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Quantitation of acrylamide (and polyacrylamide): critical review of methods for trace determination/formulation analysis and future-research recommendations. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6518680
Polyacrylamides (esp. polyelectrolytes) have gained wide usage in water treatment (as flocculants/coagulants), tertiary oil recovery, and various other applications such as sewer grouts. Unreacted, residual acrylamide monomer (2-propenamide: CH2=CH-C(=O)-NH2) is usually present in the various bulk commercial formulations at low fractional percentages. Although the polymers are relatively nontoxic, acrylamide can elicit severe neurotoxicity and genotoxicity. For health concerns, use of polyacrylamides in drinking water has been subjected to closer evaluation during the last decade. Currently, dosage standards are indirectly based on the maximum concentration of acrylamide that would result from use of a commercial formulation of known acrylamide content. Although numerous methods of chemical analysis exist for determining the acrylamide content of a polyacrylamide formulation, no standardized method has been adopted for directly determining trace concentrations of acrylamide in water (e.g., at the sub-parts-per-billion level, ng-micrograms/L). This report represents the first in-depth literature review of methods for determining acrylamide monomer. Over 100 references were reviewed, and those that deal specifically with acrylamide determination are annotated in detail. The approach was to unify the general chemistry of acrylamide (and amides) with the published methods for quantitation.
Research Organization:
Daughton (Christian G.), Orinda, CA (USA)
OSTI ID:
6518680
Report Number(s):
PB-89-121685/XAB; CGD-02/88
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English