Novel biodegradable flocculanting agents based on pullulan

New copolymers with different grafted cationic chain content and length were synthesized by graft-polymerization of (3-acrylamidopropyl)-trimethylammonium chloride onto pullulan in aqueous solution, using potassium persulfate as an initiator. Their flocculation efficiency was studied in a clay suspension as a function of the grafted chains content and length as well as of some flocculation parameters: the polycation dose, the settling time, the parent solution concentration of polycation. All the polysaccharide samples showed flocculation ability: the higher the grafted cationic chain content and length the lower the amount of pullulan derivative was required for reaching the maximum clarity degree (of about 100%). This finding together with the negative value of the zeta potential and floc size measurements, at the optimum polymer dose, point to contributions from both neutralization and bridging mechanisms for flocculation process. The residual turbidity values also varied with the settling time and the parent solution concentration of polymer.