Determination of acrylamide monomer in polyacrylamide degradation studies by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatography method using C18 and ion-exchange columns in series is developed for the determination of acrylamide and acrylic acid monomers in polymeric samples. The C18 column acts as a guard column, trapping surfactants and impurities and retaining the nonionic species. The ion-exchange column then separates the monomers according to their respective ionic strengths. This method has been proven in the laboratory to work successfully for all types of acrylamide/acrylic acid polymers and matrices. Detection limits for both monomers can be achieved in the parts-per-billion range. The method is used to study the possible degradation of polyacrylamide to acrylamide monomer in the presence of glyphosate (a herbicide) and sunlight. Polyacrylamide is used as a spray drift reduction aid in combination with glyphosate. In normal applications, the polymer and herbicide are in contact with each other in the presence of sunlight. The results show that the polymer does not degrade to acrylamide in the presence of glyphosate or sunlight or any combination of the two. It is also observed that glyphosate influences the solubility of polyacrylamide, and care must be used when combining the two.