Abstract:
This paper summarizes a laboratory study to select a suitable surfactant for a
surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) process that integrtates surfactant
recovery and reinjection. Several anionic, nonionic, and anionic/nonionic mixtures of
surfactants with and without co-colvent have been evaluated. Most of these systems
showed unacceptable phase behavior with PCE and/or high viscosity and were thus
eliminated from further study. The Aerosol MA-801 surfactant demonstrated high
solubilization of PCE and low viscosity with PCE; however, due to its high CMC, it is
not considered an optimum surfactant for recovery by ultrafiltration. A new surfactant
was synthesized expecially for this project and found to be the best overall choice due
to its excellent solubilization of PCE, low viscosity with PCE and good recovery by
filtration due to its low CMC.
Reference:
V. Weerasooriya, S.L. Yeh, and G.A. Pope, "Integrated Demonstration of Surfactant-Enhanced
Aquifer Remediation (SEAR) with Surfactant Regeneration and Reuse," in Surfactant-Based
Separations: Recent Advances, J. F. Scamehorn and J.H. Harwell (eds.), ACS Symposium
Series 740, 1999.
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Last updated: May 2, 2002