This paper investigates the production of hydrocarbon resins by oligomerization in solution and suspension of the C9 fraction of by-products from oil refining. The disadvantage of existing technologies for oligomers by free radical oligomerization is the use of high reaction temperatures. The application of N-replaced amino peroxides as low-temperature initiators and a suspension oligomerization technology can reduce the temperature and duration of the reaction. The correlation between oligomerization parameters and yield and characteristics of oligomers has been established. Owing to this, it will be possible to set optimal conditions and predict the properties of the resulting products. The high values of the yield and bromine number correlation in oligomerization in solution (–0.98 and –0.95) and suspension (–0.83 and –0.80) indicate the course of the oligomerization reaction. The main factor influencing oligomerization in solution is the reaction temperature (correlation 0.80). The softening temperature of oligomers is in the range of 349‒353 K and does not depend on the oligomerization conditions in the solution (correlation indicator 0.18). Suspension oligomerization in the studied intervals does not depend on temperature (correlation −0.08) and initiator concentration (correlation 0.40). It is proved that in the studied intervals of variables, the yield of oligomers depends on the duration of the reaction (correlation 0.88). The color indicator of suspension oligomerization products at the studied intervals varies slightly and is 20–30 mg I2/100 ml. The established optimal conditions make it possible to effectively use oil refining by-products by synthesizing light oligomers. Under the established optimal conditions, the product yield is 22.7 % with oligomerization in solution and 19.4 % with suspension oligomerization.

Dielectric constant is a value, that is widely applied in many scientific fields, and characterizes the degree of polarization of substances under the external electric field. In this work, a structure-property relationship of dielectric constants (ε) for a diverse set of polymers was investigated. A transparent mechanistic model was developed with application of a genetic algorithm combined with multiple linear regression analysis (GA-MLRA), to get a mechanistically explainable and transparent model. Based on the evaluation conducted using various validation criteria, four- and eight-variable models were proposed. Obtained statistical performance results and selected descriptors in the best models were analyzed and discussed. With the validation procedures applied the models were proven to have a good predictive ability and robustness.

We investigated the production of petroleum resins by suspension oligomerization of С9 hydrocarbon fraction initiated by aliphatic aminoperoxides. The reaction mixture consisted of a dispersion medium (water), a dispersed phase (C9 fraction), an initiator, which is soluble in the dispersed phase, and a suspension stabilizer. In the range of variables studied, reaction temperature (313–353 K) and initiator concentration (0.032–0.096 mol/l) do not have a significant effect on the oligomers yield. The process conditions most influencing the course of suspension oligomerization of the С9 fraction are as follows: stirring intensity (Re=2290–13450) with the correlation index of 0.88, reaction time (30–240 min) with the correlation index of 0.87 and the ratio of dispersed phase to dispersed medium (1:1–1:4) with the correlation index of –0.91. The correlation between the yield and bromine number (correlation index of –0.82) confirmed the passage of oligomerization reaction via the unsaturated bonds of the monomer. The hydrocarbon resins obtained by low-temperature suspension oligomerization were mainly cooligomers of styrene and its derivatives. As a result of suspension oligomerization at low temperatures, products were obtained which were characterized by a light color (color index of 10–20 mg I2/100 ml), a molecular weight of 505–530 and a softening point of 347–354 K.