under various operating conditions like temperature, emulsifier concentration etc. Polymerization is carried out under the atmosphere of air free nitrogen. The set-up consists of jacketed type SS reactor fitted with a variable speed agitator & baffles. Hot water from a digitally controlled water bath is circulated in the jacket using a pump. Metered quantity of nitrogen gas from a cylinder passes through a de-oxygenation column & allowed to enter in the reactor. Air has to be evacuated using a vacuum pump to create vacuum up to 30mm of Hg before passing the nitrogen supply. Initiator from reservoir is supplied to the reactor under pressure. Set-up is complete & self-contained with sampling ports