A Study on Processes of Formation and Degradation of Alginate Gels

Processes of formation and thermal degradation and oxidative degradation of alginate gels were studied by viscosity determination method. It has been found that the irreversible extent of thermal degradation and the values of activation energy of oxidative degradation reaction are all related to the strength of cross bonds. But degradation is mainly based on breakdown of gel monomer-linear molecule NaAlg. The initial rate of oxidative degradation is very great; these degradation reactions follow the kinetics law of first order reaction during the second to thirtieth minutes.