Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate on Meizotropis Pellita fibres and their applications in oil absorbency

  • PDF / 3,472,969 Bytes
  • 16 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
  • 101 Downloads / 194 Views

DOWNLOAD

REPORT


ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate on Meizotropis Pellita fibres and their applications in oil absorbency Akshay C. Jadhav1 · Nilesh C. Jadhav1  Received: 7 July 2020 / Accepted: 19 September 2020 © Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute 2020

Abstract This research paper deals with the graft copolymerisation of methyl methacrylate (MMA) on the backbone of Meizotropis Pellita fibres (MPF), which was successfully carried out under aqueous medium using Fenton’s reagent [ferrous ammonium sulphate (FAS) (8.0 × 10–3 M) and ­H2O2 (0.12 M)] as a redox initiator to impart hydrophobic properties. Grafting was optimized under different conditions concerning time, temperature, monomer ratio, material to liquor ratio and initiator concentration. Maximum graft yield percentage obtained was 120%. The grafted MPF was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The FTIR spectroscopic data showed a peak at 1728 cm−1 of C=O (ester), and another peak at 1650 cm−1 of adsorbed water, which was absent in the grafted fibre. The grafted fibre showed excellent thermal stability with an overall weight loss of 56.5% with a char residue of 33.5%. In addition, X-ray diffraction of MMA-grafted MPF showed 21% crystallinity and crystallinity index of 0.16. These raw and grafted fibres were also subjected to physico-chemical properties like moisture absorbance, swelling behaviour and chemical resistance, which they showed that MMA-grafted MPF exhibited hydrophobic properties. Therefore, due to this hydrophobic behaviour, the oil absorbency of MMA-grafted MPF was studied towards four emulsions: crude oil–saline, engine oil–saline, diesel oil–saline and used engine oil–saline. An MMA-grafted MPF by 120% absorbed 23.60 g of crude oil in the first cycle, 17. 41 g in the second cycle and 14.21 g in the third cycle, whereas 13.14 g of diesel oil was absorbed in the first cycle, 8.24 g in the second cycle and 5.25 g in the third cycle. Similarly, 20.14 g of engine oil was absorbed in the first cycle, 10.00 g in the second cycle and 7.51 g in the third cycle. Lastly, 19.80 g of the engine oil was absorbed in the first cycle, 12.25 g in the second cycle and 7.98 g in the third cycle. These results showed that the oil removal efficiency of the grafted MPF was intact by oil fraction type and they can be applied for all kinds of oil fraction spillage. Keywords  Graft copolymerization · Hydrophobic · Contact angle · Oil absorbency · Reusability

Introduction Many coastal areas around the world have been damaged due to oil pollution or oil spills [1]. The most common oils that are spilt during transportations in marines are crude oil, diesel oil, engine oil and used engine oil [2, 3]. When the spilt oil interacts with water, it forms an oil in water emulsion or forms a layer of oil film floating on the surface of the water which needs to be eradicated before it is released into * Nilesh C. Jadhav niles