Montmorillonite intercalated with polyaminoamide-epichlorohydrin: preparation, characterization, and sorption behavior

Organophilic and cationic montmorillonite is desirable for pitch control in the pulp and paper industry. In this paper, polyaminoamide-epichlorohydrin (PAE)-modified montmorillonite was prepared via either solution intercalation or melt intercalation of polyaminoamide into montmorillonite, followed by the reaction with epichlorohydrin. The modified montmorillonite samples were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The amount of PAE intercalated and the surface charge densities of cationic-modified montmorillonite were determined. It was found that melt intercalation appeared to be more effective in the inclusion of PAE than solution intercalation. However, both solution- and melt-intercalated samples with various surface charge densities exhibited strong affinity toward dispersed colloidal rosin acid.