High‐Solid‐Content Emulsions of PVC: Scale‐Down of an Industrial Process for Enhanced Understanding of Particle Formation Part 3: Production of Bimodal Latexes

Abstract

A scale‐down study of an industrial reactor for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) via an emulsion polymerization process was carried out in order to understand the cause of batch‐to‐batch variations in product quality. The results in Part 2 of this series of papers indicated that a large excess of base is required to control the particle size distribution (PSD) of the seed process. Here, it is demonstrated that the flow rate of the initiator and the second‐stage surfactant are the most important parameters for PSD control. Altering the time point at which the initiator and surfactant are injected allows controlling the relative volume fractions of large and small particles.