Abstract
Commonly, the flocculant is dissolved in process or recycle water in industrial plant which has many ionic materials. Therefore, the polymer degradation in aqueous solution by chemical, mechanical or bacteriological may occur, sometimes rapidly. Even if the same flocculant is dissolved, the flocculation characteristics and the properties of dissolving polymer varied with the kind of dissolving water. In this study, we try to estimate the interaction between flocculants and ionic materials in dissolving water using self inversing emulsion polymer; polyacrylamide-co-trimethyl ammonium ethyl acrylate chloride flocculants which have varying molecular weights and structures at a several conditions. The polymeric flocculant is dissolved in artificial dissolving water with Potassium Chloride (PC), Calcium Chloride anhydrous (CC), Potassium Hydroxide (PH), Sodium Chloride (SC), Sodium Bromate (SB) and Iron (II) Sulfate Heptahydrate (IS) as ionic sources. Experimental results indicate that the cationic and anionic ions in dissolving water induce the hydrolysis, degradation of cationic functional group and uncoiling of polymeric flocculants, therefore, the flocculation efficiency decreased by undesired polymer. According that result, it is important to estimate not only its structures and physical properties but also the qualities of dissolving water to optimize the efficiency.
