What is polyacrylamide (PAM)?

Polyacrylamide (PAM) Polyacrylamide (PAM) is a widely used synthetic water-soluble acrylic polymer. PAM is a very effective flocculant and viscosity enhancer, which e.g. is used for removing heavy metals in wastewater and reducing soil retention.

What is polyacrylamide used for?

Polyacrylamides are water-soluble synthetic linear polymers made of acrylamide or the combination of acrylamide and acrylic acid. Polyacrylamide finds applications in pulp and paper production, agriculture, food processing, mining, and as a flocculant in wastewater treatment.

Is polyacrylamide a toxic polymer?

Even though polyacrylamide is the most common synthetic water-soluble plastic, it is still highly overrepresented. The polyacrylamide monomer (acrylamide) is neurotoxic and carcinogenic (Smith and Oehme, 1991), so this class of polymers has been of high concern for a long period of time.

Can acrylamide form during biodegradation of polyacrylamide?

Acrylamide can form during biodegradation of polyacrylamide (Cheng et al., 2024). In a Swedish tunneling project, acrylamide exposure resulted in negative health effects for the construction workers and affected the water quality in the surrounding environment (Weideborg et al., 2001).

Does polyacrylamide bioaccumulate?

PAM does not seem to bio-accumulate significantly, and normally degrades gradually into polyacrylic acid and ammonia in the soil (Wang et al., 2023). The monomer of polyacrylamide, i.e., acrylamide, is however neurotoxic and carcinogenic (Smith and Oehme, 1991; Shipp et al., 2006; Friedman, 2003).

Which reagent is used to degrade polyacrylamide in aqueous solution?

Ramsden, D. K. & McKay, K. Degradation of polyacrylamide in aqueous solution induced by chemically generated hydroxyl radicals: Part I-Fenton’s reagent. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 14, 217–229 (1986). Ramsden, D. K., & McKay, K.