Naiku Xu

Study on Absorptive Property and Structure of Resin Copolymerized by Butyl Methacrylate with Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate

The resin was synthesized by suspension polymerization of butyl methacrylate (BMA) with hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and its swelling properties were studied. The chemical structure was analyzed by FTIR and NMR spectrometer. Additionally, thermal properties were determined by TG and DSC, respectively. Finally, the fibrous resin was prepared by gelation-spinning. Its dynamic mechanics performance was researched by DMA and surface morphology was observed by SEM. The results showed mass fraction of HEMA in monomer feed ratio was a main factor affecting saturated absorbency, absorptive rate, and the content ratio of the remaining resin, and the maximum gram absorbency of resin for various organic chemicals were 1.175 g for kerosene, 12.59 g for toluene, and 24.03 g for trichloroethylene respectively. Besides, intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bond formed, which was beneficial to form physical cross-link structure, but chemical cross-link structure between macromolecules could not be formed. Furthermore, mass fraction of HEMA in monomer feed ratio had an impact on dynamic mechanics performance and especially, segments movement of macromolecule was affected obviously. The temperature of initial decomposition and glass transition temperature increased with the increase of mass fraction of HEMA.

Evaluation of polypropylene and poly (butylmethacrylate- co -hydroxyethylmethacrylate) nonwoven material as oil absorbent

Polypropylene (PP) and poly(butylmethacrylate-co-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (PBMA-co-HEMA) nonwoven materials as oil absorbents have been fabricated for the first time via melt blown method. As-prepared nonwovens were investigated in terms of mass per unit area, density, air permeability, contact angle, and morphology observations for fiber diameter distribution and single fiber surface by a field emission scanning electron microscope. The nonwovens are demonstrated as fast and efficient absorbents for various kinds of oils with oil absorbency up to seven to ten times their own weight. The nonwovens show excellent water repulsion but superoleophilic properties. The measured contact angles for water and toluene are more than 127° and ca. 0°, respectively. The addition of PBMA-co-HEMA makes the nonwoven surface more hydrophobic while conserving superoleophilicity. Compared with PP nonwoven, broad diameter distribution of the blend nonwoven is attributed to poor melt fluidity of PBMA-co-HEMA. In terms of single fiber, coarse surface and the presence of point-like convexities lead to the fibers being more readily wetted by oil. More interesting, oil–water separation and oil recovery can be easily carried out by filter and absorption–desorption process, the recovered materials contained hardly any oil droplet and could be reused for next cycles.

Preparation and Properties of Oil-Absorptive Fiber Based on Polybutyl Methacrylate-inter-polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate via Wet Spinning

A series of polymers system based on poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) and poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPN) (PBMA/ PHEMA = 70/30 by weight) have been attained by a sequential polymerization method using divinylbenzene (DVB) as cross-linking agent. Oil-absorptive fibers are prepared by wet-spinning processing. Oil absorbencies, swollen diameter variation, tensile strength, percentage elongation at break of the oil-absorptive fibers are reported. Crystalline structures have been estimated using wide angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD). Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are used to investigate thermal properties of oil-absorptive fibers. The results show that the cross-linking agent has a full impact on the properties of the oil-absorptive fiber. With an increase in DVB, oil absorbency can be improved, and the fiber shows many special phenomena including perfect cross-linking structure, excellent entanglement behaviors, good thermal stability and mediated crystalline temperature. However, glass transition temperature increases, and crystallization behavior becomes poor as increasing the cross-linking agent of DVB.

A Review: Polymethacrylate Fibers as Oil Absorbents

Hydrophobic and oleophilic polymethacrylates with moderate crosslinking have been increasingly used for oil cleanup. In view of oil recovery and absorbent reusability, the particle-like polymethacrylates are not satisfied completely due to flaccid absorption and unfacilitated assembly. Fiber is now considered as an optimal candidate for oil absorbents. This review summarizes the most promising approaches to fabricate polymethacrylate fibers including post-crosslinking, low-crosslinking (physical crosslinking or entanglement), and blend, and then illustrates the structure-property relations of as-prepared materials. The resulting polymethacrylate fibers are effective oil-absorptive materials because of fast absorption, facility, reusability, and easy disposal, pointing to the immense potential for future development.

A Novel Absorptive Functional Fiber Copolymerized by Butyl Methacrylate with Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate: Preparation and Characterization

With benzoyl peroxide as initiator, BMA/HEMA copolymer was firstly synthesized by suspension polymerization, and then the functional fiber that could absorb organic matter was prepared by gelation-spinning, finally its corresponding characteristics were studied. The results analyzed by WAXD and TG showed that the crystallization ability of fiber is dependent on the mass fraction of HEMA; the higher the mass fraction of HEMA is, the weaker the crystallization ability. The investigation on swelling behavior showed that the absorbency for BMA homopolymer fiber decreases with increasing absorptive time, even the fiber can dissolve into organic matter. After HEMA was copolymerized with BMA, the absorbency increases as increasing absorptive time, but the absorbency for fiber with 5 wt% HEMA is lower than that for fiber with 10 wt% or 15 wt% HEMA at the same absorptive time. The remaining ratio and oil retention ratio increase with the increase of the mass fraction of HEMA. The result obtained by SEM showed that the surface morphology is also dependent on HEMA content; it becomes coarser with increasing HEMA content. In addition, DSC analysis indicated that less than a threshold of trichloroethylene absorbency, the trichloroethylene molecules absorbed in copolymer cannot construct crystals in the copolymer matrix; beyond this threshold, the absorbed trichloroethylene can construct crystals near −84°C and −110°C. FTIR analysis explained that the absorbed trichloroethylene forms hydrogen bonds with hydroxyls and ester groups in copolymer during the process of absorption.

Diffusion and Swelling Behavior in Treatment of Oil Spill to Semi-Interpenetrating Polymer Network from Oil-Absorptive Fiber

In this article, diffusion and swelling behaviors in the absorption process are investigated. The absorption about crude oil diluted with toluene floating on water shows the affinity to oil. The diffusion mode is determined by diffusion exponent n, and the values suggest that the diffusion process deviates slightly from normal Fickian behavior but not completely non-Fickian in short immersion time. The data indicate that the adsorption process of fiber onto the toluene is fit for the second-order kinetic model. Absorbency has been promoted with the increasing temperature because molecular motions are accelerated and ester-containing polymer has the high efficiency. Furthermore, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms are adopted to describe the adsorption process. The parameters show respectively monolayer adsorption, and multilayer adsorption even heterogeneous adsorption is concomitant.

The Preparation and Properties of Absorption Functional Fiber Based on Butyl Methacrylate/Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Copolymer and Low-Density Polyethylene

Absorption functional fiber based on butyl methacrylate (BMA)/hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) copolymer and low density polyethylene (LDPE) was prepared by the method of gelation-spinning in a twin screw extruding machine. The swelling behavior, desorption, selective absorption, miscibility of polymer blend and the influence of post-treatment on the relevant property were investigated. The results show that the fiber poorly absorbs ethanol and water, but can absorb a large amount of toluene, trichloroethylene or chloroform in a comparatively short time. Desorption results show that the absorbed organic matter can be effectively removed from the swollen fiber by the methods of elution and extraction, and the regenerated fiber can be reused. The results for selective absorption show that the fiber can absorb toluene from mixed system with a higher efficiency during a short time. The results analyzed by DMA and TG show that there is a lower level of miscibility of LDPE with BMA/HEMA copolymer in amorphous regions. In addition, stretch temperature and relaxation heat setting, along with heat treatment, have a great impact on dynamic mechanical performance, swelling behavior and cross-linking structures for the blend fiber. The morphology observed by SEM indicates that blending with LDPE can effectively improve spinnability of BMA/HEMA copolymer.

Property and Structure of Novel Absorptive Fiber Prepared by Blending Butyl Methacrylate-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate Copolymer with Low Density Polyethylene

A novel absorptive fiber based on butyl methacrylate (BMA)-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) copolymer and low density polyethylene (LDPE) was prepared by the method of gelation-spinning in twin screw extruding machine, swelling behavior, thermal behavior, crystallization behavior and nonisothermal crystallization kinetics were investigated, finally, the morphology structure for the cross-section was observed by SEM. The results show that the saturated absorbency for the blend fiber gradually decreases with increasing mass fraction of LDPE in mixture ratio from 10 wt% to 30 wt%. The results analyzed by DSC and WAXD show that crystallization and melting behaviors for the blend fiber are similar to those for pure LDPE fiber, and the crystallinity for the blend fiber decreases with decreasing mass fraction of LDPE. The results observed by SEM show that the cross-section for BMA-HEMA copolymer fiber shows a mono-phase structure with many cavities, as mass fraction of LDPE increases from 10 wt% to 30 wt%, the morphology structure with one continuous phase is transformed into another structure with two continuous phases, and the number of the cavities in the cross-section decreases, finally, the cross-section for LDPE fiber again shows a mono-phase structure without any cavities.

Surface and Physical Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene/Poly (Butyl Methacrylate-co-hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Blend Fiber

A series of polypropylene (PP)/poly (butyl methacrylate-co-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PBMA-co-HEMA) blend fibers were prepared by the melt-spinning method. The surface properties of the oil absorptive fibers were investigated for the first time by contact angle measurement in various liquids. The results indicate that as-prepared fibers, as a potential material for oil spill application, are both very hydrophilic and oleophilic. Surface energies were evaluated by the Zisman (28 kJ/m2 for surface energy of PP) and Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelbel (28.9 and 0.3 kJ/m2 for dispersive and polar fraction of the 50-50 blend fiber, respectively) methods. A synergistic toughening effect between PP and PBMA-co-HEMA is presented by tensile measurement and micrographs. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measurements demonstrate the limited partial compatibility of the two polymers. Moreover, the storage modulus of the blend decreases with increase in copolymer content.

Fabrication and characterization of oil-absorptive fiber by polypropylene and poly(butyl methacrylate-co-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) blends

A series of blend fibers based on a certain weight polypropylene (PP) and poly(butyl methacrylate-co-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PBMA-co-HEMA) were prepared via melt spinning in a corotating twin screw extruder. The morphology and structure of the blend fiber was studied by stereoscopic microscopy, polarized optical microscopy, wide-angle x-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electronic microscopy. Thermal properties were carried out by means of differential scanning calorimetry and melt flow index. The results demonstrated that the crystalline structure is proven to be greatly destroyed owing to the entanglement and cross-linking of molecular chains caused by hydrogen bond network of the copolymer in the blend. Oil absorbency decreases with increasing mass fraction of PP in the blend fiber. Moreover, the enthalpy of crystallization and supercooling temperature decrease as the content of PBMA-co-HEMA component increases.