Abstract: An improved polyamidation system and control system for producing a polyamide from molten dicarboxylic acid monomer and molten diamine monomer. The polyamidation control system measures the molar ratio of the molten dicarboxylic acid monomer and molten diamine monomer with a partially polymerized mixture. A feed forward control algorithm is employed within the control system to determine the extent to which the ratio of the initial reactants must be altered prior to mixing in order to produce the resulting polyamide having stoichiometrically balanced molar ratio.

Abstract: A process for producing a polyamide from dicarboxylic acid monomer and diamine monomer comprises the steps of: (a) mixing molten dicarboxylic acid monomer and molten diamine monomer in equimolar amounts, thereby producing a molten reaction mixture; (b) flowing the reaction mixture through at least one unvented reaction vessel, the residence time of the reaction mixture in the at least one unvented reaction vessel being between about 0.01 minutes and about 30 minutes, thereby forming a first product stream that comprises polyamide and water of polymerization; and (c) flowing the first product stream through at least one vented vessel, whereby water of polymerization is removed, thereby forming a second product stream that comprises polyamide. The process can operate continuously, and there is no need to add water to the dicarboxylic acid, to the diamine, or to the reaction mixture.