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Natural polymers are widely used as matrices for solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) in electrochemical devices due to their richness in nature, low cost, and biodegradation properties. Xanthan gum (XG) is a natural polymer obtained from microbial origin and when dissolved form transparent solution with high viscosity and stability even in different temperature conditions. This article describes the synthesis of XG-based SPEs with proton conduction. These new materials were obtained by crosslinking XG with glutaraldehyde, plasticized with ethylene glycol, and doped with acetic acid as ions source. The ionic conducting membranes, casted from this polymer solution, showed a high ionic conductivity of 7.93 3 10 25 S cm 21 at room temperature, a microscopically homogeneous surface, thermal stability, and predominantly amorphous structure. These results prove that XG-based SPEs are very promising new materials that could be applied in modern electrochemical devices.

This research experimented with different aluminum can casting compositions from recycled materials. The objective was to analyze the casting yield and the resulting chemical compositions of the process. In the first process, 20 kg of aluminum cans was melted, resulting in a 10.2 kg ingot, which presented a 51% yield. In the second process, 10 kg of 6063 T6 aluminum was used and 10.2 kg of the first casting was added. This mixture produced an ingot of 50% recycled aluminum and 50% 6063 aluminum that weighed 18.23 kg. Similarly, a second ingot was produced, but with the addition of 4 wt% of rice husk ash and 2 wt% of magnesium. From each ingot, the samples were removed for chemical analyses, which consisted of tests of the samples that had the incorporation of rice husk ash in the molten aluminum. These analyses included scanning by electron microscopy, density analysis, Brinell hardness, and Charpy impact force tests. The results of the second ingot analysis showed superior characteristics in Si and Mg levels due to the addition of rice husk ash and magnesium. Also, the second ingot presented increased hardness as well as a reduction fragility and density.

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