Transport studies of peanut shell powder reinforced natural rubber composites in aromatic solvents

Abstract

This article investigates the transport behavior of three aromatic organic solvents, viz. benzene, toluene, and xylene in natural rubber (NR) composite membranes containing peanut shell powder (PSP) as filler at different temperatures by conventional weight‐gain experiments. PSP used in compounding the NR was processed in two particle sizes. The solvent swelling characteristics of NR composites containing both untreated and alkali‐treated fillers were investigated. The computed sorption characteristics were discussed in terms of PSP content, particle size, nature of solvent, and temperature. All the NR‐PSP composites were found to decrease with the uptake of aromatic solvents than NR, but the effect was more significant in the case of alkali‐treated PSP composites. Furthermore, the uptake of solvent decreased with decrease in penetrant size. The estimated Arrhenius activation energies (ED) for the processes of sorption, diffusion, and permeation showed that ED was generally highest in xylene at the filler contents investigated. The thermodynamic parameters of the sorption process were also evaluated. The relationship between the transport behavior and the morphology of the system was examined. The mechanism of diffusion is found to be close to Fickian trend in toluene and xylene and Fickian trend in benzene. Comparison between theoretical and experimental diffusion results was made to understand the mechanism of diffusion. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers

Organic Solvents Transport Through Alkali-Treated Agro-waste Microfibre Incorporated with Low Density Polyethylene Composites

“…For the aromatic solvents used in this study, the uptake is in accordance with the solubility parameter difference, i.e., xylene ' toluene ' benzene as shown in Figure 7. Our results agree with the findings of some researchers that used the same type of aromatic solvents [31,32,38,39]. Although several researchers have reported the increase in solvent uptake with decreasing penetrant size [22,38,40,41].…”

“…That the present study has shown a dependence of diffusivity on the molecular mass of solvents. This is in agreement with the findings of some authors [31,32] who reported a direct dependence of diffusion coefficient on the molecular weight and solubility parameter of solvents. The decrease in diffusion coefficient with an increase in temperature as earlier stated may be attributed to the fact that the diffusing molecules are defacilitated by the higher thermal energies at the increased temperature.…”

“…Again, at a higher temperature, the viscosity of the solvent is reduced which in turn increases the rate of flow of solvent into the composites. The increase in the mass of solvent sorbed by polymers with temperature had been reported elsewhere in the literature [29,[31][32][33]. …”

Development and characterization of green composites from bio‐based polyethylene and peanut shell

“…Prabhakar et al 26 analyzed the effect of peanut shell fillers (without and with a previous alkaline treatment) in epoxy thermosetting resins. In addition, the potential of peanut shell as base material for particle board manufacturing was studied, 27,28 but its use is not generalized. By taking into account the large amounts of peanut shell wastes and considering the increasing concern about environment and sustainable development, new materials are being demanded by our society to give an environmentally friendly solution to wastes.…”

Morphological and mechanical properties of chemically treated municipal solid waste (MSW)/banana fiber and their reinforcement in polymer composites

“…The results indicated that modified peanut shell powder composites show better mechanical properties. Also, the transport behavior of benzene, toluene and xylene in peanut shell powder-reinforced natural rubber composite at various temperatures was analyzed by conventional weight-gain experimental method [9] . The estimated Arrhenius activation energies ( E D ) for the sorption, diffusion and permeation process showed the highest E D value in xylene solvent in terms of peanut shell powder contents.…”