Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
High molecular weight water-soluble polymers are usually supplied in the form of water-in-oil emulsions which have advantages of low viscosity and easy storage and dissolution. Most uses in water treatment, flocculation, paper manufacture or mining fields require polymer latexes formed of finely dipersed particles. Polymerization in reverse micelles or microemulsions appears to be an attractive technique because it can lead, under appropriate formulations, to high molecular weight polymers entrapped within small-sized stable particles. The main characteristics and properties of the latexes and polymers formed by this process are described.