Abstract A novel strategy has been established, in the laboratory scale, for the generation of the popular thermosetting resin phenol formaldehyde (PF; resole), through a continuous process using a tubular reactor, which is usually developed in the commercial scale through a batch process. A refractive index technique is employed to evaluate the optimum residence time within the tubular reactor to obtain a commercial grade equivalent of PF resin. The unreacted free formaldehyde level has been found to be very low in the resole resin prepared by using the new route. The initial characterization of the resin has been done through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography. The cure characteristics of the resin have been analyzed through differential scanning calorimetry. The degradation features of the cured resole are investigated using a thermo gravimetric analyzer and the fractured surfaces are analyzed through scanning electron microscopy. It has been confirmed that the adverse effects of a batch reactor process can be significantly reduced by adopting a continuous resin manufacturing process for PF resin which can be successfully extended to commercialization after optimization.

Front Cover: The production of highly stable poly(vinyl pivalate) latex has been evaluated in a miniemulsion polymerization process, focusing on the effect of the main operating process variables such as polymerization temperature, co-stabilizer concentration, and water-soluble and oil-soluble initiators on the final properties of the polymer, nanoparticle size and monomer conversion. This is reported by Weslany Neto, Gabriel Dutra, Leonardo Valadares, Fernando Souza Jr, Marcelo Sousa, and Fabricio Machado in article 2000049.

Front Cover: Polymer reaction engineering offers the theoretical background for the modeling pathway from polymerization process conditions to polymer microstructure and end-use properties. This pathway consists of concrete steps: (i) connection of reaction conditions to polymer microstructure, (ii) connection of microstructure to first level properties, and, (iii) estimation of second level properties as a function of microstructure and/or first level properties. This is reported by Vasileios Touloupidis, Gerold Rittenschober, and Christian Paulik in article 2000028.

Abstract Two (SiO2/MgR2/MgCl2)·TiClxmodel catalysts are made by refluxing TiCl4with 0.35 wt% Cr modified silica gel/alkyl Mg adducts or silica gel/alkyl Mg adducts, which are named as Cr/Ti‐based bimetallic Cat‐1 and Ti‐based monometallic Cat‐2, respectively. The kinetics, active center counting, morphology, and polymer characterizations are studied to disclose the effect of low loading Cr active sites on the Cr/Ti‐based bimetallic Cat‐1 polymerization under mild conditions. The activity of Cat‐1 is 120.4% higher than that of Cat‐2, with a 114.1% higher [C*]/[M] value. Morphology results show the Cat‐1 fragmentation in the first 3 min is highly accelerated, which helps to release buried clustered Ti sites. Differential scanning calorimetry results show that low‐temperature heat absorbing shoulder of polyethylene (PE) from Cat‐2 demonstrates the signal of low crystallinity polymer made by Cat‐2 during the first 60 s, verifying the fluffy polymer in morphology results. GPC results show PE from Cat‐1 has a higherMwin the first 3 min while a lowerMwin the end. The Cat‐1, which release active sites faster, has a highMwin the early time. LowerMwin the 900 s attributes to the effect of relative lowerMwpolymer made by Cr sites, compared with Cat‐2.

Abstract A framework based on the Monte Carlo/random‐pore polymeric flow model is proposed to simulate both single‐particle and continuous slurry reactor industrial polymerizations. The Sanchez–Lacombe equation of state describes the distributions of components in the different phases of these systems. The developed process model is applied to describe heterogeneously catalyzed polymerizations of ethylene in n‐hexane diluent with or without 1‐hexene as a comonomer, but the proposed methodology is applicable to any ethylene/1‐olefin copolymerization in slurry reactors. In addition to the effects of catalyst particle size and reactor residence time distributions, the proposed hybrid model is used to investigate the impact of several catalyst characteristics under different process conditions on polymer yield and microstructure. Particular attention is paid to the catalyst fragmentation process and active center distribution through the particle. These simulations demonstrate the versatility and thoroughness of combining Monte Carlo simulation with single‐particle models to analyze and predict the behavior of commercial polyolefin reactors.

Abstract Spherical macroscopic particles (beads) made from chitosan (CTS), a polysaccharide derived from the valorization of food waste, are converted into a biohybrid material by grafting poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VP) using a “grafting from” approach via reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Varying the time of reaction, and therefore the conversion, allows to readily tune the composition (CTS vs synthetic polymer content) and consequently the bead properties. P4VP has specific affinity for certain compounds. Thus, the biohybrid particles are promising candidates for applications related to (waste) water treatment, sensors, or biomedical fields. In this study, the potential use of CTS‐g‐P4VP particle beads for the removal of an emerging contaminant of concern (bisphenol A) from water is demonstrated. It is shown that removal efficiency is enhanced from 25% to 70% by the grafting of P4VP on CTS.