Preparation of Cellulosic Membrane Containing Pyrrolidone Moiety Via Radiation Induced Grafting and its Application in Wastewater Treatment

Radiation induced grafting of vinyl pyrrolidone onto cellulose wood pulp was carried out in heterogeneous and homogenous media using gamma radiation. Cellulose wood pulp was used in different forms; a) in a homogenous solution by dissolving the wood pulp in N,N- dimethylacetamide/Lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl) mixture , b) in a membrane form, by precipitating the cellulose solution in water and c) in a powder form. Factors affecting on the grafting such as radiation dose, monomer concentration, precipitator concentration and thickness of the membrane have been studied. The result showed that at the same dose, the grafting yield was higher with cellulose in soluble form than in the membrane form, whereas cellulose in powder exhibited the lowest graft yield. The grafted membrane was characterized by IR, TGA and SEM. The ability of the grafted membrane to remove dyes (acid and basic dye), heavy metal ions (Co ²⁺ , Ni ²⁺ and Cu ²⁺ ) and phenols from wastewater was also reported.