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Residual solvent and its diffusion in acrylic fibers
Author(s) -
Armstrong A. A.,
Borie R. D.,
Lanier W. W.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.760200410
Subject(s) - solvent , materials science , diffusion , residual , fiber , composite material , acrylic resin , dissolution , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , chromatography , chemistry , organic chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , algorithm , engineering , coating , computer science
A survey showed that some commercial acrylic fiber products contain small quantities of residual solvent (dimethylacetamide). No diffusion of solvent from these products could be detected on laundering, dry cleaning, or exposure to synthetic perspiration. Acrylic carpets containing residual solvent were enclosed in sealed boxes to simulate a closed room. Air in the boxes was monitored for solvent content over a 14‐day period at 24°C (75°F) and 38°C (100°F) at both low and high humidity conditions. In all cases the solvent content of the air was below the detection limit of the best analytical procedure available (below 0.1 ppm). Diffusion rates of sol vent from 15‐denier carpel fiber into nitrogen were measured over the temperature range of 25–100°C. There was no detectable diffusion below 60°C measured over a 24‐h period. Mass diffusivities ranged from 2.5 × 10 −19 cm 2 /s at 60°C to 6.4 × 10 −14 cm 2 /s at 100°C. Under the conditions of expected use, the rate of diffusion of residual solvent from acrylic fibers is very low. Based on the low concentrations of residual solvent and its very low diffusion rate, there is an extremely low probability of any exposure to solvent from the residual solvent present in commercial acrylic fiber products.