Chemical Engineering Department discusse MSc thesis

Chemical Engineering Department at UOT discussed MSc Thesis entitled

(Preparation and diagnosis of environmentally friendly composite membranes used in the separation operations) by student Sarah Mazhar on Tuesday, 2/16/2021.

The study aimed to work on using the direct blending process and solution molding technology to manufacture composite films of environmentally friendly polyvinyl alcohol / ketosan. Polyvinyl alcohol is used as a polymer matrix and ketosan as negative charge carriers to reduce environmental pollution from the use of chemicals that harm the environment. The composite membranes were diagnosed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, in addition to the contact angle test to improve the water resistance of the manufactured composite membranes. The dense nature of the synthesized composite membranes was examined by electron microscopy imaging. The membranes produced were examined in the application of fuel cells, in particular, anion exchange membrane fuel cells. Environmentally friendly composite membranes were prepared in four forms: a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol - ketosan (98-2%), (7% ketosan) crosslinked with (25% formaldehyde), (7% ketosan) is crosslinked with (25% of clotraldehyde) as well as (4% ketosan) plasticized with (25% glycerine). Membranes are of three different thicknesses. The properties of the ion exchange membranes are examined including water absorption, alkalinity absorption, swelling ratio, ion exchange capacity, and ionic conductivity. The ionic conductivity of non-correlated PVA-CS was found to be the maximum value with about x 10-3 S / cm 82 at ambient temperature, despite the high conductivity of unbound films, it is difficult to use in a fuel cell application on the other hand, due to the high Its water solubility, the cross-bonding of the membranes make these membranes suitable for use in fuel cell applications. The membrane cross-linked with clotraldehyde shows the highest ionic conductivity x 10-3 S / cm 24.6 corresponding to the ion exchange capacity of 2.6 mmol / g. The membrane electrode assembly using a cross-film with clotraldehyde revealed excellent fuel-immobilization performance (energy density: 129.1 mW / cm2 at a current density of 0.4 mA / cm2) under operating conditions at room temperature and relative humidity of (100%).

The discussion committee consisted of:

• Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ali Matar / the head
• Prof. Dr. Jinan Abdul Karim / member
• Dr. Haider Abd Ali / member
• Dr. Adnan Abdul-Jabbar Abdul Razzaq / supervisor.
• Prof. Dr. Khalid Turki / supervisor.
• Dr. Shorouk Abdullah Idan / supervisor.