title: Flocculation characteristics and biodegradation studies of Gum ghatti based hydrogels.
abstract: Biodegradable flocculants of Gum ghatti (Gg) with acrylamide (AAm) were prepared through graft co-polymerization technique using potassium persulphate (KPS)-ascorbic acid (ABC) redox pair as initiator and N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker. Gg-cl-poly(AAm) was found to exhibit pH and temperature responsive swelling behavior. Maximum flocculation efficiency of Gg-cl-poly(AAm) was observed with 15 mg L(-1) polymer dose in acidic medium at 50°C. Biodegradation studies of Gg and Gg-cl-poly(AAm) were done using composting method. Gg was found to degrade within 20 days, whereas, Gg-cl-poly(AAm) was found to degrade 88.18% within 60 days. Different stages of bio-degradation were characterized through FT-IR and SEM techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa. mittal.hemant5@gmail.com
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.forename: Shivani B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kaith
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jindal
mesh_terms: D020106:Acrylamide / Q000737:chemistry; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D005427:Flocculation; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D053149:Plant Gums / Q000737:chemistry*; D058105:Polymerization; D017680:Potassium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013431:Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D013818:Thermogravimetry
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D053149:Plant Gums; D017680:Potassium Compounds; D013431:Sulfates; D020106:Acrylamide; C009007:potassium persulfate; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; C015253:gum ghatti