Study of particle nucleation and growth in the absence of soap micelles during the emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate in a pilot plant reactor

A study is made of the emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate in the absence of soap micelles in a pilot plant reactor. The effects of several variables on the particle size and the reaction rate were investigated in a series of designed experiments (factorial designs and fractional factorial designs at two levels; additional runs were included to resolve ambiguities. The variables studied were: initial initiator concentration, [I]o, monomer …