Methyl Methacrylate Syrup: Partly Polymerised below 80 °C with Hydrogen Peroxide

Methyl methacrylate syrup is the monomer partly polymerised until it is thick: the stock that is poured between glass plates to cast acrylic sheet. ICI's Tattersall (US 2,071,907, 1937) heats the liquid monomer with a little catalyst, never above 80 °C, until it is syrupy, then cools it. His example used benzoyl peroxide and he names hydrogen peroxide as an alternative but gives no amount. Our choice: 14 g of 3 % hydrogen peroxide per kg of monomer, as many peroxide molecules as his 0.3 % benzoyl peroxide. Methyl methacrylate is flammable: no open flame. The picture: our diagram.