Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-10

Advanced modelling technologies for post polymer processing

Objective



Objectives and content
The EU plastics industry has a turnover of some 50
Billion ECUS per year (1995). The market is becoming
increasingly driven by the need for high performance,
application specific polymers, particularly in the
dominant packaging and buildings market. Production of
completely new polymers for every application is simply
not feasible, so the focus of development will be on the
modification of existing base polymers.
Such post polymer processing (PPP) usually requires
effective mixing of a low volume, low viscosity stream
into a high volume, high viscosity molten polymer stream,
usually with complex chemical reactions: a very exacting
mixing duty.
There is a fundamental lack of understanding regarding
what actually takes place during these industrial
processes. This project will build on fundamental
modelling techniques, which are now emerging and offer a
real prospect of understanding and simulating the complex
physical and chemical processes taking place during PPP.
These include large scale macromixing (eg using CFD),
micromixing, polymer kinetics and their influence on
product distribution and fluid properties
('chemorheology'). If these can be realised, this might
open the possibility of replacing the rather crude
extrusion type devices by much cheaper and more reliable
static mixer reactors (SMRs) and widening the scope of
reactive post polymer processing from current niche
applications. This in turn will lead to highly novel,
clean technologies producing higher value polymers with
improved properties and increased functionality (Priority
Areas 1.2 and 2.1 of the Work Programme).
POSTPOL aims to develop appropriate models for the
concurrent physical and chemical processes taking place
in a SMR and integrate these into a single model with the
potential to predict SMR performance for a given process.
Component and integrated models will be validated against
laboratory and industrial reaction data, using a
combination of emerging physical and chemical techniques.
The deliverables from POSTPOL will form the fundamental
platform from which polymer producers can implement and
optimise static mixer/reactor technology in their
processes and for mixer manufacturers to develop and
specify appropriate equipment.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

Data not available

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

British Hydromechanics Research GroupLtd.
EU contribution
No data
Address

MK43 0AJ Cranfield - Bedfordshire
United Kingdom

See on map

Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Participants (3)

My booklet 0 0