An Apparatus for Research on Processes of Plasticization and Foaming of Polymeric Materials in Supercritical Media

An apparatus is described that allows studying various physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere of supercritical carbon dioxide at pressures of up to 25 MPa and temperatures of up to 100°C. The apparatus is based on a compact modular cylindrical high-pressure reactor with a diameter of 90 mm and a height of 100 mm with an internal volume of 14 cm 3 . It is equipped with eight optical ports, a system for measuring and adjusting the pressure and temperature, as well as a system for letting in and gradually reducing the pressure of the test medium. In addition, the reactor is equipped with two video cameras with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, which allow video recording of processes occurring in the reactor volume, which is synchronized with the pressure and temperature data recording system. The efficiency of the described apparatus is demonstrated by studying the processes of plasticization and foaming of polymer materials in the medium of supercritical carbon dioxide.