Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SB1-P017
SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERABSORBENTS OF
SODIUM ACRYLATE / XANTHAN USING DIFFERENT INITIATORS
(KPS AND V-50)
Juan Carlos Sanchez Diaz 1 , Emilio Cruz Barba 1 , Agustin Martínez Ruvalcaba 1 , Laura Castellanos
Arteaga 2
1
Universidad de Guadalajara, Ingenieria Química, Mexico. 2 Universidad de Guadalajara,
Química, Mexico.
In the last decade interest in various types of gels has increased in areas such
as pharmaceuticals, food chemistry, medicine and biotechnology. The current
concern for the conservation of the environment has set the tone for new
research. Currently most hydrogels are based on synthetic polymers, so this
research proposes the use of a non-toxic material such as xanthan. Xanthan (X)
is a polysaccharide that is used as a rheological modifier and colloidal stabilizer.
Aqueous solutions of xanthan (> 1 mass%) exhibit high viscosities and do not
form hydrogels. However, the mixture of xanthan with other polymeric
materials can form hydrogels with very interesting properties with a potential
use in the biomedical field. A superabsorbent is a hydrogel with a high
absorption capacity (> 500 g H2O/g xerogel). Polymer gels are elastic materials
formed by three-dimensional polymeric networks that upon contact with a pure
liquid or solution swell or shrink, depending on their initial state and their
intermolecular interaction with the surrounding medium. In order to improve
the mechanical properties of a hydrogel, several studies have been conducted
regarding the use of a hydrophobic monomer in a copolymerization; for
example, methyl methacrylate with acrylic acid and acrylic acid with itaconic
acid. In this work, xanthan hydrogels and sodium acrylate are synthesized by
solution polymerization; its water absorption capacity is studied. The synthesis
is carried out by varying the xanthan composition 2 to 10% and using two
different initiators, KPS and V-50; absorption capacities of up to 700 g H2O / g
xerogel were found.
Keywords: SODIUM ACRYLATE, XANTHAN, SUPERABSORBENTS
Presenting authors email: sanchezdiaz@gmail.com