Sorption of Vinylchloride Onto Polyvinylchloride by Classical Partition and Inverse Gas Chromatography: Comparison of Two Methods

Sorption of vinylchloride onto Polyvinylchloride was studied using both classical partition and inverse gas chromatography. The effect of temperature, polymer particle size and monomer concentration were particularly examined. Data from both methods showed that at very low concentrations, the monomer was strongly retained by the polymer with equilibrium distribution in favor of the polymer increasing as concentration decreased. Increase in temperature resulted in increase of the kinetic energy of VCM molecules hence desorption was thermo-dynamically more favored than at lower temperatures. Decrease in polymer particle size resulted in a greater binding of the monomer by the polymer, due to uncovering of additional active sites in the polymer. Values for the thermodynamic parameters calculated using the two methods were in fair agreement. Results were in accordance with the active site hypothesis.