Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic environmental pollutants that are known or suspected carcinogens or mutagens. Bioremediation has been used as a general way to eliminate them from the contaminated sites or aquifers, but their biodegradation is rather limited due to their low bioavailability because of their sparingly soluble nature. Surfactant-mediated biodegradation is a promising alternative. The presence of surfactants can increase the solubility of PAHs and hence potentially increase their bioavailability. However, inconclusive results have been reported on the effects of surfactant on the biodegradation of PAHs. In this work, surfactant-mediated biodegradation of PAHs is reviewed.
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic environmental pollutants that are known or suspected carcinogens or mutagens
This work gives a review of surfactant effects on the biodegradation of solubilization of PAHs, a family of common and toxic pollutants that have raised significant environmental concerns
Surfactants have been proven to be important vehicles for the recovery of these compounds from contaminated soil or aquifers due to the solubilization process. Both positive and negative effects have been reported on surfactants on microbial utilization of PAHs
Summary
A surfactant molecule consists of a hydrophilic headgroup and one or two hydrophobic parts. If the surfactant concentration exceeds a certain threshold, called the critical micelle concentration (CMC), at temperature higher than its Krafft temperature, surfactant monomers in aqueous solution will aggregate to form micelles of colloidal-size. Under such a condition, the hydrophobic solubilizates are incorporated into the hydrophobic cores of the micelles, which is called solubilization. Apart from the solubility, the dissolution kinetics of hydrocarbons is an important factor determining their biodegradation. This becomes more important when it comes to the remediation of weathered soils. Surfactants are able to improve the mass-transfer of hydrophobic pollutants from a solid or non-aqueous liquid phase into the aqueous phase by decreasing the interfacial tension and by accumulating the hydrophobic compounds in the micelles [12,13]
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