Water solvent capacity

Water-Holding Capacity (WHC). AU polysaccharides are hydrophilic and hydrogen bond to variable amounts of water. HydratabUity is a function of the three-dimensional stmcture of the polymer (11) and is kifluenced by other components ki the solvent. Fibrous polymers and porous fiber preparations also absorb water by entrapment. The more highly crystalline fiber components are more difficult to hydrate and have less tendency to sweU. Stmctural features and other factors, including grinding, that decrease crystallinity or alter stmcture, may iacrease hydratioa capacity and solubUity. 

Manufacture of highly water-absorbent polymers with uniform particle size and good flowability can be carried out by reverse phase suspension polymerization of (meth)acrylic acid monomers in a hydrocarbon solvent containing crosslinker and radical initiator. Phosphoric acid monoester or diester of alka-nole or ethoxylated alkanole is used as surfactant. A polymer with water-absorbent capacity of 78 g/g polymer can be obtained [240]. 

Vulcanisation of rubber Natural rubber becomes soft at high temperature (>335 K) and brittle at low temperatures (<283 K) and shows high water absorption capacity, it Is soluble in non-polar solvents and Is non-resistant to attack by oxidising agents. To improve upon these physical properties, a process of vulcanisation is carried out. This process consists of heating a mixture of raw rubber with sulphur and an appropriate additive at a temperature range between 373 K to 415 K. On vulcanisation, sulphur forms cross links at the reactive sites of double bonds and thus the rubber gets stiffened. 

Adsorption Properties. Due to their large specific surface areas, carbon blacks have a remarkable adsorption capacity for water, solvents, binders, and polymers, depending on their surface chemistry. Adsorption capacity increases with a higher specific surface area and porosity. Chemical and physical adsorption not only determine wettability and dispersibility to a great extent, but are also most important factors in the use of carbon blacks as fillers in rubber as well as in their use as pigments. Carbon blacks with high specific surface areas can adsorb up to 20 wt% of water when exposed to humid air. In some cases, the adsorption of stabilizers or accelerators can pose a problem in polymer systems. 

The viscosity of nitrocellulose solutions is to some extent dependent on the composition of the solvent, and on its solvent capacity or strength . Masson and McCall [58] have examined the viscosity of nitrocellulose solutions in acetone to which different amounts of water had been added. They obtained a curve, reproduced in Fig. 101, that illustrates the effect of the water content of the acetone on the viscosity of nitrocellulose solutions. 

FORMAMIDE. Form amide (meibanamide), HCONHi. is the lirsi member of the primary amide series and is the only one liquid at room temperature. II is hygroscopic and has a faint odor of ammonia. Formamide is a colorless to pale yellowish liquid, freely miscible with water, lower alcohols and glycols, and lower esters and acetone. It is virtually immiscible in almost all aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and ethers. By virtue of its high dielectric constant, close to that of water and unusual for an organic compound, formamide has a high solvent capacity lor many heavy-metal salts and for salts of alkali and alkalinc-carth metals. It is an important solvent, in particular for resins and plasticizers. As a chemical intermediate, formamide is especially useful in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds, pharmaceuticals, crop protection agents, pesticides, and for the manufacture of hydrocyanic acid. 

Closely linked to its extraordinary solvent capacities is water s role in transporting dissolved materials throughout the organism. With the exception of air-filled channels like the tracheal systems of insects, most of the transport processes of organisms involve movement of dissolved solutes. Diffusion of solutes within water is rapid, as is the translational and rotational movement of water itself. The extensive networks of hydrogen bonds that form among water molecules and between water and solutes do not impede this dynamic move-... 

The chemical properties that appear to underlie the fitness of the four classes of organic osmolytes include the following. First, these osmolytes are polar molecules that have high solubilities in water. They can be accumulated to high concentrations without unduly taxing the solvent capacity of the cell. Glycerol,... 

A familiar example of this type of metabolite adaptation is the thiol ester derivative of acetic acid, acetyl-coenzymeA (acetylCoA). AcetylCoA has a much larger negative free energy of hydrolysis than acetate, so metabolic transformations involving the acetate ion can occur with much lower concentrations of acetylCoA than of acetate. Phosphorylated metabolic intermediates likewise allow metabolites to have high chemical potentials and occur at relatively low concentrations in the cellular water. Use of such activated intermediates enables the cell to avoid high concentrations of metabolites that can tax solvent capacity and, perhaps more important, disrupt the cell through uncontrolled chemical reactions with inappropriate molecules. 

Continuous Liquid-Liquid Extractor. 1 L sample capacity, suitable for use with heavier than water solvents. 

The water-absorbing capacity of an enzyme support material may be characterized by the term aquaphilicity (Aq), which is the ratio of the amount of water on the support to the amount of water in the solvent under standard conditions (41). Support materials with high Aq are hydrophilic, and hence might deprive the enzyme of its essential water of hydration. Lipase activity is generally higher with hydrophobic (i.e., essentially nonpolar) supports such as celite and Bonopore (42). 

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