Yes / A study on the translation of a solid-state synthetic reaction from a mechanochemical mixer-mill to a continuous twin-screw extruder is discussed herein. The study highlights some considerations to be made and parameters to be tested in the context of a model fluorination reaction, which is the first organic fluorination to be attempted using extrusion. Upon optimization, which features the first use of grinding auxiliary solids to enable effective synthetic extrusion, the difluorination reaction was successfully translated to the extruder, leading to a 100-fold improvement in Space Time Yield (STY); 29 kg m−3 day−1 in a mixer mill to 3395 kg m−3 day−1 in a twin screw extruder. / D. L. B is grateful to the EPSRC for a First Grant (D. L. B. EP/P002951/1), CRD for a studentship award to J. L. H., Queen’s University Belfast for a Visiting Research Fellowship and the School of Chemistry at Cardiff University for generous support. S. L. J. is grateful to EPSRC for support (EP/L019655/1).

Aujourd’hui le développement de nouveaux matériaux polymères ayant de bonnes propriétés repose de plus en plus sur des procédés de mélange ou de compoundage de polymères au lieu de recourir à la synthèse de nouvelles molécules. L’action du mélange peut fortement influer sur la morphologie des matériaux polymères multi-constituants. Les extrudeuses bi-vis (TSE) sont souvent utilisées comme mélangeurs/réacteurs pour des procédés de mélange, de compoundage et d’extrusion réactive. Cependant, l’étude sur la qualité du mélange dans les TSE demeure un grand défi en raison de la complexité géométrique et du caractère transitoire de l’écoulement. Cette thèse a pour objet de développer un nouvel instrument en line pour mesurer en temps réel la distribution des temps de séjour (DTS) qui caractérise la performance du mélange axial et la capacité de convoyage de différents types d’éléments de vis basées sur l’analyse de l’écoulement transitoire et l’évaluation systématique de la théorie de mélange dans les TSE. Le mélange distributif des polymères fondus est caractérisé par la génération de l’aire des interfaces, un paramètre difficile à mesurer expérimentalement. Alors on fait appel à des simulations numériques de type CFD / The development of new materials with improved properties seems to rely nowadays more on blending and compounding than on the synthesis of chemically new polymers. Mixing may have a great effect on the morphology and structure of multi-component polymer materials. Twin-screw extruders (TSE) are widely used as mixers/reactors for blending, compounding, and reactive processing. This work aimed at developing a new instrument to measure in real time the residence time distribution (RTD) which characterizes the axial mixing and transport abilities of different screw elements based on the analysis of the transient flow pattern and systematic evaluation of mixing theory in TSE. Distributive mixing of polymer melts is characterized by the generation of interfacial area, which is experimentally much more difficult to measure. This 3D numerical simulation based on CFD is adopted

Aujourd’hui le développement de nouveaux matériaux polymères ayant de bonnes propriétés repose de plus en plus sur des procédés de mélange ou de compoundage de polymères au lieu de recourir à la synthèse de nouvelles molécules. L’action du mélange peut fortement influer sur la morphologie des matériaux polymères multi-constituants. Les extrudeuses bi-vis (TSE) sont souvent utilisées comme mélangeurs/réacteurs pour des procédés de mélange, de compoundage et d’extrusion réactive. Cependant, l’étude sur la qualité du mélange dans les TSE demeure un grand défi en raison de la complexité géométrique et du caractère transitoire de l’écoulement. Cette thèse a pour objet de développer un nouvel instrument en line pour mesurer en temps réel la distribution des temps de séjour (DTS) qui caractérise la performance du mélange axial et la capacité de convoyage de différents types d’éléments de vis basées sur l’analyse de l’écoulement transitoire et l’évaluation systématique de la théorie de mélange dans les TSE. Le mélange distributif des polymères fondus est caractérisé par la génération de l’aire des interfaces, un paramètre difficile à mesurer expérimentalement. Alors on fait appel à des simulations numériques de type CFD / The development of new materials with improved properties seems to rely nowadays more on blending and compounding than on the synthesis of chemically new polymers. Mixing may have a great effect on the morphology and structure of multi-component polymer materials. Twin-screw extruders (TSE) are widely used as mixers/reactors for blending, compounding, and reactive processing. This work aimed at developing a new instrument to measure in real time the residence time distribution (RTD) which characterizes the axial mixing and transport abilities of different screw elements based on the analysis of the transient flow pattern and systematic evaluation of mixing theory in TSE. Distributive mixing of polymer melts is characterized by the generation of interfacial area, which is experimentally much more difficult to measure. This 3D numerical simulation based on CFD is adopted

Submitted by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-23T13:47:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRB.pdf: 6420019 bytes, checksum: 9a9303246e3fd99e5635cc0d40d684d5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-23T13:47:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRB.pdf: 6420019 bytes, checksum: 9a9303246e3fd99e5635cc0d40d684d5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-23T13:47:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRB.pdf: 6420019 bytes, checksum: 9a9303246e3fd99e5635cc0d40d684d5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-23T13:48:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRB.pdf: 6420019 bytes, checksum: 9a9303246e3fd99e5635cc0d40d684d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / The present study investigated the utilization efficiency of an intermeshing co-rotating twin-screw extruder (ICTSE) in the devulcanization of natural rubber compounds (NR), evaluating the physical, chemical and mechanical characteristics of these materials in each project step. Three accelerated compounds with different sulfur concentrations were submitted to torque rheometry and vulcanized according these results aiming the achievement of elastomers with different crosslinks densities. The influences on the characteristics of the devulcanized material caused by the variation of the extruder barrel temperature, screw rotation, thermoplastics addition and material stiffness were evaluated. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), soluble fraction extraction and crosslink density were performed, evaluating the devulcanized compound. Horikx's theory was also used as an indicator of selective crosslink cleavage, defining the compounds to be revulcanized for comparison with the virgin pure material. The revulcanization was carried out with the mixture of the devulcanized compound with the pure, in the proportions of 30/70 w/w, respectively, and in the devulcanized compound singularly, with addition of complementary vulcanization system in both cases. The mechanical, dynamic-mechanical and crosslink density properties of the revulcanized compounds were characterized and evaluated in relation to the properties of the pure compounds. The increase in the concentration of uncrosslinked BN chains and the concentration of sulfur compounds in the extruded samples was observed by thermal tests and spectrocopy, together with the verification of a high level of devulcanization percentage, according to Flory-Rehner, evidencing the regeneration of the natural rubber existent. Also, satisfactory mechanical properties were found in the revulcanized compounds, especially when using auxiliary thermoplastics, revealing the great potential of ERDCI processing for the reuse of discarded BN compounds. / O presente estudo avaliou a eficiência de utilização de uma extrusora com rosca dupla co-rotacional e interpenetrante (ERDCI) na desvulcanização de compostos de borracha natural (BN), avaliando as características físicas, químicas e mecânicas destes materiais em cada fase do projeto. Três compostos acelerados com diferentes concentrações de enxofre foram submetidos a reometria de torque, e vulcanizados de acordo com a curva reométrica, para obtenção de elastômeros com diferentes densidades de ligações cruzadas. Foram avaliadas as influências nas características do material desvulcanizado, causadas pela variação da temperatura do barril da extrusora, velocidade de rotação das roscas, adição de termoplásticos e módulo elástico do material. Análises de termogravimetria (TGA), calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC), espectroscopia no infravermelho (FTIR), fração solúvel (FS) e densidade de ligações cruzadas foram realizadas, avaliandose o composto desvulcanizado. A teoria de Horikx também foi utilizada como indicativa da seletividade de ruptura de ligações cruzadas, definindo os compostos a serem revulcanizados para comparação com o material virgem. A revulcanização foi realizada com a mistura de 30 %(m/m) do composto desvulcanizado e 70 %(m/m) do puro, e também com 100 % do composto desvulcanizado, e adição de sistema de vulcanização complementar. Caracterizou-se os compostos revulcanizados quanto às suas propriedades mecânicas, dinâmico-mecânicas e densidade de ligações cruzadas. Através dos ensaios TGA, DSC, FTIR e a verificação de alto nível de percentual de desvulcanização pela teoria de Flory- Rehner, foi observado o aumento da concentração de cadeias de BN não reticuladas e da concentração de compostos de enxofre nas amostras extrudadas, evidenciando a regeneração da BN presente nos compostos. Também foram encontradas propriedades mecânicas satisfatórias nos compostos revulcanizados, principalmente quando utilizados termoplásticos auxiliares, revelando o grande potencial do processamento por ERDCI para a reutilização de compostos de BN descartados.

Originaire de l'Inde, le neem (Azadirachta indica Juss.) est un arbre présent dans les zones tropicales sèches et subtropicales d'Asie, d'Amérique et d'Afrique. Au Sénégal, il produit en moyenne 50 kg par an d'un fruit sous forme de drupe ellipsoïdale, qui contient en général une graine, d'un poids moyen de 270 ± 30 à 91 % de matière sèche. La variabilité des caractéristiques des graines (45 à 48 % de coques fibreuses : cellulose 52 à 54 %, hémicelluloses 24 à 28 %, lignine 7 à 9 % ; 52 à 55 % d'amandes : lipides 45 à 58 %, protéines 20 à 23 %j) et des huiles extraites (acides palmitiques : 17 à 19 %, stéarique : 14,5 à 17,5 %, oléique : 42 à 48,5 %, linoléique : 16,5 à 20 % ; stérols totaux : 3 à 5 g/kg) est analysée pour 5 régions du Sénégal. L'extraction de l'azadirachtine, principal principe actif phytosanitaire de la graine, par différents solvants (méthanol, éthanol, eau) révèle une teneur de 2 g par kg de graine, localisée essentiellement dans l'amande (3,9 g/kg). Les conditions d'expression de l'huile de graine de neem sont étudiées en presse mono-vis OMEGA 20 et en extrudeur bi-vis CLEXTRAL BC 21. Dans les meilleures conditions, 65 et 68 % de l'huile sont exprimées, 7 à 10 % de l'azadirachtine sont entraînées avec l'huile, et le tourteau contient 14 % de lipides, 14 % de protéines et près de 2 g/kg d'azadirachtine. Le fractionnement acqueux, sous cisaillement intense des graines, conduit à l'extraction de 55 % des lipides, 50 % des protéines et 80 % de l'azadirachtine, séparés sous forme d'une émulsion stable, de composition : eau 70 %, huile 25 %, protéines 4 %, azadirachtine 6 g/kg, et d'une phase aqueuse. L'étude de la mise en œuvre du procédé d'extraction et de séparation, en extrudeur bi-vis CLEXTRAL BC 21 puis BC 45, permet de produire en continu 0,3 kg d'émulsion stable par kg de graine traitée (20 kg/h) avec un ratio eau/graine de 2 et une température de 60°C. Le tourteau ne contient plus que 0,6 g/kg d'azadirachtine, et l'émulsion stable qui en contient 5 g/kg peut être directement mise en œuvre dans les formulations d'insecticide totalement biosourcés. / Originally from India, neem (Azadirachta indica Juss.) is a tree found in the dry tropics and subtropics of Asia, America and Africa. In Senegal, it produces an average of 50 kg per year of a fruit as a drupe ellipsoid, which generally contains a seed, with an average weight of 270 ± 30 to 91% dry matter. The variability of seeds (45 to 48% of capsular cellulose 52-54%, 24-28% hemicellulose, lignin 7-9% 52-55% almonds: 45 to 58% lipids, proteins 20 to 23% j) and extracted oils (palmitic acid: 17 to 19%, stearic: 14.5 to 17.5%, oleic acid: 42 to 48.5%, linoleic: 16.5 to 20% total sterols: 3 5 g / kg) was analyzed for five regions of Senegal. Extraction of azadirachtin, the main active ingredient of the plant seed by different solvents (methanol, ethanol, water) shows a content of 2 g per kg of seed, mainly localized in the kernel (3.9 g / kg ). The expression conditions of neem seed oil were studied in single-screw press OMEGA 20 and twin-screw CLEXTRAL BC 21. Under optimum conditions, 65 and 68% of the oil is expressed, from 7 to 10% of azadirachtin are entrained with the oil and meal contains 14% fat, 14% protein and about 2 g / kg azadirachtin. Watery splitting under intense shear seeds, led to the extraction of 55% lipids, 50% protein and 80% of azadirachtin, separated as a stable emulsion, composition: water 70% oil 25%, 4% protein, 6 g azadirachtin / kg, and an aqueous phase. The study of the implementation of the method of extraction and separation, twin-screw extruder and then CLEXTRAL BC 21 BC 45, produces continuous stable emulsion 0.3 kg per kg of treated seed (20 kg / h) with a ratio water / seed of 2 and a temperature of 60 ° C. The cake contains only 0.6 g / kg of azadirachtin, and stable emulsion which contains 5 g / kg can be directly implemented in the formulations of insecticide biosourced completely.

La biomasse représente l’une des principales alternatives à l’utilisation du pétrole dans la plasturgie. Grâce à leurs propriétés fonctionnelles, les caséinates sont une matière première prometteuse pour la fabrication de films plastiques pour des applications dans l’emballage biodégradable et hydrosoluble. La transformation du caséinate de sodium par les techniques habituellement utilisées dans la plasturgie a été démontrée. Des extrudats de caséinate plastifié au glycérol ont été obtenus au moyen d’une extrudeuse bi-vis corotative. La caractérisation physico-chimique du matériau obtenu a confirmé la thermostabilité de cette protéine et a montré la dépendance du comportement du matériau vis-à-vis de l’humidité ambiante. Pour une variation du taux d’Humidité Relative, de 40 à 90% et une augmentation de la concentration du glycérol, plastifiant hygroscopique, le matériau passe d’un état vitreux (rigide) à un état caoutchouteux (mou). Des films fins ont été ensuite réalisés, à partir des extrudats thermoplastiques, par extrusion gonflage. La perméabilité à la vapeur d’eau des films de caséinate de sodium a été étudiée et a montré que ces matériaux sont de mauvaises barrières à l’humidité. La deuxième partie a été consacré à l’étude de mélanges caséinate de sodium/caséinate de calcium d’un côté et caséinate de sodium/PBAT de l’autre. Le mélange des deux caséinates a permis d’augmenter la tenue mécanique du mélange, à partir de 50% de caséinate de calcium, et de retarder le transfert hydrique à travers le film. Dans le même sens, l’ajout du PBAT, a augmenté jusqu’à deux fois plus, le module d’Young des mélanges mais a baissé la résistance au transfert d’humidité du film à cause de l’incompatibilité des deux polymères / Biomass is one of the main alternatives to the use of oil in plastics field. Due to their various functional properties, caseinates are considered as an interesting raw material for making biodegradable and water-soluble packaging. The transformation of sodium caseinate by the processes used for synthetic plastics industry has been demonstrated. A corotating twin-screw extruder was used to get glycerol plasticized caseinate pellets. The physicochemical properties of the obtained material have confirmed the thermal stability of this protein and demonstrated the influence of surrounding moisture on material behavior. With the Relative Humidity varying from 40 to 90% and increasing the glycerol content, an hydrous plasticizer, the mechanical properties of sodium caseinate based materials changed from those of glassy (rigid) to rubbery (soft) plastics. The pellets were then taken over to make film using a blown-film extruder. The water vapour permeability of blown film was studied and showed that sodium caseinate based films are a poor moisture barrier. The second part dealt with the sodium caseinate blend. Sodium caseinate/calcium caseinate and sodium caseinate/PBAT blends was performed. Adding calcium caseinate, started from 50%, improved the mechanical properties and delayed hydrous transfer through the film. Concerning the sodium caseinate/PBAT blends, adding PBAT increased until twice more the material’s Young modulus but decreased the moisture transfer resistance because of the incompatibility between the two polymers

Blends of poly butylene terephthalate (PBT) and polycarbonate (PC) form a very important class of commercial blends in numerous applications requiring materials with good chemical resistance, impact resistance even at low temperatures, and aesthetic and flow characteristics. PC and PBT are usually blended in a twin screw extruder (TSE). Product melt volume flow rate (MVR) is a property used to monitor product quality while blending the PC/PBT in a twin screw extruder. It is usually measured off line in a quality control laboratory using extrusion plastometer on samples collected discretely during the compounding operation. Typically a target value representing the desired value of the quality characteristics for an in-control process, along with upper and lower control limits are specified. As long as the MVR measurement is within the control limits, the sample is approved and the whole compounded blend is assumed to meet the specification. Otherwise, the blend is rejected. Because of infrequent discrete sampling, corrective actions are usually applied with delay, thus resulting in wasted material. It is important that the produced PC/PBT blend pellets have consistent properties. Variability and fault usually arise from three sources: human errors, feed material variability, and machine operation (i.e. steady state variation). Among these, the latter two are the major ones affecting product quality. The resulting variation in resin properties contributes to increased waste products, larger production cost and dissatisfied customers. Motivated by this, the objective of this project was to study the compounding operation of PC/PBT blend in a twin screw extruder and to develop a feasible methodology that can be applied on-line for monitoring properties of blends on industrial compounding operations employing available extruder input and output variables such as screw speed, material flow rate, die pressure and torque. To achieve this objective, a physics-based model for a twin screw extruder along with a MVR model were developed, examined and adapted for this study, and verified through designed experiments. This dynamic model for a TSE captures the important dynamics, and relates measurable process variables (screw speed, torque, feed rates, pressure etc.) to ones that are not being measured (material holdups and compositions at the partially and filled section along a TSE barrel). This model also provides product quality sensors or inferential estimation techniques for prediction of viscosity and accordingly MVR. The usefulness of the model for inferential MVR sensing and fault diagnosis was demonstrated on experiments performed on a 58 mm co-rotating twin-screw extruder for an industrial compounding operation at a SABIC Innovative Plastics plant involving polycarbonate – poly butylene terephthalate blends. The results showed that the model has the capability of identifying faults (i.e., process deviation from the nominal conditions) in polymer compounding operations with the twin screw extruder. For instance, the die pressure exhibited a change as a function of changes in raw materials and feed composition of PC and PBT. In the presence of deviations from nominal conditions, the die pressure parameters are updated. These die pressure model parameters were identified and updated using the recursive parameter estimation method. The recursive identification of the die pressure parameters was able to capture very well the effects of changes in raw material and/or composition on the die pressure. In addition, the developed MVR model showed a good ability in monitoring product MVR on-line and inferentially from output process variables such as die pressure which enables quick quality control to maintain products within specification limits and to minimize waste production.

Blends of poly butylene terephthalate (PBT) and polycarbonate (PC) form a very important class of commercial blends in numerous applications requiring materials with good chemical resistance, impact resistance even at low temperatures, and aesthetic and flow characteristics. PC and PBT are usually blended in a twin screw extruder (TSE). Product melt volume flow rate (MVR) is a property used to monitor product quality while blending the PC/PBT in a twin screw extruder. It is usually measured off line in a quality control laboratory using extrusion plastometer on samples collected discretely during the compounding operation. Typically a target value representing the desired value of the quality characteristics for an in-control process, along with upper and lower control limits are specified. As long as the MVR measurement is within the control limits, the sample is approved and the whole compounded blend is assumed to meet the specification. Otherwise, the blend is rejected. Because of infrequent discrete sampling, corrective actions are usually applied with delay, thus resulting in wasted material. It is important that the produced PC/PBT blend pellets have consistent properties. Variability and fault usually arise from three sources: human errors, feed material variability, and machine operation (i.e. steady state variation). Among these, the latter two are the major ones affecting product quality. The resulting variation in resin properties contributes to increased waste products, larger production cost and dissatisfied customers. Motivated by this, the objective of this project was to study the compounding operation of PC/PBT blend in a twin screw extruder and to develop a feasible methodology that can be applied on-line for monitoring properties of blends on industrial compounding operations employing available extruder input and output variables such as screw speed, material flow rate, die pressure and torque. To achieve this objective, a physics-based model for a twin screw extruder along with a MVR model were developed, examined and adapted for this study, and verified through designed experiments. This dynamic model for a TSE captures the important dynamics, and relates measurable process variables (screw speed, torque, feed rates, pressure etc.) to ones that are not being measured (material holdups and compositions at the partially and filled section along a TSE barrel). This model also provides product quality sensors or inferential estimation techniques for prediction of viscosity and accordingly MVR. The usefulness of the model for inferential MVR sensing and fault diagnosis was demonstrated on experiments performed on a 58 mm co-rotating twin-screw extruder for an industrial compounding operation at a SABIC Innovative Plastics plant involving polycarbonate – poly butylene terephthalate blends. The results showed that the model has the capability of identifying faults (i.e., process deviation from the nominal conditions) in polymer compounding operations with the twin screw extruder. For instance, the die pressure exhibited a change as a function of changes in raw materials and feed composition of PC and PBT. In the presence of deviations from nominal conditions, the die pressure parameters are updated. These die pressure model parameters were identified and updated using the recursive parameter estimation method. The recursive identification of the die pressure parameters was able to capture very well the effects of changes in raw material and/or composition on the die pressure. In addition, the developed MVR model showed a good ability in monitoring product MVR on-line and inferentially from output process variables such as die pressure which enables quick quality control to maintain products within specification limits and to minimize waste production.

The catalytic depolymerization/pyrolysis of nylon 6 and 66 were investigated with the prospect of helping to curb the amount of carpet landfilled. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to determine which catalysts (and their nylon/catalyst ratio) were most suited for the depolymerization. By adding bases, the onset of degradation for some bases was 100 aC lower than that of the pure nylons. Potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide were found to be the most effective catalysts at a catalyst ratio of 100:1 of nylon 6 and nylon 66 to catalyst, respectively. After determining the most efficient catalyst, kinetic models/parameters from the TGA data were determined. These parameters were used in a reactive extrusion model for depolymerizing nylon 6 in carpet. Data from the model was then used to do cost analysis for the process. It was found that to get a Present Value Ratio greater than 1, the flow rate has to be greater than or equal to 500 lb/hr. At even higher flow rates up to the model¡¦s limit (1500 lb/hr), the Net Present Value shows that this process is economically viable. Extrusion of a 100:1 ratio of pure N6 and KOH was done in a 30 mm counter-rotating non-intermeshing twin screw extruder. The material collected from the vents of the extruder was tested with a gas chromatograph- mass spectrum (GC-MS) in tandem. There was only one significant peak from the GC and the primary molecular weight on the MS was 113, the molecular weight of caprolactam. This shows that the process could be profitable and require little purification if done industrially.

Le mélange de polymères est une méthode répandue pour élaborer des matériaux polymères. Cependant, la plupart des polymères sont thermodynamiquement immiscibles entre eux, engendrant une séparation de phase des mélanges et une détérioration de leurs propriétés. Afin de palier ces problèmes, la méthode dite compatibilisation réactive est souvent employée. Elle est basée sur la formation in-situ de copolymères à bloc ou greffés par l’intermédiaire de réactions interfaciales entre polymères réactifs. Cette thèse a pour objet de développer un concept dit agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif qui permettra d’utiliser de faibles quantités d’agents compatibilisants réactifs pour évaluer leurs efficacités de compatibilisation directement sur des extrudeuses bi-vis industrielles, d’une part ; et de caractériser la performance du mélange d’une extrudeuse bi-vis en fonction des conditions opératoires et/ou du profil de vis employé. Ses principales contributions se résument ci-après. L’anthracène de 9-méthylaminométhyle (MAMA), une molécule fluorescente, est incorporée dans un copolymère statistique de styrène (St) et d’isocyanate de 3-isopropenyle-?, ?’-diméthylebenzène (TMI), noté PS-TMI, pour former un agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif, noté PS-TMI-MAMA. Ce dernier sert à la fois comme agent compatibilisant réactif grâce aux groupements isocyanate et traceur grâce aux groupements fluorescents. Il est utilisé pour les mélanges à base de polystyrène (PS) et de polyamide 6 (PA6) afin d’évaluer son efficacité de compatibilisation. Les mélanges PS/PA6 sont élaborés dans un mélangeur discontinu et une extrudeuse bi-vis, respectivement. Dans le cas du mélangeur discontinu, la quantité du copolymère greffé formé in-situ, noté PS-g-PA6-MAMA, augmente alors que le diamètre des domaines de la phase dispersée (DDD) diminue considérablement au début du mélange. Lorsque le mélange se poursuit, le nombre de greffons en PA6 du PS-g-PA6-MAMA augmente, engendrant une composition très asymétrique du PS-g-PA6-MAMA qui est thermodynamiquement instable aux interfaces. De ce fait, il peut être arraché des interfaces vers la phase PA6 et peut y former des micelles. Lorsqu’il est arraché des interfaces, il perdra son efficacité de compatibilisation et le DDD augmentera. L’action du mélange a un double effet sur le procédé de compatibilisation réactive. Il promeut la réaction interfaciale entre le PS-TMI-MAMA et le PA6, d’une part ; et aggrave l’arrachage du PS-g-PA6-MAMA de l’interface, d’autre part. L’utilisation de faibles quantités de l’agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif permet de mesurer les évolutions de la teneur en agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif, du DDD et de la teneur en agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif ayant réagi en fonction du temps de séjour dans une extrudeuse bi-vis. Pour une masse molaire donnée, l’efficacité de compatibilisation d’un agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif augmente avec l’augmentation de la teneur en TMI dans une certaine limite. Pour une teneur en TMI donnée, la réaction interfaciale est plus rapide avec la diminution de la masse molaire dans une certaine limite et le DDD devient plus petit en un temps plus court. L’influence du taux de remplissage de la vis est plus significative que celle du temps de séjour. Lorsque le taux de remplissage de la vis augmente, le taux de la réaction interfaciale augmente et le DDD diminue. Lorsque l’angle d’un élément de mélange augmente, les efficacités du mélange distributif et du mélange dispersif augmentent, ce qui se traduit par une augmentation de la quantité du PS-g-PA6-MAMA formée et une diminution du DDD par rapport à la même quantité de PS-g-PA6-MAMA produite. Lorsque la largeur d’un élément de mélange augmente, l’efficacité du mélange distributive augmente alors que celle du mélange dispersif demeure inchangée. La substitution d’éléments de mélange par des éléments inverses améliore l’efficacité du mélange distributif et celle du mélange dispersif / Polymer blending is a common method to prepare high-performance polymer materials. However, most polymer pairs are thermodynamically immiscible, leading to phase separation and deterioration in material properties. To overcome such problems, the most common method is reactive compatibilization which is based on the in-situ formation of a graft or block copolymer by interfacial reaction between reactive polymers. This thesis aims at developing a concept of reactive compatibilizer-tracer which will allow using small amounts of reactive compatibilizers to evaluate their compatibilizing efficiency in industrial scale twin screw extruders, on the one hand; and to characterize the mixing performance of a twin screw extruder as a function of process conditions and/or screw profile. Its main contributions are summarized below. 9-(methylaminomethyl) anthracene (MAMA), a fluorescent molecule, is incorporated into a random copolymer of styrene (St) and 3-isopropenyl-?, ?’-dimethylbenzene isocyanate (TMI), denoted as PS-TMI, to form a reactive compatibilizer-tracer, denoted as PS- TMI-MAMA. The latter serves both as a reactive compatibilizer due to its isocyanate moieties and a tracer due to its fluorescent moieites. It is used for polystyrene (PS)/polyamide 6 (PA6) blends to evaluate its compatibilizing efficiency. Compatibilized PS/PA6 blends are processed in a batch mixer and in a twin screw extruder, respectively. In the case of the batch mixer, the amount of the in-situ formed graft copolymer denoted as PS-g-PA6-MAMA increases and the dispersed phase domain diameter (DDD) decreases drastically in the initial period of mixing. As the mixing further proceeds, the number of PA6 grafts of the PS-g-PA6-MAMA increases, resulting in a highly asymmetrical composition of the PS-g-PA6-MAMA which causes thermodynamic instablility at the interface. As a result, it could be pulled out of the interface to the PA6 phase and form micelles. Once it is pulled out of the interface, it will lose its compatibilizing efficiency and the dispersed phase domain diameter increases sharply. Mixing has a dual effect on the reactive compatibilization process. On the one hand, it promotes the interfacial reaction between the PS-TMI-MAMA and PA6. On the other hand, it aggravates the pull out of the resulting PS-g-PA6-MAMA from the interface. The use of small amounts of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer together with transient experiments for RTD allows assessing the evolutions of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer content (CC), the dispersed phase domain diameter (DDD), and the reacted reactive compatibilizer-tracer content (RCC) as a function of residence time in a twin-screw extruder. Based on the above results, the emulsification curve (DDD vs. CC), the RCC vs. CC curve and effective emulsification curve (DDD vs. RCC) are obtained. When the molar mass of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer is fixed, its compatibilizing efficiency increases with increasing TMI content within an appropriate range. When its TMI content is fixed, the interfacial reaction goes faster as the molar mass of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer decreases within a certain range, and the DDD becomes smaller in a shorter time. The effect of degree of fill fixed by the throughput Q/screw speed N ratio is more dominant than that of residence time. As the degree of fill increases, the interfacial reaction increases and the DDD decreases. As the angle of adjacent the kneading block increases, its distributive and dispersive mixing efficiencies increase, resulting in an increase in interfacial area generation and a decrease in DDD on the basis of the same amount of PS-g-PA6-MAMA. On the other hand, as the width of the kneading block increases, the distributive mixing efficiency increases and the dispersive mixing efficiency remains unchanged. Substitution of kneading blocks by reverse ones increase both the distributive and dispersive mixing efficiencies