Interfacial Mass Transfer in Trichloroethylene/Surfactants/ Water Systems: Implications for Remediation Strategies
Nadia Valletti,
Marcello A. Budroni,
Istvan Lagzi,
Nadia Marchettini,
Margarita Sanchez-Dominguez,
Federico Rossi
Affiliations
Nadia Valletti
Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences—DEEP Sciences, University of Siena, Pian dei Mantellini 44, 53100 Siena, Italy
Marcello A. Budroni
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Istvan Lagzi
MTA-BME Condensed Matter Physics Research Group, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budafoki ut 8, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Nadia Marchettini
Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences—DEEP Sciences, University of Siena, Pian dei Mantellini 44, 53100 Siena, Italy
Margarita Sanchez-Dominguez
Grupo de Química Coloidal e Interfacial Aplicada a Nanomateriales y Formulaciones, Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV), Unidad Monterrey, Alianza Norte 202, Parque de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica, Apodaca 66628, Mexico
Federico Rossi
Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences—DEEP Sciences, University of Siena, Pian dei Mantellini 44, 53100 Siena, Italy
The fate of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in the environment and the consequential remediation problems have been intensively studied over the last 50 years. However, a scarce literature is present about the mass transfer at the DNAPL/water interface. In this paper, we present a fast method for the evaluation of the mass transfer performance of a surfactant that can easily be employed to support an effective choice for the so-called enhanced remediation strategies. We developed a lab-scale experimental system modelled by means of simple ordinary differential equations to calculate the mass transfer coefficient (K) of trichloroethylene, chosen as representative DNAPL, in the presence and in the absence of two ethoxylated alcohols belonging to the general class of Synperonic surfactants. Our findings revealed that it exists an optimal surfactant concentration range, where K increases up to 40% with respect to pure water.
