Kinetics of Polycondensation of Citric Acid with Glycerol Based on a Genetic Algorithm
Michał Wrzecionek, Grzegorz Matyszczak, Aleksandra Bandzerewicz, Paweł Ruśkowski, Agnieszka Gadomska‐Gajadhur
Abstract
Poly(glycerol citrate) is a biodegradable aliphatic polyester made of citric acid and glycerol. Because of the high functionality of the reactants, citric acid—4 and glycerol—3, there are many possibilities for creating different polymer chain structures. In this work, the polycondensation of citric acid with glycerol and its kinetics were studied through the kinetic model, allowing for estimation of relevant kinetic constants values for the first time with the employment of a genetic algorithm. The proposed kinetic model is multidimensional and contains eight parameters. The values of kinetic constants of the reaction included in our kinetic model were estimated. Relevant Arrhenius plots justify the applied model because of values of the R2 coefficient of nearly 1.0. Considerations on the competitiveness of various reactionary acts are presented.