Increasing PVC suspension polymerization productivity by Using PSO optimization algorithm

In order to reduce the polymerization time of a typical VCM suspension polymerization, an attractive mode of operation is to run the industrial process isothermally using a mixture (cocktail) of different initiators. The aim of this study is to apply a mathematical model for PVC polymerization process for choosing the optimal amounts of initiators in the cocktail by using PSO (Particle swarm optimization) algorithm. Results show that by choosing the optimal amounts of initiators in the cocktail, a significant reduction of the total processing time for a given polymer specification can be obtained.

Keywords:

PVC , Initiator , Simulation , PSO , productivity