Response surface optimization of preparation and performance of thermo-responsive hydrogels as draw agent

doi:10.16085/j.issn.1000-6613.2022-2124

Abstract

Abstract:

Thermal-responsive hydrogel can absorb water and dehydrate reversibly with temperature change. As a draw agent in forward osmosis (FO), it has great potential in reducing recovery energy consumption and leakage. However, the low swelling rate limits its development in the FO process. The addition of hydrophilic ionic groups can increase the swelling pressure of hydrogels, resulting in higher water flux. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide/sodium acrylate-montmorillonite) [P(NIPAM/SA-MMT)] hydrogel with simple recovery and no reverse solute diffusion was fabricated by free-radical polymerization. The chemical structure and internal morphology of hydrogels were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Response surface methodology was used to optimize the addition of cross-linker, sodium acrylate and montmorillonite. Due to the increase of hydrophilic carboxylate and hydroxyl groups, the equilibrium swelling ratio and dehydration under thermal stimulation of P(NIPAM/SA-MMT) hydrogels were significantly higher than those of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogels. With P(NIPAM/SA-MMT) hydrogel as draw agent and deionized water as the feed solution, the initial water flux in 0.5h was 0.87L/(m²·h) and the water flux decreased gradually with increasing feed solution concentration. After soaking in deionized water for 12h, the hydrogel was dehydrated at 60℃ for 60 minutes, and the water recovery rate reached 98.1%. The results showed that the prepared hydrogels had good water flux and water recovery performance.

Key words: thermo-responsive hydrogel, polymerization, optimization, draw agent, regeneration

摘要：

随温度变化可逆吸水脱水的热响应水凝胶作为正渗透（FO）汲取剂，在降低回收能耗、减少泄漏方面有巨大的潜力，然而较低的溶胀速率限制了其在FO工艺中的发展，而加入亲水性离子基团可提高水凝胶的吸水膨胀压力，从而产生更高的水通量。通过自由基聚合法制备了简易回收且无反向溶质扩散的聚(N-异丙基丙烯酰胺/丙烯酸钠-蒙脱土)[P(NIPAM/SA-MMT)]水凝胶，采用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、X射线衍射仪（XRD）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）表征水凝胶的化学结构和内部形貌，使用响应面法优化3个因素（交联剂、丙烯酸钠、蒙脱土）的添加量。由于亲水性羧酸根和羟基含量的增加，P(NIPAM/SA-MMT)水凝胶的平衡溶胀率及热刺激下的脱水量相较于聚N-异丙基丙烯酰胺（PNIPAM）水凝胶大幅提高；以去离子水为原料液，0.5h内的初始水通量达0.87L/(m²·h)，且随着原料液浓度的升高，水通量逐渐降低；过水12h后，将其置于60℃温度刺激下脱水60min，水回收率达98.1%。结果表明，制备的水凝胶表现出良好的水通量及水回收性能。

关键词: 温敏水凝胶, 聚合, 优化, 汲取剂, 再生

CLC Number:

TQ427.6

ZHANG Jie, WANG Xudong, YANG Yifei, REN Yue, CHEN Licheng. Response surface optimization of preparation and performance of thermo-responsive hydrogels as draw agent[J]. Chemical Industry and Engineering Progress, 2023, 42(10): 5363-5372.

仉洁, 王旭东, 杨逸飞, 任玥, 陈立成. 响应面优化温敏水凝胶汲取剂的制备及性能[J]. 化工进展, 2023, 42(10): 5363-5372.

Figures/Tables 19

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因素	比例	NIPAM/g	MBAA/g	SA/g	MMT/g
n(NIPAM)∶n(MBAA)	100∶2	0.7	0.0191	0.0123	0.007
	100∶3	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.007
	100∶4	0.7	0.0382	0.0123	0.007
n(NIPAM)∶n(SA)	100∶1	0.7	0.0286	0.0061	0.007
	100∶2	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.007
	100∶3	0.7	0.0286	0.0184	0.007
	100∶4	0.7	0.0286	0.0245	0.007
m(NIPAM)∶m(MMT)	100∶1	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.007
	100∶2	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.014
	100∶3	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.021
	100∶4	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.028

因素	比例	NIPAM/g	MBAA/g	SA/g	MMT/g
n(NIPAM)∶n(MBAA)	100∶2	0.7	0.0191	0.0123	0.007
	100∶3	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.007
	100∶4	0.7	0.0382	0.0123	0.007
n(NIPAM)∶n(SA)	100∶1	0.7	0.0286	0.0061	0.007
	100∶2	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.007
	100∶3	0.7	0.0286	0.0184	0.007
	100∶4	0.7	0.0286	0.0245	0.007
m(NIPAM)∶m(MMT)	100∶1	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.007
	100∶2	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.014
	100∶3	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.021
	100∶4	0.7	0.0286	0.0123	0.028

自变量X	水平
自变量X	-1	0	1
SA与NIPAM的摩尔比(X₁)/%	1	2	3
MMT与NIPAM的质量比(X₂)/%	1	2	3
MBAA与NIPAM的摩尔比(X₃)/%	2	3	4

自变量X	水平
自变量X	-1	0	1
SA与NIPAM的摩尔比(X₁)/%	1	2	3
MMT与NIPAM的质量比(X₂)/%	1	2	3
MBAA与NIPAM的摩尔比(X₃)/%	2	3	4

编号	自变量						SR/g·g^-1
编号	编码	X₁	编码	X₂	编码	X₃	Y
1	-1	1	-1	1	0	3	36.66
2	1	3	-1	1	0	3	79.34
3	-1	1	1	3	0	3	36.63
4	1	3	1	3	0	3	74.43
5	-1	1	0	2	-1	2	25.04
6	1	3	0	2	-1	2	30.98
7	-1	1	0	2	1	4	21.56
8	1	3	0	2	1	4	51.23
9	0	2	-1	1	-1	2	58.05
10	0	2	1	3	-1	2	56.35
11	0	2	-1	1	1	4	56.54
12	0	2	1	3	1	4	52.34
13	0	2	0	2	0	3	67.80
14	0	2	0	2	0	3	78.77
15	0	2	0	2	0	3	71.97
16	0	2	0	2	0	3	96.86
17	0	2	0	2	0	3	94.58