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Operating Parameters in Ultrasonic Decomposition of Superabsorbents

Rajabali Ebrahimi

Prolonged exposure to high-energy ultrasonic waves depolymerizes macromolecules in solutions and produces a permanent reduction in viscosity. Different factors affect the efficiency of this process. The experimental results in our previous work indicated that the rate of ultrasonic degradation of acrylic acid co acrylamide hydrogel increased with increasing ultrasonic power and pulse. In this work, at constant power and pulse, the effects of different operating parameters such as time of irradiation, temperature, solution concentration, volume, solvent, immersion depth of horn on the rate of degradation has been investigated in aqueous solution using laboratory scale operation. A method of viscometry was used to study the degradation behavior of the hydrogel. The experimental results show that the viscosity of polymer solution decreased with an increase in the ultrasonic irradiation time and approached a limiting value. The present work has enabled us to understand the role of the different operating parameters in deciding the extent of viscosity reduction in hydrogel systems.