Grafted wood pulp containing quaternary ammonium group and its application in the removal of different anions from aqueous solution

Network wood pulp based on acrylonitrile (AN) has been chemically modified through different reactions to obtain group capable of anion exchange. Graft copolymerization of AN onto wood pulp was carried out by using γ‐radiation ⁶⁰Co. Factors affecting the grafting process, e.g., radiation dose and monomer concentration, was investigated. The chemical modification of cyano groups were carried out by reaction with ethanolamine producing oxazoline group followed by quaternization of tertiary amine by reaction with benzyl chloride producing quaternary ammonium salt. The grafted and modified wood pulp were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and TGA. Qualitative adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the ability of modified wood pulp to fix sulfate, phosphate, nitrate, and dichromate from aqueous solution using batch extractions. Based on the results obtained, it may be concluded that it is possible to modify chemically wood pulp containing cyano groups by different routes to use it as anion exchanger for different anions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3120–3128, 2007