Synthesis, Characterization and Application of Polymethyl Methacrylate Grafted oatmeal: A potential Flocculant for Wastewater Treatment

The studies report the synthesis of novel graft copolymer of oatmeal. Polymethyl methacrylate grafting was carried out on oatmeal backbone via 'microwave assisted' approach. The graft copolymers were optimized by varying monomer and CAN concentration. The synthesized graft copolymers were characterized by intrinsic viscosity, FTIR, TGA, SEM, Elemental Analysis, number average molecular weight and solubility. All the grades of graft copolymers were assessed for its potential application as a flocculant in 1 wt% coal-fine suspension, 0.25 wt% kaolin suspension and municipal wastewater using standard 'jar test' protocol. The flocculation efficacy of synthesized graft copolymers was compared with commercially available coagulant (alum) in 1 wt% coal-fine and 0.25 wt% kaolin suspensions and was found to exhibit better potential as a flocculant than alum and oatmeal. Among diverse grades of graft copolymers, OAT-g-PMMA-5 exhibits higher percentage grafting, intrinsic viscosity and flocculation efficacy for removal of heavy metal ions, suspended particles and organic loads from wastewater.