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Evaluation of Novel Back‐flush Filtration for Removal of Homopolymer from Starch‐g‐PMMA
Author(s) -
Comer Chris M.,
Jessop Julie L. P.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
starch ‐ stärke
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1521-379X
pISSN - 0038-9056
DOI - 10.1002/star.200700709
Subject(s) - filtration (mathematics) , copolymer , starch , grafting , materials science , photoinitiator , methyl methacrylate , extraction (chemistry) , amylopectin , chromatography , polymer chemistry , amylose , chemical engineering , chemistry , polymer , composite material , organic chemistry , monomer , statistics , mathematics , engineering
Starch‐g‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was prepared by emulsion photopolymerization without photoinitiator. Grafting efficiency was determined for two types of starch (high‐amylose and amylopectin) and at several illumination times. Since clogging of the graft copolymer prevented vacuum filtration and Soxhlet extraction was too time‐consuming, a new method to separate the PMMA homopolymer from the graft copolymer was developed. Back‐flush filtration uses an intermittent pressure pulse to clean the filter as the homopolymer is separated from the graft copolymer. Back‐flush filtration was shown to be more efficient by reducing the separation time and solvent use, and the grafting efficiencies obtained with back‐flush filtration compare favorably with those from Soxhlet extraction for the starch‐g‐PMMA copolymer systems studied. More accurate grafting efficiencies could be obtained by applying a nonstick coating to the inside chamber of the back‐flush filtration unit.