Are polyacrylamide and polyacrylic acid biodegradable?

Both polyacrylamide and polyacrylic acid are efficient flocculant for the treatment of wastewater. However, they are not biodegradable and shear resistant. Natural polymers, mainly polysaccharides (like AP) are shear stable, biodegradable, and less efficient as flocculant.

Can acrylamide graft a polymeric flocculant?

The article highlights the development of a new generation of polymeric flocculant by grafting binary monomer mixture of acrylamide and acrylic acid onto a natural polymer—amylopectin [ (AP- g -PAM)- g -PAA].

Can binary graft copolymer be used in flocculation?

Here in, we report the first example of a novel polymeric material based on binary grafting of polyacrylamide and polyacrylic acid onto AP. The focus of this study is to synthesize and well characterize the binary graft copolymer and targeting its application in flocculation for treatment of a synthetic effluent (Fe ore suspension).

Are natural polymers biodegradable?

Natural polymers, mainly polysaccharides (like AP) are shear stable, biodegradable, and less efficient as flocculant. The biodegradability of natural polymers reduces their shelf life and needs to be suitably controlled.

Can polyacrylamide and polyacrylic acid be grafted onto AP backbone?

Various physicochemical characterizations confirm that binary grafting of polyacrylamide and polyacrylic acid onto AP backbone took place. Further, the synthesized material finds potential application as an efficient flocculant for the treatment of synthetic wastewater.

Which graft copolymer has better flocculation efficacy compared to primary grafted products?

Afterward, the best performing graft copolymer was compared with the binary grafted products (Fig. 7 b). Here, it has been found that all the binary grafted products are showing better flocculation efficacy compared to primary grafted product.