Acrylic Rubber Bale With Controlled Gel Content for Stable Kneading
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing acrylic rubber bales suffer from issues such as poor storage stability, water resistance, and processability, particularly during kneading, due to variations in gel content and difficulty in controlling the amount of gel insoluble in methyl ethyl ketone, leading to inconsistent performance.
Innovation Solution
The production process involves emulsion polymerizing a monomer component containing a reactive group, followed by washing and drying hydrous crumbs using a screw-type extruder to a specific water content, and then baling the dried crumbs, while controlling the molecular weight, gel insolubility in methyl ethyl ketone, and specific gravity to enhance storage stability and processability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional emulsion polymerization methods are used to produce acrylic rubber, then the rubber can be manufactured, but storage stability and processability are poor due to uncontrolled gel content and variations in performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by precisely controlling polymerization conditions (temperature, time, monomer ratios, initiator concentration) to achieve consistent gel content (5-20% by weight) and molecular weight distribution. This systematic parameter optimization ensures reproducible storage stability and performance characteristics across production batches.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through quality control measurements of gel content, molecular weight distribution, and other critical parameters during and after polymerization. These measurements are used to adjust process parameters in real-time, ensuring consistent product quality and reducing variations in storage stability and processability.
2Strength
If the gel content is increased to improve heat resistance and compression set resistance, then cross-linked rubber properties are enhanced, but storage stability and processability deteriorate due to variations in gel content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the gel content parameter to a specific range (5-20% by weight) rather than maximizing it. This controlled parameter adjustment achieves sufficient heat resistance and compression set resistance while maintaining storage stability and processability, avoiding the negative effects of excessive or variable gel content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures uniform gel distribution throughout the acrylic rubber by controlling polymerization conditions and mixing processes. This local quality control prevents variations in gel content that would cause inconsistent performance, while maintaining the desired overall gel content for improved heat and compression resistance.
3Strength
If the molecular weight is increased to improve rubber properties, then strength and durability are enhanced, but processability during kneading becomes poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the molecular weight parameter to a specific range (100,000 to 5,000,000) and controls the molecular weight distribution (PDI) to achieve the right balance between strength and processability. This parameter optimization ensures the rubber is strong enough for application requirements while remaining processable during kneading and other manufacturing operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The resulting acrylic rubber bale exhibits improved storage stability and processability, with reduced variations in performance, as evidenced by controlled gel content and specific gravity, leading to enhanced properties during kneading and cross-linking.
Implementation Method 1
emulsion-polymerizing the monomer components constituting the acrylic rubber
Implementation Method 2
bringing the obtained emulsion polymerization liquid into contact with a coagulant
Implementation Method 3
dehydration process to obtain crumb-shaped rubber polymer by removing water from the crumb slurry
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Acrylic rubber bale excellent in storage stability and processability, a method for producing the same, a rubber mixture obtained by mixing the acrylic rubber bale, and a cross-linked product of the rubber mixture are provided. The acrylic rubber bale includes an acrylic rubber having a reactive group and a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 100,000 to 5,000,000, wherein an amount of gel insoluble in methyl ethyl ketone is 60% by weight or less, and a specific gravity is 0.8 or more.