Polymerization of Acrylamide in Inverse Emulsion

Abstract

The polymerization of acrylamide was studied in inverse emulsion by using oil and water soluble azoinitiatiors and sorbitan monooleate as nonionic oil soluble eraulsifier. Isqparaffin or toluene was used as organic phase. The polymerization was performed in a stirred tank reactor at constant temperature. The kinetic dependencies obtained depend strongly on the system used. Polymerization presumably takes place within the dispersed water droplets. When using oil soluble initiators mass transfer processes must be considered which can be rate determining. Aggregates of the eraulsifier could be detected by light scattering in n-heptane. The size of aggregates depends on the water content present in the organic solvent. The solubilization of acrylamide in the organic phase, containing the emulsifier, is very poor at polymerization conditions. The different kinetic egressions found in different systems are discussed.