(488v) Mixing During Scale up of Admicellar Polymerization for Textiles

Admicellar polymerization has been used to modify the surfaces of natural and synthetic fibers. The method allows fabric modification with a wide variety of added properties such as water repellency, antimicrobial capability, electrical conductivity, and protection from UV radiation. We used admicellar polymerization to coat thin films on fabrics such as cotton, to impart hydrophobic character. Processing involves surfactant-facilitated adsorption of a monomer on the fabric surface followed by polymerization, whereby a thin film of polymer is formed on the fabric surface. The process has been scaled up from 20mL vials to 1L volume containers in a laboratory dyeing machine. The dyeing machine facilitates mixing by rotation of a series of 1 L reactors about a horizontal axis. Reactors are canted to the horizontal so that the reactant mixture circulates with each revolution. Performance varies with the volume of the liquid, calculations were performed to estimate suitable volumes. Admicellar polymerization was carried out with the reactor charged to different levels, and the quality of the corresponding thin film was evaluated, in order to obtain the optimum volume. Results show that the film quality for the optimum volume was comparable to those obtained from smaller reaction volume containers, and degraded for other volumes. The scale up was successful for various fabric to liquid ratios and monomer concentrations. Modified fabric quality was evaluated by contact angle tests and SEM imaging techniques.