Novel biodegradable polymeric flocculant based on Kenaf for heavy metal removal

• Main Authors: Ngadi, Norzita, Y., Yahida
• Format: Article
• Published: INDUS Scholars Publications (ISP) 2012
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/31100/; http://indusscholars.org/viewjc.php?id=j1&page_id=23&volume_id=11&content_id=54

Novel biodegradable flocculant based on hybridization of polyacrylamide with cellulose derived from kenaf (hibiscus Cannabinus L) has been successfully synthesized. The hybrid polyacrylamide-cellulose has been synthesized using a microwave-assisted grafting method. The hybrid polyacrylamide-cellulose was characterized using FTIR and the result revealed that the grafting was occurred. The performance of the hybrid polyacrylamide-cellulose has been tested on the arsenic removal. As a comparison, the removal of arsenic was also done using solely polyacrylamide. The results obtained showed that that the hybrid polyacrylamide-cellulose flocculant was comparatively as good as polyacrylamide in removing arsenic.