Partitioning of Ethoxylated Nonionic Surfactants into Nonaqueous-Phase Organic Liquids: Influence on Solubilization Behavior

Abstract

The ability of surfactants to enhance the apparent aqueous solubilities of nonaqueous-phase liquid (NAPL) contaminants has increased interest in surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) applications. This study examines the effect of surfactant partitioning on surfactant solubilization efficiency by analyzing the solubilization of several chlorinated NAPLs by a homologous series of linear alcohol ethoxylate nonionic surfactants. In general, it is found that the partitioning of surfactants can, especially in the cases of polar NAPLs, lead to substantial losses of surfactant, leaving little surfactant remaining in aqueous solution for solubilization. More importantly, it is found that neglecting surfactant partitioning can produce artifacts in the measured solubilization capacities of surfactants for NAPLs. For example, when surfactant partitioning is neglected, measurements of the solubilization capacity for homologous series of surfactants are often observed to produce a maximum solubilization capacity as a function of the surfactant hydrophile--lipophile balance number (HLB). The work described here demonstrates that the observed maximum solubilization capacity can result from neglecting partitioning of the surfactant into the NAPL. When solubilization capacity is calculated based on the amount of aqueous surfactant present after partitioning losses, no maximum is observed. The implications of this work for aquifer remediation are discussed.