UV-initiated polymerization of cationic organic flocculants and its application and mechanism in coal mine wastewater treatment

In this study, in order to improve the flocculation efficiency of natural organic flocculant in coal mine wastewater, guar gum (GG) and [2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl] trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC)were used to synthesize a type of graft copolymer of GG with DMC (GG-g-DMC) with flocculating function by free radical polymerization under ultraviolet (UV) light initiation conditions. Performance testing and structural characterization of the composites including FTIR, NMR, XRD, SEM, TG, and XPS were conducted to verify the synthesis of the graft polymer. The GG-g-DMC was applied to treat coal mine wastewater, according to the sedimentation index and the optimal flocculation solution was determined, and the flocculation settling mechanism was studied using focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM), Zeta potentiometer and adhesion force meter. The results indicated that GG-g-DMC synthesis by UV-initiated polymerization was feasible and the settling effect increased significantly; 0.5 mg/g(s) GG-g-DMC 4 was excellent in all aspects, its sedimentation speed reached 20.64 cm/min, the light transmittance was 95.00%, and the compression layer thickness was 1.89 cm; the mechanism is mainly the synergy of charge neutralization, bridging, and improve hydrophobicity.