Carboxymethyl inulin: a novel flocculant for wastewater treatment

Carboxymethyl inulin (CMI) has been synthesized by incorporation of carboxymethyl groups in the inulin framework; by reacting inulin with sodium salt of monochloro acetic acid (SMCA) in presence of sodium hydroxide. The resulting carboxymethylated product, with different degrees of substitution, has been confirmed through various physicochemical characterization techniques, such as intrinsic viscosity measurement, elemental analysis (C, H, N and O), FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. Flocculation efficacy of various grades of CMI, have been studied in kaolin suspension and then in municipal wastewater, in relation to inulin (parent polysaccharide). This has been done utilizing jar-test procedure towards possible application as a flocculant for waste water treatment.