Continuous distribution kinetics for the thermal degradation of LDPE in solution

Kumar, Sanjay G and Kumar, Ravi V and Madras, Giridhar (2002) Continuous distribution kinetics for the thermal degradation of LDPE in solution. In: Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 84 (4). pp. 681-690.

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Abstract

Polymer degradation in solution has several advantages over melt pyrolysis, The degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) occurs at much lower temperatures in solution (280-360degreesC) than in conventional melt pyrolysis (400-450degreesC). The thermal degradation kinetics of LDPE in solution was investigated in this work. LDPE was dissolved in liquid paraffin and degraded for 3 h at various temperatures (280-360degreesC). Samples were taken at specific times and analyzed with high-pressure liquid chromatography/gel permeation chromatography for the molecular weight distribution (MWD), The time evolution of the MWD was modeled with continuous distribution kinetics. Data indicated that LDPE followed random-chain-scission degradation. The rapid initial drop in molecular weight, observed up to 45 min, was attributed to the presence of weak links in the polymer. The rate coefficients for the breakage of weak and strong links were determined, and the corresponding average activation energies were calculated to be 88 and 24 kJ/mol, respectively. (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Inc.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Publisher:	John Wiley and Sons
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to John Wiley and Sons.
Keywords:	low-density polyethylene;degradation;continuous kinetics; solution;weak links
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering
Date Deposited:	21 Jul 2011 10:12
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2011 10:12
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/39074

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