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Industrial Chemistry | ISSN: 2469-9764 | Volume 4
17
th
International Conference on
May 21-22, 2018 | New York, USA
Industrial Chemistry and Water Treatment
Ind Chem 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2469-9764-C1-009
Synthesis of water treatment chemicals adaptable to rural clean and drinking water technology
Alang Michael Bong
1
,
2
and
Barminas Jeffry Tsware
3
1
Catholic University of Cameroon, Cameroon
2
University of Yaounde, Cameroon
3
Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Nigeria
Statement of the Problem:
A cross section of rural communities inAfrica are plagued by diseasesmany of which are water borne
or attributable to the quality of drinking water accessible to such communities. Access to clean freshwater is very necessary to
human life and for industries like steel, copper, food, paper, petroleum, chemical or mineral processing industry (Willey et al.,
2008). Due to its good solvent property, water tends to dissolve a broad spectrum of substances from the environment. These
include toxins and toxicants emanating from various forms of domestic, agricultural, industrial and other anthropocentric
activities including hazardous substances from natural phenomena like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Contaminated
waters are highly undesirable as they constitute a significant source of disease and worldwide death (Willey et al., 2008).
Polluted water usually contains organic matter such as hydrocarbons and their derivatives, inorganic matter such as clay, sand,
acids and bases, heavy metals such Pb
2+
, Cu
2+
, Ni
2+
, Al
3+
and pathogenic microbes like
Vibro cholerae, Entamoeba histolytica
and Salmonella typhi
which are causative agents for water-borne diseases like cholera, dysentery and typhoid (Willey et al.,
2008). Most rural communities in Africa including Cameroon cannot afford sophisticated water treatment systems and require
cheap and simple operable techniques to treat water for domestic purposes and related uses. The goal of all water treatment
technologies is to remove turbidity as well as chemical and pathogenic contaminants from water sources in the most affordable
and expedient manner possible (Ray & Jain, 2011). The purpose of this study was to synthesize water treatment chemicals
which can easily be adapted to domestic water treatment in rural community water systems in order curb rampant spread of
water borne diseases typical of rural communities in Africa. The water treatment chemical is environmentally friendly due to
its propensity to biodegradation (Tripathy & Singh 2001).
Materials & Methods:
This bonafide water treatment chemical was produced from Gum arabic and polyacrylamide through
graft copolymerization using ceric ammonium nitrate as a catalyst for the reaction. Gum arabic was purchased in powdered
form which is the organic component of the product that confers biodegradable properties and acts as the back born for graft
copolymerization. The graft copolymer was blended with
Moringa oleifera
seed extract which has antimicrobial activity (Lar
et al., 2011, Orhevba et al., 2013).
Results:
The results obtained showed that the percentage yield of the graft copolymer is a function of both the initiator and
monomer concentrations. The grafted copolymer was characterized by IR spectroscopy. The IR spectral data for pure Gum
arabic and that of Gum arabic–grafted polyacrylamide indicate that grafting actually occurred. The flocculation properties of
the product were good, figure 1.
Conclusion & Significance:
The successful grafting of polyacrylamide onto Gum Arabic will enhance the search for materials
transformation through chemical derivatization with attendant expansion of their spectra of application.
Recommendations:
More research should be done into the use of simple potent water treatment chemicals which will help to
alleviate the plight of the rural populace with attendant amelioration of public health and economic advancement.
balangmichael@yahoo.com