Enhanced soil flushing of phenanthrene by anionic–nonionic mixed surfactant

Laboratory column experiments were conducted to investigate the performance of anionic–nonionic mixed surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with Triton X-100 (TX100), in enhancing phenanthrene flushing for contaminated soil in an aim to improve the efficiency of surfactant remediation technology. The experimental results showed that the sorption of TX100 onto soil was severely restricted in the presence of SDS in batch and column experiments and decreased with the increasing mass fraction of SDS in mixed surfactant solutions; meanwhile the enhanced solubilization of phenanthrene by SDS–TX100 mixed surfactant was greater than that by individual surfactant. These results can be attributed to the formation of mixed surfactant micelles in solution. The column flushing experiments showed that the flushing efficiencies for phenanthrene-contaminated soil by SDS–TX100 mixed surfactants were greater than that by individual surfactant and increased with the increasing mass fraction of SDS in mixed surfactant solutions.