Analysis of Different Formulations of Cellulose-grafted Hydrogels in the Dehydration of Biodiesel

Polymer hydrogels are promising desiccant materials for biodiesel dehydration, with performance largely determined by their monomer and polymer composition. This study investigates the swelling capacity and dehydration efficiency of hydrogels, both grafted and ungrafted onto cellulose nanocrystals (...

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Main Authors: Giovana Almenara, Bianca Estevam, Isadora Perez, Patricia Fregolente, Maria Regina Wolf Maciel, Leonardo Fregolente
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2025-07-01
Series:Chemical Engineering Transactions
Online Access:https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15403
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Summary:Polymer hydrogels are promising desiccant materials for biodiesel dehydration, with performance largely determined by their monomer and polymer composition. This study investigates the swelling capacity and dehydration efficiency of hydrogels, both grafted and ungrafted onto cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), synthesized using sodium polyacrylate (PSA), polyacrylamide (PAam), hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (H-PAam), or sodium poly(acrylate-co-acrylamide) (P(SA-co-PAam)). For grafted hydrogels, 4 % CNC (by weight relative to the monomer) was incorporated. CNC addition slightly influenced hydrogel performance, with PSA-CNC and H-PAam-CNC exhibiting the highest dehydration efficiency (48 % and 42 %) and swelling capacity (285 g·g?¹ and 500 g·g?¹, respectively). FTIR and SEM analyses of these hydrogels revealed rough and non-porous surfaces with functional groups mainly originating from the crosslinked polymer. The batch dehydration process was investigated regarding the treatment time (from 30 min to 72 h), and mass of hydrogel used (0.1-1.0 g). Increasing the treatment time and the mass of hydrogel improved the water removal efficiency for both formulations, which reached 63 % using PSA-CNC and 57 % with H-PAam-CNC. These results demonstrate that hydrogels with anionic groups, particularly PSA or H-PAam, benefit the removal of water from the oil with adequate dehydration efficiencies.
ISSN:2283-9216