Abstract

A cationic collagen flocculant (PCDAC) was synthesized by graft copolymerization using industrial gelatin extracted from leather shavings as the raw material with acryloyloxyethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DAC) as the monomer. The synthesis was initiated with tert-butyl hydroperoxide and sodium sulfite. The graft copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

The effects of PCDAC dosage, system pH, flocculation temperature and time on PCDAC flocculation were studied and the optimum conditions were as follows: PCDAC dosage 0.03g/mL; system pH7.0; flocculation temperature 40°C; and flocculation time 20 minutes. Under the optimum conditions, the new flocculant showed an excellent flocculation effect, and the removal rate of pollutants in a simulated oil field wastewater ranged up to 94.1%. The flocculation mechanism was also discussed.