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In this paper, a rigorous mathematical model was developed to describe a new-type loop reactor for liquid phase polymerization of propylene since the loop reactor has more economic and technological advantages than conventional stirred tanks. The operation performance of the loop reactor was investigated in this work. The calculated results showed that at a high recycle ratio the distributions of concentrations of propylene, hydrogen and solid, as well as reaction temperature, are uniform along the axial direction of the loop reactor. This means that the loop reactor retains some characteristics of CSTR reactor. Analysis of multiple steady-state was made at different recycle ratio. At a high recycle ratio, three steady-state points were found. But when the heat transfer area decreased to 136 m2 or the cooling water temperature increases to 347 K, only one stable steady-state point would be found. However, at a low recycle ratio, the situation became a little complicated because the number of steady-state points was not always same along the axial direction of loop reactor. |
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Keywords:Polymerization; Propylene; Loop reactor; Mathematical model; Multiple steady-state |
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