Microwave assisted synthesis of polyacrylamide grafted dextrin (Dxt-g-PAM): Development and application of a novel polymeric flocculant.

An efficient polymeric flocculant was synthesized by microwave assisted grafting of polyacrylamide to dextrin. By varying the reaction conditions, various grades of graft copolymers were synthesized to obtain the optimized one. Viscometry, elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, (13)C NMR spectroscopy, determination of molecular weight and radius of gyration using SLS analysis, thermal analysis and SEM analysis were employed to confirm that polyacrylamide has been grafted onto the dextrin backbone. The flocculation efficiency of the grafted products in kaolin suspension was dependent on the molecular weight, radius of gyration and length of the grafted polyacrylamide chains. The flocculant obtained by microwave assisted grafting method was superior to dextrin and polyacrylamide-based commercial flocculant (Rishfloc 226 LV) in flocculation tests.