Ahmad Syafiq Ahmad Hazmi

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymers are utilized in the processing of foods and beverages due to their highly stable nature. This makes plasticizer selection crucial. The incorporation of epoxidized oleic acid (EOA) as a bio-plasticizer into PVDF in the solution blending process was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed the toughening effects in the structure of the blends. The degree of crystallinity was found to decrease with an increase in the EOA ratio. The melting temperature slightly decreased with the addition of EOA. A reduction was observed in the glass transition temperature (T_g), which was the effect of the plasticizer. Bio-plasticized PVDF exhibited increased thermal resistance with higher char formation. The scanning electron fractograph showed that EOA disrupted the PVDF crystallinity with a rise in amorphicity. Crystal formation was found to be in one dimension and dependent on the bio-plasticizer content. Hence, EOA has an excellent potential as a renewable resource to substitute for conventional petroleum-based plasticizers.

Ethylene glycol is a super commodity chemical and it has vital roles in various applications. Its co-production with other chemicals, such as ethylene carbonate and glycerol carbonate, has promised cheaper production cost. Its quantification presents a challenge as its contaminants, such as ethylene carbonate, produce a signal-reducing effect in flame ionized detector. The aim of this study is to evaluate external standard to quantify the composition of glycol mixture. Measurement system analysis was employed on the external standard method. Reliability of the external standard is statistically significant with low p-values, excellent capability indices, and high F-values. The external standard is found to have remarkable precision and trueness as both capability indices are mirroring each other. Furthermore, the capability analysis has a strong correlation with quality measurement. Based on capability indices, the limit of detection is recommended at S/N = 25 and the limit of quantification is recommended at S/N = 100 for a reliable measurement. A high degree of reliability is achieved coherently as almost all uncertainties of coefficients of variations are less than 5%. The established method was validated and successfully applied to glycol mixture at azeotropic distillation pilot plant.