Francis Peter Petrocelli

Continuous process for the production of vinyl acetate‐ethylene emulsion copolymers

A lab-scale experimental program was conducted to determine the feasibility of producing vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE) emulsion copolymers via a continuous reaction process, using poly(vinyl alcohol), or PVOH, as a protective colloid. A process configuration of multiple stirred-tanks in series was utilized. Comparisons were made between continuous and batch processes with regard to final-product properties. As expected, notable differences in the breadths of the particle-size distributions obtained via the two processes were observed. However, these differences did not appreciably alter product performance in tile-mortar applications (as measured by plywood-to-quarry-tile adhesive strengths). Additionally, for the continuous process, in-process and final-product samples were compared to determine how polymer properties varied with conversion.