El-Refaie Kenawy
Tanta University, Egypt
Title: Preparation and swelling capacity of superabsorbent polymer composites based on attapulgite clay
Biography
Biography: El-Refaie Kenawy
Abstract
A highly efficient starch-graft-poly(acrylamide)/attapulgite superabsorbent composite was synthesized by graft copolymerization reaction of starch, acrylamide (AM), and attapulgite clay (APT) using N.N'-methylene-bis-acrylanide (MBA) as crosslinker and ammonium persulphate (APS) as an initiator, then subjected hydrolysis with sodium hydroxide. The prepared composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The factors affecting the swelling capacity of the composite, such as the ratios of the crosslinker, initiator, attapulgite clay, as well as the pH and the presence of saline solutions, were investigated. The water absorbencies for the prepared composites reached 2700 g /g and 380 g /g in distilled water and in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution respectively, which opens the door for agricultural applications.
