Adsorption of poly (4‐sodium styrene sulfonate) on kaolinite clays

Abstract

Abstract The adsorption of polymer on clay particles has great importance in many industrial applications. This work aimed to study the adsorption of anionic polymer, poly (4‐sodium styrene sulfonate), on kaolinite clay surfaces. Three different Egyptian kaolinite clay samples were used. The kaolinite clays were saturated with sodium or calcium cation. It was found that the Freundlich isotherm is applicable for this polymer adsorption on kaolinite. The parameters of the Freundlich equation are very close, indicating a comparable nature for the binding behavior between the different samples of kaolinite and the adsorbed polymer. The adsorption process was examined at different pH values (3, 6, and 9 ± 0.1) to cover the range below and above the point of zero charge of kaolinite surfaces. It was found that, below this point, the polymer adsorption increased, while above it the polymer adsorption decreased. The polymer adsorption on calcium kaolinite was higher than that of sodium kaolinite at the same pH value. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 1712–1719, 2006