Reactor engineering
We develop monitoring and control strategies to optimise the reproducible production of emulsion polymers.
Emulsion polymers are products whose final outcome is closely dependent on the manufacturing process. Their properties are determined both by macroscopic characteristics, such as copolymer composition, molar mass distribution, degree of branching and crosslink density, and by colloidal properties, including particle size distribution, surface composition and morphology.
The still limited fundamental knowledge hinders their robust and reproducible production. For this reason, we investigate the development of online monitoring and control strategies for emulsion polymerisation reactors. Our work includes the evaluation of new tracking sensors and the development of mathematical models and control strategies capable of being applied in real time to improve advanced process control.
