Use of polyacrylamide-grafted Plantago psyllium mucilage as a flocculant for treatment of Ttextile wastewater

The chemical modification of Plantago psyllium mucilage (Psy), an anionic polysaccharide, was done by grafting polyacrylamide (PAM) chains to prepare a graft-copolymer (Psy-gPAM). It was synthesized in the presence of nitrogen using ceric ammonium nitrate–nitric acid redox initiator and characterized by IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and viscosity measurements. This grafted copolymer was tested for its flocculation efficiency in textile wastewater by the standard Jar test method. The effects of polymer concentration, pH and contact time on the percentage removal of solid wastes [total dissolved solids (TDS) and suspended solids (SS)] and color from textile effluent are reported. The optimum dose was found to be 1.6 mg l–1, at which maximum solid removal (SS and TDS) was seen. The most suitable pH for TDS and color removal was neutral (7.0) and for SS removal alkaline pH (9.2) was found to be most suitable. The optimum treatment duration for solid waste removal was 5 h. The X-ray diffraction analysis of Psy-g-PAM and solid waste before and after treatment suggests the interaction of the solid waste and Psy-g-PAM copolymer