Flocculation and Sedimentation of Cane Sugar Juice Particles with Cationic Homo- and Copolymers

Rapid flocculation and sedimentation of suspended particles in primary cane sugar juice is achieved using a high molecular weight anionic polymer flocculant. This work reports on efforts to enhance the performance of an anionic flocculant by the addition of cationic polymers. Homopolymers of poly(trimethylammonium ethyl methacrylate chloride) (TMAEMAC) and cationic copolymers of poly(trimethylammonium ethyl acrylate chloride) (TMAEAC) and acrylamide were synthesized and their performance, to enhance the flocculation and sedimentation of cane sugar juice particles, was evaluated by turbidity and settling rate measurements. The charge-patch mechanism best explains the performance of the homopolymers, whereas the action of the copolymers is attributed to the bridging mechanism. The results of this work indicate that the copolymers are more effective than the homopolymers to aid flocculation and sedimentation of the cane sugar juice particles, and that the best-performing polymers are those that act by the bridging mechanism. Addition of increased amounts of anionic flocculant did not confer an improvement, suggesting that the cationic bridging flocculant targets a different population of particles that is largely responsible for the residual turbidity.