Removal of escherichia coli from water by systems based on insoluble poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐G‐tetraethylenepentamine and ‐G‐polyethylenimine

A study was made of the removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli) from water by systems based on insoluble poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐g‐tetraethylenepentamine and ‐g‐polyethylenimine, i.e., the reaction products of insoluble poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) beads with tetraethylenepentamine (TEP) or polyethylenimine having molecular weights of about 600 (PEI600). The polymers (PGMA‐TEP and PGMA‐PEI600) were brought into contact with E. coli in sterilized physiological saline. These polymers made the viable cell numbers decrease in this medium. It was confirmed by observation of polymer surfaces with a scanning electron microscope that this decrease was caused by adsorption of the bacterial cells onto these polymers. The decrease coefficients of viable cell numbers (D) for E. coli by these polymers were 53 ml g−1 h−1 for PGMA‐TEP and 62 ml g−1h−1 for PGMA‐PEI600, being compared with D by other polymers studied previously.