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Surfactants in sludge-amended agricultural soils: a review

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Abstract

Surfactants are included in different detergent formulations and are one of the most ubiquitous and important families of organic compounds. Although the generic term applies to a great number of products, 80% of their demand is covered by only ten types of compounds. The global surfactant market volume size is more than 18 million tons per year. Large quantities of surfactants are continuously released into the environment, where they can or cannot be degraded depending on their structure. The alkylbenzenesulphonate (LAS) is the most widely used surfactant. LAS can be degraded under aerobic conditions but is persistent in the environment under anaerobic conditions. Surfactants may enter the terrestrial environment through several routes, with the use of sewage sludge as fertiliser on agricultural land being by far the most important. High concentrations of surfactants and their degradation products may affect the biota. On the other hand, due to their amphiphilic nature, surfactants may interact both with inorganic as well as organic contaminants affecting their bioavailability.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to AECI (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, Programa de Cooperación Interuniversitaria e Investigación Científica entre España e Iberoamérica, A/6793/06 project), UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires) and CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas) for financial support. M. J. L. C. and A. F. C. are research members of CONICET.

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  1. Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios del Agua, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Chorroarin 280, C1427CWO, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alicia Fernández Cirelli, Carlos Ojeda & Mariano J. L. Castro

  2. Institut de l’Aigua, Universidad de Barcelona, Joan XXIII S/N, C.P. 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Miquel Salgot

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  1. Alicia Fernández Cirelli
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Correspondence to Alicia Fernández Cirelli.

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Fernández Cirelli, A., Ojeda, C., Castro, M.J.L. et al. Surfactants in sludge-amended agricultural soils: a review. Environ Chem Lett 6, 135–148 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-008-0146-1

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