• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.227-232
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• 2014

Depolymerization of sodium alginate (SA) was carried out by electron beam irradiation in a hydrogen peroxide atmosphere. E-beam with 1.0 and 2.5 MeV of accelerating voltages were employed in this experiment. For control of molecular weight and the radiation yield of scission ($G_s$), the irradiation dosage of e-beam was managed in a range from 2.5 to 20 kGy while the quantity of hydrogen peroxide was adjusted in a range of 0 to 4.5%. The chemical structure of the depolymerized sodium alginate (DSA) was analyzed to have scission of 1,4-glycoside bond mainly and a few fragmentary formate end groups which may be produced by the cleavage between C2 and C3 in repeating unit of alginate. It turned out to have simple chemical structures at the DSA end groups, produced by e-beam irradiation, similar with those in the polymer SA structure. As a result, the molecular weight of SA decreased as the energy and dosage of applied e-beam increased, and the radiation yield of scission showed the best result at 2w/v% in SA concentration. The highest radiation yield of scission ($7.919{\times}10^4mol/J$) was confirmed when an irradiation dosage of 20 kGy (2 MeV) and 1.5% hydrogen peroxide were used in 2% SA aqueous solution.