Sorption of dye wastes by poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(carboxymethyl cellulose) blend grafted through a radiation method

The instability in water of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/poly(carboxymethyl cellulose) (CMC) was improved through radiation-induced grafting with a styrene monomer. The PVA/CMC blend graft copolymer was used as a sorbent for dye wastes normally released from textile factories. The factors that may affect the sorption process such as time, temperature, weight of the blend graft copolymer, and volume of the dye waste were investigated. The sorption of dyestuffs by the blend graft copolymer was determined by a method based on spectroscopic analysis. The results showed that the blend graft copolymer has a high affinity for basic, acid, and reactive dyes. Meanwhile, it was observed that the sorption of dyes is more effective at the high temperature of 70^oC. Moreover, it was found that the sorption of dyes depends on the weight of the blend graft copolymer and does not depend on the volume of the waste solution. The sorption of the dyestuffs by a PVA/CMC graft copolymer may be considered to be a practical method to remove organic pollutants. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 136–142, 2001