- Collection:
- Atlanta University and Clark Atlanta University Theses and Dissertations
- Title:
- Surfactant enhanced extraction of PCBs from soils, 2003
- Creator:
- Davis, Irene R.
- Date of Original:
- 2003-12-01
- Subject:
- Degrees, Academic
Dissertations, Academic - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- theses
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- The soil utilized in surfactant enhanced extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from soils was determined to have low cation exchange capacity, low total organic content, and be of a sandy nature. PCBs spiked onto the soil obtained from the Savannah River Site (SRS) were distributed according to particle sizes. The smaller the particle fraction, the higher the surface area and the higher the PCB loading. Anionic or neutral surfactants and combinations thereof showed various degrees of effectiveness in extracting PCBs from the soil, based on the surfactant type and their critical micelle concentration (CMC). On equivalent CMC basis, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), 1- dodecylpyridinium chloride (1-DPC), Witconol SN-70 and Igepal CA 720 were most effective in extracting PCBs from the 100 ppm spiked SRS soil. Further studies with Witconol SN 70, an alcohol ethoxylate surfactant, shows that using a 0.5 wt % surfactant solution, 50% of PCBs was removed from 100 mg/kg spiked soil within 24 h, at 25�C, whereas, with a 5 wt % solution, 100% of the PCBs was removed. Modification of the pH of the soil-surfactant slurry slightly increases PCBs extraction, whereas the addition of inorganic electrolytes and small molecular weight alcohols caused a significant reduction in the surfactant extraction efficiency.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2003_davis_irene_r
- Rights Holder:
- Clark Atlanta University
- Holding Institution:
- Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
- Rights:
-
