Tubular polymerization reactor, and process for polymerization

A process for polymerization in a tubular polymerization reactor comprising a feed opening for a polymerizable material at one end portion, a withdrawal opening for the resultant polymer at the other end portion, a tubular reaction space within the reactor extending from said feed opening to said withdrawal opening, and a rotary conveying member disposed within the reaction space and extending therealong with some clearance from the inner wall surface of the polymerization reactor, which comprises feeding the polymerizable material into said feed opening and withdrawing the resultant polymer from said withdrawal opening;

• characterized in that
• (A) in said polymerization reactor,
• (i) the length-to-diameter ratio of the tubular reaction space is about 20 or more,
• (ii) the rotary conveying member is a tubular coil-like shape, and
• (iii) the ratio of the outside diameter of a cylinder defined by the coil-like rotary conveying member to the diameter of the tubular reaction space is 0.7 to 0.9, and
• (B) the polymerization is carried out while the peripheral speed of a cylinder defined by the tubular coil-like conveying member is not less than about 0.3 meters/sec.