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Rheology Under Pressure: Investigating Temperature and Gas Effects on Polymer Behavior

Polymers are increasingly processed under specialty conditions—high pressure, high temperature, reactive environments, or with added gases—to optimize flow behavior, reduce energy consumption, or achieve foamed or recycled materials. These modern demands require more than standard rheology: they call for tools that can simulate real-world processing conditions in the lab.

Using a pressure cell in combination with rotational and oscillatory rheology opens up new possibilities for studying polymer behavior under a gas atmosphere. This approach allows the investigation of how pressurizing gases such as supercritical CO₂ and nitrogen influence viscosity, solidification, and crystallization. While nitrogen shows minimal effect, CO₂ acts as a reversible plasticizer, reducing viscosity and shifting crystallization temperatures—insights highly relevant for applications like foaming, molding, and extrusion.

In addition, the pressure cell allows for safe and accurate rheological testing of polymer solutions at elevated temperatures, where evaporation would otherwise interfere with the measurement. This is particularly relevant in emerging fields such as chemical recycling of textiles, where polymer solutions are processed to recover fibers from worn garments.

This session is ideal for polymer scientists, process engineers, and R&D professionals interested in gas-assisted processing, solution rheology, or high-pressure characterization as a means to develop more sustainable and efficient materials and workflows.

Dr. Daniela Schwarz (Language: English)
Daniela Schwarz

Dr. Daniela Schwarz is International Product Manager for high-pressure and high-temperature rheology at Anton Paar. She focuses on the rheology of melts, including polymer applications. Daniela holds a PhD in Technical Chemistry from the Technical University of Vienna and has been supporting global customers in advanced rheological measurements since 2017.