Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in Reactive Polymer Processing using Model Substrates

Shah, Erma (2018) Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in Reactive Polymer Processing using Model Substrates. Bachelor's Thesis, Biomedical Engineering.

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Abstract

Using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a solvent is a topic of immense interest in the reactive polymer-processing field. It is a non-toxic, inert, abundant and cheap resource, which can be exploited. This report encompasses a preliminary study of the effects on branching/degradation efficiencies of using scCO2 as a solvent. The reaction is carried out between the organic peroxide Perkadox-PM (bis (4-methylbenzoyl) peroxide) and two model substrates for polyethylene and polypropylene, n-pentadecane and squalane respectively. The effect of varying temperature on peroxide efficiency was also studied. N-pentadecane showed branching efficiencies with a range of 27.35-37.15% in a temperature range of 110-150°C. The results demonstrated that increasing temperature increased branching efficiency. They also indicate that an environment of scCO2 enhances branching efficiency. Squalane, on the other hand, exhibited degradation. Unfortunately, the product could not be observed or quantified by gas chromatography or 1 H-NMR. As a result, the experiment was repeated with measuring mass. A net mass loss was observed indicating that the degraded products escaped the system during depressurization.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Picchioni, F. and Remerie, K.
Degree programme:	Biomedical Engineering
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2018
Last Modified:	07 Aug 2018 10:53
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/17994

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