Biodegradable natural surfactants obtained from plants
can be an attractive alternative to synthetic surfactants
in
the remediation of contaminated soils. In this
research,
a plant-based surfactant obtained from the fruit pericarp
of
Sapindus mukurossi, a tree generally grown in
tropical
regions of Asia, is tested. A simple and economical
method
for the preparation of the surfactant is developed.
An
empirical formula for the surfactant was determined to be
(C26H31O10)
n
.
The aqueous solubilities of hexachlorobenzene
(HCB) and naphthalene in the natural surfactant solutions
were found to vary linearly with the concentration of the
surfactant showing trends comparable to that of typical
com
mercial surfactants. Natural surfactant solutions were
also employed for flushing HCB from one-dimensional soil
columns. HCB recoveries after 12 pore volumes of
flushing
with 0.5 and 1% natural surfactant solutions were 20 and
100
times more than that recovered by water flooding.
These
promising results warrant further research to establish
the
usefulness of plant-based surfactants for soil washing
applications.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.