

Polymer Chemistry 2018
Polymer Sciences
ISSN: 2471-9935
Page 44
March 26-28, 2018
Vienna, Austria
3
rd
Edition of International Conference and Exhibition on
Polymer Chemistry
D
evelopment of bio-based filtering materials follows the need
for a drastic reduction in solid particle-pollution, which is
nowadays one of the largest risks for human health and state
of the environment. Filtering sector currently concerns itself
primarily with removal and immobilization of increasingly small
particles, effectively requiring small pore size and enhanced
surface area. This research work is a part of a national research
and development program “Cel.Cycle”, aiming at constructing
materials with a hierarchical porous structure and increased
active surface; in order to do this, existing and novel technologies
will be employed, as well as integration of active components
(inorganic particles; micro- and nano-fibrillated cellulose), leading
to 3D nonwoven structures with desired functional properties. The
increase of organic compounds in environment encourages also
search for more efficient adsorbents used in water treatment.
Clays are known as natural environmental-friendly materials
with high specific surface area, used in dispersed form, for the
adsorption and removal of organic pollutants, causing difficult
removal from purified water. Therefore, the second part of this
research is focused on preparation and characterization methods
of nanocomposite clay/polymer hydrogels used for adsorption
of textile dyes. Structures and functionalities of nanocomposites
will be described and conditions (e.g. clay particle type and
concentration, dispersing medium, monomer, cross-linker
concentrations, and drying procedure, etc.) for achieving
exfoliated and intercalated clay–hydrogel structures will be
discussed. In addition to functional properties of nanocomposites
conditioned by the nanocopmposite, their preparation process
will be discussed.
Biography
Manja Kurečič is a Scientific Associate at the Faculty of Mechanical Engi-
neering, University of Maribor and Technical University Graz, Austria, where
she is working on several national and international basic and applied proj-
ects. She has a background on nanocomposite hydrogels for water purifica-
tion, which she upgraded with new technologies for preparation of different
nanostructured materials that can find applications in technical as well as
in the biomedical area. Lately, she is focusing on development of innovative
nanofibrous materials by using electrospinning method.
manja.kurecic@um.si3D structured composite filter materials with embedded
natural nano-fillers
Manja Kurečič
1, 2
, Silvo Hribernik
1
, Mojca Božič
1
, Tanja Kos
1
, Matej Zadravec
1
and
Karin Stana Kleinschek
1,2
1
University of Maribor, Slovenia
2
Graz University of Technology, Austria
Manja Kurečič et al., Polym Sci, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2471-9935-C1-008