Emulsion Polymerization: A Challenging Battleground for Polymer Reaction Engineering

Emulsion polymerization arguably is the most complex polymerization process, and it is used to produce waterborne dispersed polymers. These product-by-process multicharacteristic specialty materials should meet conflicting application properties. All of this makes the field a challenging battleground for Polymer Reaction Engineering (PRE). This commentary discussed how PRE can be used for the development of new processes and products, for the online control of emulsion polymerization reactors, and for optimizing the transformation of the polymer dispersion into a high-performance film.