An Overview of Surfactant Enhanced Flocculation for the Removal of Organic Pollutants from Wastewaters
摘要
Surfactants are a versatile and efficient class of compoundsCompound that, being amphiphilicAmphiphilic, have a unique property of solubilizing polarPolar and non-polarNon-polar compoundsNon polar compounds simultaneously in theirSolution aqueousAqueous solutionsAqueous solution. This property has been used for capturing theNon-biodegradable non-biodegradableBiodegradable organicOrganic pollutantsOrganic pollutant fromPollutant aqueousAqueous systemsAqueous system and their subsequent removal. Although several techniquesTechniques have been devised and implemented for the removal of said pollutantsPollutant, but the major issues include their non-applicability on the industrialIndustrial scaleIndustrial scale, high costCost, and low efficiencyEfficiency. This chapter highlights surfactantSurfactant-based flocculationFlocculation techniqueTechniques that is a low cost, a highly efficient method that involves the use ofReagent biodegradableBiodegradable reagentsBiodegradable reagent, and is capable to deal with large volumes of pollutedWater waterPolluted water. The role of surfactantsSurfactant in different techniquesTechniques, the mechanismMechanism of surfactant enhanced flocculationFlocculation, as well as the different parametersParameter that affect its efficiencyEfficiency are also discussed in detail. The applicability of this techniqueTechniques is critically analyzed and its potential use in the future are brought under study.