CATIONIC MODIFIED RICE STARCH FOR DRINKING WATER PURIFICATION

Abstract

Drinking water treatment is of paramount importance for all people all over the world. Traditional water coagulant, aluminum sulfate poses a great risk for human health as it adds residual aluminum metal to drinking water. A cationic rice starch polymer prepared from waste product (broken rice) was evaluated to be used in water treatment. The suggested polymer is a biodegradable product and environment friendly. Application of cationic rice starch in the treatment of Nile river water showed that the turbidity caused by organic matter, colloidal silica were decreased to the lowest levels by using 6 ppm of cationic rice starch. Also, better results of water treatment were observed than that obtained when using 40 ppm of aluminum sulfate. Maximum treatment results were obtained on using a mixture of (4 and 23) ppm of cationic rice starch and aluminum sulfate, respectively for the treatment of raw water.