Polymer Devolatilization

This work introduces the fundamental background necessary to understand polymer devolatilization. It elucidates the actual mechanisms by which the devolatilization of polymer melts progresses, and discusses virtually every type of devolatilization equipment available. The work also addresses devolatilization in various geometries and types of equipment, describing the use of falling strand, slit, single-screw, co-rotating and counter-rotating twin-screw devolatilization.

An introduction to devolatilization; thermodynamic aspects of devolatilization of polymers; solvent diffusion in polymeric systems; bubble nucleation in polymer mixtures; fundamentals of bubble growth; a fundamental study of foam devolatilization; the study of devolatilization by scanning electron microscopy; an overview of devolatilizers; falling strand devolatilization; slit devolatilization; devolatilization in single screw extruders; devolatilization in co-rotating twin screw extruders; devolatilization in counter-rotating, nonintermeshing, twin-screw extruders; devolatilization of polymer melts in industrial applications; single rotor wiped film devolatilization of styrenic polymers; devolatilization of PVC; devolatilization of fibres, lattices and particles; the future of solvents in the manufacture of polymers; the analysis of volatiles in polymers; appendix a - vapour pressures of pure solvents; appendix b - polymer-solvent interaction parameters; appendix c - abstracts of publications on polymer devolatilization.