Adsorption of CaCO3 Particles on Cationic Cellulose Graft Copolymers

The behavior of small inorganic particles at the fiber/water interface has been analyzed from the kinetics and isotherms of adsorption of CaCO3 particles onto cationic fibers. The introduction of cationic moieties onto cellulosic fibers leads to a copolymer that can easily adsorb negatively charged particles. At equilibrium, the adsorption ratio of CaCO3 particles on a cationic copolymer of cellulose and poly(2-acryloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride) is related closely to the particle size, the temperature, the agitation, and the ionic strength of the suspension. Kinetic models have shown that the weakly charged copolymers present a high-affinity-type kinetics when the CaCO3 particle average diameter is small (20 to 30 μm). For an average particle diameter equal to 72 μm, the kinetics corresponds to an adsorption with a lower affinity. The rate constants are 6.6 x 10(-12), 2.9 x 10(-12), and 1.2 x 10(-12) m3/s for particles with average diameters of 20, 30, and 72 μm, respectively. We have also noted that the adsorption increases with agitation and reaches a plateau after 5 min. The ionic strength influences the electrostatic interactions between the positive sites of the graft and the anion of the adsorbate. Indeed a decreasing adsorption is observed when the ionic strength increases.