Mathematical modeling of the catalytic degradation of polystyrene in the presence of aluminum chloride

IOANA A. GIANOGLIO PANTANO; MÓNICA F. DÍAZ; ADRIANA BRANDOLIN; CLAUDIA SARMORIA

POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY

Elsevier

Año: 2009 vol. 94 p. 566 - 574

0141-3910

The effect of AlCl3 on polystyrene (PS) has been studied, as a first step in the development of a model of the generation of a PS-polyethylene graft copolymer through a Friedel-Crafts alkylation.  The generation of such a copolymer would be necessary to aid in the compatibilization of mixtures of polymers present in landfills and waste streams. Three mathematical models for the PS catalytic degradation were proposed, all of which consider that reaction starts with the elimination of a phenyl group from the PS chain, followed by chain scission or a change in the chain structure.  Kinetic parameters for each model were estimated.  Although the three proposed models represented our own experimental data, one was more accurate. Experimental data from other authors were used to evaluate its capabilities.