Sains Malaysiana 40(7)(2011): 789–794

 Characterization and Absorbing Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Filled Poly (Acrylic Acid–co–Acrylamide) Superabsorbent Polymer Composites

(Pencirian dan Sifat-sifat Penyerapan Komposit Polimer Penyerap Lampau Tandan Kosong

Kelapa Sawit Cangkukan Poli(Akrilik Asid-ko-Akrilamida))

Nor Erma Shuhadah Abdul Razak, Shahrir Hashim* & Abdul Razak Rahmat

Department of Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Engineering

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

Received: 23 October 2009 / Accepted: 5 August 2010

ABSTRACT

Oil palm empty fruit bunch graft poly (acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) superabsorbent composite (OPEFB-g-(PAA-co-PAM) SAPC) was synthesized by graft copolymerization of the acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) comonomer onto OPEFB fibre using ammonium persulfate (APS) and N,N-methylene bisacarylamide (MBA) as an initiator and crosslinker, respectively. The absorbency in various chloride salt solutions indicated that the absorbency decreased with increasing ionic strength of the salt solutions. Moreover, the absorbency under load (AUL) of SAPC was investigated at various applied loading and results show that, AUL decreased with increasing applied loading. Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) were carried out to confirm the chemical structure and thermal properties of the synthesized superabsorbent, respectively.

Keywords: Absorbency under load; Graft copolymerization; OPEFB; superabsorbent composites; swelling behaviour

ABSTRAK

Komposit polimer penyerap lampau (SAPC) tandan kosong kelapa sawit cangkukan poli(akrilik asid-ko-akrilamida) (OPEFB-g-(PAA-co-PAM) SAPC) disintesis melalui pengkopolimeran cangkuk oleh asid akrilik(AA) dan akrilamida (AM) komonomer kepada gentian OPEFB menggunakan ammonium persulfat (APS) dan N,N-methyelene bisacarylamide (MBA) dengan masing-masing sebagai pemula dan pemaut silang. Kebolehserapan SAPC di dalam pelbagai jenis larutan garam dikaji dan keputusan menunjukkan bahawa kebolehserapan berkurang dengan pertambahan kepekatan ion. Disamping itu, kebolehserapan di bawah bebanan (AUL) dikaji pada pelbagai bebanan dan keputusan menunjukkan bahawa, AUL berkurang dengan pertambahan bebanan. Spektroskopi inframerah (IR) dan analisis termogravimetri (TGA) masing-masing digunakan untuk mengesahkan struktur kimia dan sifat terma SAPC.

Kata kunci: Kebolehserapan di bawah bebanan; komposit penyerap lampau; OPEFB; pengkopolimeran cangkuk; sifat pembengkakan

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*Corresponding author; email: shahrir@cheme.utm.my