Construcción de un sistema de electrospinning para la obtención de fibras poliméricas: diseño y construcción.

Abstract

The possibility of obtaining polymeric fibers from natural latex extracted from Euphorbia Laurifolia, known in many regions of Los Andes as lechero or pinllo, is raised. Euphorbia Laurifolia uses this secreted substance as a way of defense against insects and other animals, when it is injured, it secretes a very irritating white liquid that contains natural latex. Some authors have proposed to obtain latex and natural rubber from this plant, and it has turned out to be successful. At present, the technical specifications of a machine capable of produciong fibers from the electrospinning technique have been determined, which is based on a phenomenom called Taylor Cone that can only exist under high voltage conditions. Based on the determined thechnical requirements, a design based on various authors was made. Considering the nature of natural latex, the task of finding a suitable solvent that allows the material in a liquid state was difficult, so the literature had several options, such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran, formic acid, acetic acid, ammonia, etc., obtaining favorable results with acetone and ammonia.