SURFACE MODIFICATION OF PCC BY BIOPOLYMERS

Abstract

In the present work, the research was carried out on surface modification of PCC using biopolymers. The biopolymer used in the present work was chitosan. The influence of various operating parameters which were: initial chitosan concentration (mglg PCC), contact time (5mm. -5 hr), and temperature (30°C - 80°C) were investigated. The adsorption of chitosan on PCC surface was analyzed by measuring total organic carbon (TOC) of the supematant The equilibrium data obtained was analyzed for isotherm study using famous Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The kinetics of the experiment was studied using pseudo-first order and second-order kinetic models. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction were carried out to characterize the PCC before and after adsorption. After that the application of chitosan modified as well as unmodified PCC in paper was investigated. 70 gsm handsheets containing no filler and 15% filler (each modified and unmodified) were prepared and tested for various strength properties, optical properties and ash content.