Swelling capacity
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The swelling capacity of a polymer is determined by the amount of liquid material that can be absorbed by it. This test can done by two methods:
- Beaker test method
- Tea bag test method
Beaker test method[]
In this method
- A small amount of superabsorbent polymer material is taken (0.1g) and it is placed in the beaker.
- 100 ml of deionized water is poured into the beaker.
- After 20 min the swollen polymer was separated by using [filter paper]
- By weighing the polymer, one can find the swollen capacity of the SAP material.
Tea bag test method[]
- In this method, 0.1 g of SAP material is placed into a permeable bag, which is suspended over excess water in a beaker.
- Wait 20 min. and weigh the bag and then calculate the percentage of swelling through the following formula:
- (w2-w1)/(w1) %
- w1= weight of the polymer (Before swelling)
- w2= weight of the polymer (After swelling)
- Note: Filter paper only for removing water.
References[]
Categories:
- Laboratory techniques
- Polymer stubs