Abstract
Purpose
The use of cationic surfactants was proposed to enhance the soil retention of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). However, due to the complexity of soil composition, the effect of cationic surfactants on the soil sorption of HOCs was limited to a qualitative understanding. To gain further insight into the mechanism of the surfactant and predict its efficiency, a comparative study on the HOCs sorption capacities of the surfactants sorbed on pure typical soil components was investigated.
Materials and methods
The sorption of cationic surfactant onto five pure typical soil components and the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by the sorbed surfactant were conducted using batch equilibration methods. Humic acid (HA) and quartz were chosen as the representatives of organic matter and sand, respectively. Montmorillonite, kaolinite, and illite were chosen as representatives of clay minerals.
Results and discussion
The cationic surfactant sorption capacities of different soil components were of great difference, and the PAH sorption capacities of the surfactant sorbed onto different components were also very different. Aside from the clay minerals, HA was a very active adsorbent for the cationic surfactant, and the sorption mechanism included both adsorption and partition-like processes. For each pure soil component and a certain PAH, a proximately piecewise function was found to describe the relationship of surfactant-normalized PAH distribution coefficient K sf and the sorption amount of the surfactant on solid Q e-DDPB (R > 0.9). As a result, the sorption of PAHs by different soil components with certain surfactant loading can be estimated.
Conclusions
The effect of soil organic matter such as HA could not be ignored when predicting the soil sorption of cationic surfactants. The PAH partition capacities of the sorbed surfactant on HA or clay minerals were very different. However, for each pure soil component, the K sf value was specifically related with the surfactant loading, which provided a possible means of predicting the efficiency of the cationic surfactant in enhancing the sorption of PAHs onto soils.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.References
Boyd SA, Lee JF, Mortland MM (1988) Attenuating organic contaminant mobility by soil modification. Nature 333(6171):345–347
Brown MJ, Burris DR (1996) Enhanced organic contaminant sorption on soil treated with cationic surfactants. Ground Water 34(4):734–744
Chen B, Zhu L, Zhu J, Xing B (2005) Configurations of the bentonite-sorbed myristylpyridinium cation and their influences on the uptake of organic compounds. Environ Sci Technol 39(16):6093–6100
Gamboa C, Olea AF (2006) Association of cationic surfactants to humic acid: effect on the surface activity. Colloids Surf A: Physicochem Eng Asp 278(1–3):241–245
Geliner WJ, Zhao X, Girand M, Boyd SA, Voice TC (2006) Hydraulic conductivity of soil sorptive zones created by in situ injection of a cationic surfactant. J Environ Eng-ASCE 132(12):1659–1663
Hernández-Soriano MC, Peña A, Mingorance MD (2007) Retention of organophosphorous insecticides on a calcareous soil modified by organic amendments and a surfactant. Sci Total Environ 378(1–2):109–113
Iglesias-Jiménez E, Sánchez-Martín MJ, Sánchez-Camazano M (1996) Pesticide adsorption in a soil–water system in the presence of surfactants. Chemosphere 32(9):1771–1782
Konan KL, Peyratout C, Cerbelaud M, Smith A, Bonnet JP, Jacquet A (2008) Influence of two dispersants on the rheological behavior of kaolin and illite in concentrated calcium hydroxide dispersions. Appl Clay Sci 42(1–2):252–257
Lee JF, Crum JR, Boyd SA (1989) Enhanced retention of organic contaminants by soils exchanged with organic cations. Environ Sci Technol 23(11):1365–1372
Lu L, Zhu L (2009) Reducing plant uptake of PAHs by cationic surfactant-enhanced soil retention. Environ Pollut 157(6):1794–1799
Maurice PA, Namjesnik-Dejanovic K (1999) Aggregate structures of sorbed humic substances observed in aqueous solution. Environ Sci Technol 33(9):1538–1541
Mayer LM, Xing B (2001) Soil mineralogy: organic matter–surface area relationships in acid soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 65(1):250–258
Rodriguez-Cruz MS, Sanchez-Martin MJ, Andrades MS, Sanchez-Camazano M (2007) Modification of clay barriers with a cationic surfactant to improve the retention of pesticides in soils. J Hazard Mater 139(2):363–372
Sánchez-Martín MJ, Dorado MC, del Hoyo C, Rodríguez-Cruz MS (2008) Influence of clay mineral structure and surfactant nature on the adsorption capacity of surfactants by clays. J Hazardous Mater 150(1):115–123
Sheng G, Xu S, Boyd SA (1996) Mechanism(s) controlling sorption of neutral organic contaminants by surfactant-derived and natural organic matter. Environ Sci Technol 30(5):1553–1557
Smith JA, Galan A (1995) Sorption of nonionic organic contaminants to single and dual organic cation bentonites from water. Environ Sci Technol 29(3):685–692
Wang P, Keller AA (2008) Soil particle-size dependent partitioning behavior of pesticides within water-soil-cationic surfactant systems. Water Res 42(14):3781–3788
Wang P, Keller AA (2009) Partitioning of hydrophobic pesticides within a soil–water–anionic surfactant system. Water Res 43(3):706–714
Yaws CL (1999) Chemical properties handbook. McGraw-Hill, Beijing
Zhu L, Chen B, Shen X (2000) Sorption of phenol, p-nitrophenol, and aniline to dual-cation organobentonites from water. Environ Sci Technol 34(3):468–475
Zhu L, Chen B, Tao S, Chiou CT (2003) Interactions of organic contaminants with mineral-adsorbed surfactants. Environ Sci Technol 37(17):4001–4006
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (208901111, 20737002, 40973067 and 21137003) and the Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang (Z5090031).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Bernd Markert
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lu, L., Zhu, L. Effect of soil components on the surfactant-enhanced soil sorption of PAHs. J Soils Sediments 12, 161–168 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0432-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0432-6