In order to prepare a cellulose-based water absorbent material in an environmentally-friendly way, a cellulose-graft-polyacrylamide (cellulose-g-PAM) copolymer is synthesized by in situ graft copolymerization through a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. An ionic liquid, namely 1-N-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, is used as the reaction medium and ceric ammonium nitrate is used as the initiator. The graft copolymerization effect is evaluated by the study of the thermal and rheological properties of the copolymers. FTIR and elemental analysis results show that the amide groups of PAM successfully graft onto the cellulose backbone and the graft ratio of the cellulose-g-PAM is increased with the increase in AM content. Thermal analysis shows that the thermal stability of cellulose-g-PAM and the glass transition temperature of PAM are increased as the graft ratio increases due to the formation of PAM long-chain branches which disturb the segment motion of the cellulose chains. In comparison with cellulose, the dehydration peak of cellulose-g-PAM displays a larger endothermic enthalpy and shifts to higher temperature. Rheological results show that the storage modulus curve of cellulose-g-PAM with a high graft ratio exhibits a plateau at low frequency and the tan d curve displays a peak value, indicating that the large amount of PAM branches cause the entanglement of copolymer chains and improve the toughness of the copolymers.
With increasing industrial development, frequent oil spillages in water; therefore, it is imperative and challenging to develop absorbents materials that are eco-efficiency, cost-effective, and pollution prevention. In this study, sorbents obtained from Lignin incorporated with Polypropylene in different levels loading 0, 10, 20 % wt using thermally induced phase separation Technique (TIPS). The Polypropylene/Lignin blend monoliths were fabricated and compared in terms of morphological, thermal, and wetting characterizations. The successfully blending of different lignin concentrations with preserved the chemical structure of the polymer was confirmed by FTIR analysis. Thermogravimetric tests displayed that the existence of Lignin has changed the onset temperature (Tonset) of the blending sorbents, decreasing as the loading of Lignin is increased. The contact angle measurement showed a decrease in the hydrophobicity of sorbents with increasing lignin loading, Polypropylene/Lignin blend monoliths showed better absorption toward oils (soybean – engine) as compared to Polypropylene itself. PP10L showed an improvement in the oil sorption capacity around 2 times compared to the Polypropylene. These excellent features make Polypropylene/Lignin blend monoliths more competitive promising candidates than commercial absorbent.
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