Effect of Humic Acids on the State of Disperse, Acid, and Vat Dyes in Aqueous Solutions

Use of biosurfactants from urban wastes compost in textile dyeing and soil remediation

“…Under these circumstances, while the use of synthetic commercial surfactants is well established, the use of a humic-like biosurfactant in dyeing technology is rather new. Indeed, the interaction of peat humic acids with some water insoluble dyes has already been reported (Vashurina et al, 2003), but its effect on dye performance during technological application has never been reported.…”

“…Our experimental results do not include data on the environmental impact of the surfactants. However, it should be considered that while the environmental toxicity of synthetic alkylsulfates is assessed (Feitkenhauer and Meyer, 2002), composts (Luth et al, 1996) and humic acids (Vashurina et al, 2003), by virtue of their structural similarity with soil natural organic matter, have been shown to be environmentally friendly materials. These considerations allow us to expect that the compost biosurfactant may be used as well as or more conveniently than SDS as chemical auxiliary in other technological applications.…”

“…It is quite likely that by tuning up the compost process one could obtain other humic-like surfactant matter showing improved performance, which could be tailored for specific applications and cases. These facts, coupled with the expected environmental friendly impact of the above biosurfactants (Luth et al, 1996;Vashurina et al, 2003), with their potential monetary value (Modler et al, 2006;Houston & Associates, Inc., 2007) and with the large use of surfactants in modern life, allow us to expect well promising economic benefits from the exploitation of compost as a source of chemical auxiliaries to recycle to the chemical industry. There is no doubt, however, that optimization of the process for the extraction of humic-like substances must go along with the product development.…”