Preparation of acidic and alkaline macrocapsules for pH control Original Research Article

A series of experiments was performed to prepare acidic macroencapsulated buffers composed of 20% Ca(H2PO4)2 and 80% Eudragit® S 100 polymer and alkaline macrocapsules composed of 65% K2HPO4 and 35% Eudragit E PO polymer (the powdered form of Eudragit E 100). Eudragit S 100 was shown to be soluble at a pH greater than 7.0, while Eudragit E 100 was soluble at a pH less than 7.0. Both polymers did not impart significant biochemical oxygen demand. The Eudragit E PO polymer solution showed low toxicity (EC50 = 91%) based on the Microtox Acute Toxicity Test compared to the 0.1 mM background phosphate buffer solution (EC50 = 100%) while the Eudragit S 100 polymer solution showed higher toxicity (EC50 = 53%). Batch tests showed that the acidic macrocapsules reduced the pH of a 0.1 mM phosphate solution from 11 to neutral, while the alkaline macrocapsules increased the pH of a 0.1 mM phosphate solution from 3 to neutral. The macrocapsules could potentially be used as an in situ proportional pH controller for groundwater remediation.