ABSTRACT
In order to obtain cheap paint binder, industrial production of ethylene copolymers in emulsion (chiefly ethylene-vinyl acetate) has been carried out for a long time. The process involves rather moderate conditions and low pressure (100 bars and 70-80°C) as compared with the conditions needed for the radical polymerization of ethylene alone (1500-3000 bars and more than 200°C). These homopolymerization conditions obviously exclude the use of emulsion polymerization procedures with water as continuous phase. Only one trial is mentioned in the literature for the production of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) [1].
