Carboxymethylation of Cotton Linter in an Alcoholic Reaction Medium

Abstract The effect of isopropanol, isobutanol and butanol on the carboxymethylation of cotton linter was investigated. The reaction was conducted for two hours at 55[ddot] by using different concentrations of sodium hydroxide and monochloroacetic acid. The amounts of introduced carboxymethyl groups, rheological properties and infrared spectra of the products were evaluated. It was found that, unlike butanol, isopropanol in the reaction medium results in lower yield and lower degree of substitution, but higher viscosity.