The effect of ionic strength and hardness of water on the non-ionic surfactant-enhanced remediation of perchloroethylene contamination

The objective of this study is to evaluate the perchloroethylene (PCE) removal by an aqueous surfactant solutions based on influential factors (ionic strength, hardness) of various groundwaters and surface waters contaminated with PCE. The experimental methods used in this study were separatory funnel experiments and batch experiments. Separatory funnel experiments were performed to determine which surfactants are good solubilizers for PCE. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of ions in sampled water for PCE removal. The results of separatory funnel experiments indicated that the surfactant polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monostearate (Tween 60) showed to be a predominant solubilizer for the removal of PCE (87.3%). Separatory funnel experiments also showed that the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) number and the chemical structure of the surfactants were good indicators of surfactant effectiveness for removal of PCE from water. The results of batch experiments showed that non-ionic surfactants are affected by the ionic strength of sampled water. The % of PCE removal of the Tween 60 surfactant solution was measured to be 88.3% by batch experiments. This result was affected by the characteristics of the surfactant (HLB, chemical structures) and the ionic strength of water. Therefore, the ionic strength of contaminated water, HLB and chemical structures of surfactants must be considered in surfactant-enhanced remediation.