A setup to characterize polymerization kinetics of polymer‐based proppants produced in an industrial batch reactor by suspension polymerization is presented. A microscale reactor is designed to mimic temperature and pressure conditions of the industrial counterpart. Raman spectroscopy is used to follow the consumption of vinyl bonds of the styrene monomer and the crosslinker via disappearance of the peak at 1632 cm^‐1. Raman data from the microscale reactor are remotely obtained via a fiber optics system. Reaction progress by any generic formulation can be safely followed up to conversions of 90%, well beyond the gel point. Reaction rates are used to define feasible temperature–time profiles for the industrial reactor. In parallel, bulk and suspension polymerizations are carried out under those temperature–time profiles in a 3 L laboratory reactor to produce proppants formulations with the geometry required to perform product characterization, mainly focused on the thermal and mechanical response of the polymer particles. Overall, the whole setup allows optimization of proppant formulations and the cost of their processes of production.

中文翻译：

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通过拉曼光纤监控进行反应堆和产品优化：应用于基于聚合物的支撑剂

提出了一种用于表征工业间歇反应器中通过悬浮聚合生产的聚合物基支撑剂聚合动力学的装置。微型反应器设计为模仿工业对应设备的温度和压力条件。拉曼光谱法用于通过1632 cm ^-1处峰的消失来追踪苯乙烯单体和交联剂的乙烯基键的消耗。来自微型反应器的拉曼数据可通过光纤系统远程获得。任何通用配方的反应进程都可以安全地追踪到90％的转化率，远远超过了凝胶点。反应速率用于定义工业反应器的可行温度-时间曲线。同时，在这些温度-时间曲线下，在3 L实验室反应器中进行本体和悬浮聚合，以生产具有进行产品表征所需几何形状的支撑剂配方，主要集中在聚合物颗粒的热和机械响应上。总体而言，整个装置可优化支撑剂配方及其生产过程的成本。