Flocculants - an ecofriendly approach

Although water-soluble synthetic polymers find wide applications as flocculants, the potential problem associated with their use is lack of biodegradability and high cost. Polysaccharides owing to their distinctive features like ability to undergo different chemical reactions, biodegradability and sustainability inspire hope to obtain effective, economical viable and safe substitute of the synthetic flocculants. In this regard, chemical modification of Cassia tora and guar gum was carried out through different substitution and grafting reactions. The modified products were tested against kaolin under laboratory conditions vis-a-vis polyacrylamide based synthetic flocculant.