RESEARCH INTEREST:

Processing of by-products and petroleum chemical production wastes .

KEY RESULTS:

Methods of oligomerous material obtaining were devised and investigated that had unique physical and chemical properties substituted for some natural and synthetic polymers.

ANNOTATION:

The amount of liquid pyrolysis products (LPP) obtained while producing monomers using ethylene-propylene pyrolysis equipment is close to the amount of the desired product itself (ethylene, propylene). Therefore, efficient LPP processing is a logical solution to the problem of environmental pollution. The content of unsaturated compounds in liquid pyrolysis products (by-products) is around 30-50 %. The most valuable products that can be obtained using the LPP are petroleum resins (PR). However, due to the fact that PR is rarely used as independent film binder, there have to be a way of their functionalization. PR is oligomeric hydrocarbon resin with various unsaturated bonds. They are often used as components of coatings and adhesive materials, as base for hot melt adhesives and to improve the properties of bitumen. Limited range and bad compatibility of PR with polar substances are caused by absence of functional groups in their structure. Therefore, certain problems during composite material production on the basis of PR can occur. Currently, development and deployment of new resin types, especially modified, is one of the perspective directions of by-product utilization in petrochemical plants. One of the main goals of modern petrochemical industry is to obtain new (co)polymers with functional groups in them. The presence of functional groups in (co)polymers enhances their ability to be chemically modified, structured or transformed when obtaining products with a given set of properties. Therefore, in view of a constantly increasing number of requirements to polymeric materials properties it is extremely important to be finding new ways of obtaining reactive polymers, to be using new monomers as initial components of the copolymerization process and to be studying the aspects of new copolymers’ chemical modification. The most promising way of obtaining modified PR is introducing polar monomers into raw materials (unsaturated fraction of liquid pyrolysis products) and their subsequent polymerization. The main focus of this paper is cationic polymerization as all unsaturated hydrocarbons of liquid pyrolysis products’ fractions are active in the process (styrene, α-methylstyrene, vinyltoluene indene, cyclopentadiene, dicyclopentadiene, etc.). Those monomers whose double bond is depleted in electron density are polymerized according to the anionic mechanism. Such monomers as acrylates, methacrylates, nitriles, unsaturated acids and their anhydrides have electron-seeking substituents. They are often used as modifying agents due to the presence of a polar group in the molecule’s structure. In this paper butylmethacrylate (BMA) is selected as a modifying agent. It cannot be polymerized under the influence of cationic catalysts such as aprotic acids (tin chloride, titanium chloride) and alkyl derivatives of metals, however is capable of forming complexes with an acceptor molecule, such as titanium chloride. The second way is the influence of various chemicals, such as maleic anhydride, unsaturated polybasic acids, fatty acid triglycerides (vegetable oils) on petroleum resin or introduction of various additives such as surfactants, plasticizers, compatibilizing additives in PR. The most widespread method of PR functionalization is oxidation. The introduction of polar functional groups in the resin polymeric chain is carried out using potassium permanganate, sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide. The oxidation in mild conditions leads to hydroxyl or epoxy groups forming in PR, whereas application of strong oxidants will result in formation of carboxyl groups. Organic peroxyacids are widely used types of oxidant. Oxidation products are formed under their influence in mild conditions. Oxygen-containing petroleum resin production under the influence of peracetic acid is described in our works. It was established that the oxidant type and the petroleum resin structure have significant effect on the final result. Oxidation of PR solutions allows obtaining products that are ready to use and require no further treatment.