Polymerization under Modulation

Abstract

Polymerization was an early focus for periodic operation. Ray (1968) and Laurence and Vasudevan (1968) observed that the molecular weight distribution of a polymer may be modified by periodically varying the concentrations of either monomer, initiator, or transfer agent fed to a polymerization reactor. Since those original studies, a large literature on this application of periodic operations has developed. Concepts and terminology differ considerably from applications considered here-to-fore, so a short introduction to polymerization begins this chapter.