Comparative Studies on the High Performance Flocculating Agent of Novel Polyacrylamide grafted Oatmeal

Polyacrylamide grafted oatmeal was synthesized via two techniques, namely microwave assisted using ceric ammonium nitrate along with microwave irradiation and microwave initiated using microwave irradiation alone. The synthesized graft copolymers via both methods were characterized by a number of physicochemical techniques including viscometry, elemental analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), SEM, TGA, UV DSC and Carbon 13-cross polarization/magic angle spinning solid-state NMR Spectroscopy (C-13-CP/MAS SSNMR Spectroscopy) using a parent biopolymer (oatmeal) as reference. Furthermore, flocculation efficiency of synthesized graft copolymers was studied in 0.25 wt% kaolin suspension and in wastewater for attenuation of pollutant load. The studies report the superiority of OAT-g-PAMs synthesized by the microwave-assisted technique than microwave-initiated technique in terms of their higher percentage grafting, intrinsic viscosity, flocculation efficiency and pollution load reduction. The synthesized graft copolymers were compared with PAM and alum for assessing their flocculation behavior in 0.25 wt% kaolin suspension and the results obtained were found encouraging for the treatment of effluents discharged from various industries