Chemical modification of alginic acid by ultrasonic irradiation

Abstract: Chemical modification of alginic acid has been done by ultrasonic irradiation to obtain its methylated, ethylated and isopropylated derivatives. The influence of ultrasonic frequency and power on esterification process of alginic acid has been investigated. Alginate derivatives have been characterized by degree of esterification (DE) and IR-FT spectroscopy. It has been found that 45 kHz ultrasonic frequency accelerated modification process as reduced the reaction time from 16 hours to 2 hours. The obtained results showed that ultrasound irradiation increased the reaction efficiency in methanol and depended on the ratio of the M/G.