OPTIMIZATION OF SOLUTION POLYMERIZATION OF METHYL METHACRYLATE LAW WOON PHUI UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PAHANG OPTIMIZATION OF SOLUTION POLYMERIZATION OF METHYL METHACRYLATE LAW WOON PHUI Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PAHANG FEBRUARY 2013 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION ..................................................................... iii STUDENT’S DECLARATION ............................................................................. iv DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................xii NOMENCLATURE ............................................................................................. xiv ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................... xvii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................xviii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................................ 2 1.3 Research Objectives ...................................................................................... 3 1.4 Scope of the Study ......................................................................................... 3 1.5 Expected Outcome ........................................................................................ 4 1.6 Significance of the Study ............................................................................... 4 1.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................ 5 2.1 Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) ........................................................................ 5 2.1.1 Chemical and Physical Properties of MMA ...................................... 6 2.1.2 Synthesis of MMA ........................................................................... 6 2.1.3 Global Production of MMA ............................................................. 7 2.1.4 Application of MMA and PMMA .................................................... 8 2.2 Toluene ......................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Chemical and Physical Properties of Toluene ................................. 10 vii 2.2.2 Synthesis of Toluene ...................................................................... 11 2.2.3 Global Production of Toluene......................................................... 11 2.2.4 Application of Toluene ................................................................... 12 2.3 Azo Bis Butyronitrile (AIBN) ...................................................................... 12 2.3.1 Chemical and Physical Properties of AIBN .................................... 13 2.3.2 Synthesis of AIBN ......................................................................... 13 2.3.3 Global Production of AIBN ............................................................ 14 2.3.4 Application of AIBN ...................................................................... 14 2.4 Chemistry of Solution Polymerization ......................................................... 15 2.4.1 Initiation ........................................................................................ 16 2.4.2 Propagation .................................................................................... 17 2.4.3 Termination.................................................................................... 18 2.5 Three Stage Polymerization Model (TSPM) ................................................ 19 2.5.1 Gel Effect ....................................................................................... 20 2.5.2 Glass Effect .................................................................................... 20 2.6 Effect of Solvent .......................................................................................... 21 2.7 Effect of Initiator ......................................................................................... 22 2.7.1 General Function of AIBN ............................................................. 22 2.7.2 AIBN Concentration ...................................................................... 23 2.8 Effect of Process Temperature ..................................................................... 24 2.8.1 Reactor Temperature ...................................................................... 24 2.8.2 Jacket Temperature ........................................................................ 26 2.9 Optimization................................................................................................ 27 2.9.1 Principle of Optimization ............................................................... 27 2.9.2 Optimization in Batch Polymerization Reactor ............................... 28 2.10 MATLAB Software ..................................................................................... 30 2.10.1 Numerical Computation ................................................................. 31 2.10.2 Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) ........................................... 31 2.10.3 ODE Solver .................................................................................... 32 2.10.4 Ode 23t .......................................................................................... 33 2.10.5 Input Arguments ............................................................................ 34 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 35 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 35 viii 3.2 Free Radical Polymerization Kinetic Mechanism ......................................... 37 3.3 Mathematical Model Development .............................................................. 38 3.3.1 Assumptions on Solution Polymerization of MMA ........................ 38 3.3.2 Reactor Dynamic............................................................................ 39 3.3.3 Jacket Dynamic .............................................................................. 41 3.3.4 Overall Dynamic Model ................................................................. 42 3.3.5 Experimental Parameter ................................................................. 42 3.3.6 Analysis of Degree of Freedom (DOF) ........................................... 43 3.5 Setting Time Span ....................................................................................... 44 3.6 Specifying Initial Condition ......................................................................... 45 3.7 Function Identification ................................................................................ 45 3.8 Solver Output .............................................................................................. 47 CHAPTER 4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION ............................................... 48 4.1 Optimization using ODE23t by MATLAB .................................................. 48 4.1.1 Case Study 1: Effect of Initiator Concentration............................... 49 4.1.1.1 Formulation of Optimization Problem ............................. 49 4.1.1.2 Result and Discussion ..................................................... 49 4.1.2 Case Study 2: Effect of Reactor Temperature ................................. 51 4.1.2.1 Formulation of Optimization Problem ............................. 51 4.1.2.2 Result and Discussion ..................................................... 52 4.1.3 Case Study 3: Effect of Jacket Temperature ................................... 54 4.1.3.1 Formulation of Optimization Problem ............................. 54 4.1.3.2 Result and Discussion ..................................................... 55 4.1.4 Conversion of Monomer................................................................. 57 4.1.5 Concentration of Monomer ............................................................ 58 4.1.6 Summary of Optimization Result ................................................... 59 4.2 Simulation: Comparison between this Study and Previous Research ............ 60 4.2.1 Reactor Temperature ...................................................................... 61 4.2.2 Jacket Temperature ........................................................................ 61 4.2.3 Conversion of Monomer................................................................. 62 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION..................... 64 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 64 ix 5.2 Conclusion 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