A novel flocculant of Al(OH)3-polyacrylamide ionic hybrid

A novel flocculant based on hybrid Al(OH)(3)-polyacrylamide (HAPAM) has been synthesized using a redox initiation system ((NH(4))(2)S(2)O(8)-NaHSO(3)) at 40 degrees C in aqueous medium. The HAPAM was characterized by viscometry, IR spectroscopy, TEM, conductivity, and TGA. The flocculation behavior for 0.25 wt% kaolin suspension was evaluated by spectrophotometry and phase contrast microscopy. It was found that an ionic bond exists between Al(OH)(3) colloid and polyacrylamide (PAM) chains in the HAPAM and the flocculation efficiency of HAPAM is much better than that of commercial polyacrylamide (PAM) and PAM/AlCl(3) blend.