TY - JOUR
T1 - A Simple-to-Implement Simulator for the Reactive Extrusion of Poly(Lactic Acid) in a Corotating Uniform Twin-Screw Extruder
AU - Vargas, René O.
AU - López-Aguilar, J. Esteban
AU - Martínez-Suástegui, Lorenzo A.
AU - López-Serrano, Francisco
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 René O. Vargas et al.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - The present paper deals with the poly(lactic acid) (PLA) reactive processing simulation in a uniform corotating twin-screw extruder that can be readily turned into practical applications in pilot and industrial equipment. The simulator provides a cause-effect guide that can be useful for starting an experimental setup in a reactive screw extruder for a biopolymer in a growing industry. The proposed model considers a free radical ring-opening mechanism involving the main characteristic flows inside the extruder and the non-Newtonian behavior of PLA. The characteristic behavior relating reaction rate, average molecular weights, and polydispersity against chamber number are described by S-shaped and monotonically decreasing curves, for the equipment. Numerical predictions show that this simple and easy to implement model accurately reproduces previously reported data and that the impurity concentration exhibits a marked effect over all the variables, except conversion.
AB - The present paper deals with the poly(lactic acid) (PLA) reactive processing simulation in a uniform corotating twin-screw extruder that can be readily turned into practical applications in pilot and industrial equipment. The simulator provides a cause-effect guide that can be useful for starting an experimental setup in a reactive screw extruder for a biopolymer in a growing industry. The proposed model considers a free radical ring-opening mechanism involving the main characteristic flows inside the extruder and the non-Newtonian behavior of PLA. The characteristic behavior relating reaction rate, average molecular weights, and polydispersity against chamber number are described by S-shaped and monotonically decreasing curves, for the equipment. Numerical predictions show that this simple and easy to implement model accurately reproduces previously reported data and that the impurity concentration exhibits a marked effect over all the variables, except conversion.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84949293881&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1155/2015/458949
DO - 10.1155/2015/458949
M3 - Artículo
SN - 1687-8434
VL - 2015
JO - Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
JF - Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
M1 - 458949
ER -