Influence of reaction operation conditions on the final properties of high impact polystyrene (hips)

The main objective of the present work is to analyze the influence of some important operational reaction parameters (agitation speed, polybutadiene - PB - content and initiator concentration) on the final properties of High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) produced in bulk. Variable effects are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively with the help of a fractional factorial design. Physical, chemical and mechanical properties were evaluated through measurement of the weight-average molecular weight (Mw), polydispersity (PD), volume-average diameter of PB particles (D(4,3)) and impact strength ...