Sorption studies of polyamide in mixed solvents

• Main Author: Loh, Yi Ting.
• Other Authors: Loo Sun Sun Leslie
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Polymers and polymer manufacture
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/40464
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The sorption behavior of Polyamides 6 and 66 in ethanol-water mixture was studied under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Throughout the study, the mass change (%) of Polyamides 6 and 66 and the concentration profile of the ethanol-water mixtures were recorded and evaluated. The values of the polymer-solvent interaction parameter (χ) were calculated and were evaluated as well. The results showed that Polyamide 6 has the highest mass change (%) than that of Polyamide 66. Both Polyamides were also observed to register the highest and lowest mass change (%) in the same mixtures indicating that the mass change (%) were affected by the nature of the solvent. In addition, the concentration profile of the mixtures did not changed throughout the sorption process, suggesting that poor separation of the individual components of the mixture was achieved when using Polyamide. The values of χ correlate well with the mass change (%) of both Polyamides in mixtures A, B and K which suggests that the mass change (%) of the Polyamides is directly affected by the nature of the solvent mixture. However, the values of χ do not correlate well with the mass change (%) of both Polyamides in mixtures C to J. Thus, further studies on the sorption behavior for mixtures C to J are needed.