Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic organic compounds that are widely present in the environment. The bioremediation of PAHs is an economical and environmentally friendly remediation technique, but it is limited because PAHs have low water solubility and few...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Academic Press
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56933 |
| _version_ | 1848759973200265216 |
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| author | Lamichhane, S. Bal Krishna, K. Sarukkalige, Priyantha Ranjan |
| author_facet | Lamichhane, S. Bal Krishna, K. Sarukkalige, Priyantha Ranjan |
| author_sort | Lamichhane, S. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic organic compounds that are widely present in the environment. The bioremediation of PAHs is an economical and environmentally friendly remediation technique, but it is limited because PAHs have low water solubility and fewer bioavailable properties. The solubility and bioavailability of PAHs can be increased by using surfactants to reduce surface tension and interfacial tension; this method is called surfactant-enhanced remediation (SER). The SER of PAHs is influenced by many factors such as the type and concentration of surfactants, PAH hydrophobicity, temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved organic matter and microbial community. Furthermore, as mixed micelles have a synergistic effect on PAH solubilisation, selecting the optimum ratio of mixed surfactants leads to effective PAH remediation. Although the use of surfactants inhibits microbial activities in some cases, this could be avoided by choosing an optimum combination of surfactants and a proper microbial community for the targeted PAH(s), resulting in up to 99.99% PAH removal. This article reviews the literature on SER of PAHs, including surfactant types, the synergistic effect of mixed micelles on PAH removal, the impact of surfactants on the PAH biodegradation process, factors affecting the SER process, and the mechanisms of surfactant-enhanced solubilisation of PAHs. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:08:23Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-56933 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:08:23Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Academic Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-569332017-10-02T03:39:12Z Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review Lamichhane, S. Bal Krishna, K. Sarukkalige, Priyantha Ranjan Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic organic compounds that are widely present in the environment. The bioremediation of PAHs is an economical and environmentally friendly remediation technique, but it is limited because PAHs have low water solubility and fewer bioavailable properties. The solubility and bioavailability of PAHs can be increased by using surfactants to reduce surface tension and interfacial tension; this method is called surfactant-enhanced remediation (SER). The SER of PAHs is influenced by many factors such as the type and concentration of surfactants, PAH hydrophobicity, temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved organic matter and microbial community. Furthermore, as mixed micelles have a synergistic effect on PAH solubilisation, selecting the optimum ratio of mixed surfactants leads to effective PAH remediation. Although the use of surfactants inhibits microbial activities in some cases, this could be avoided by choosing an optimum combination of surfactants and a proper microbial community for the targeted PAH(s), resulting in up to 99.99% PAH removal. This article reviews the literature on SER of PAHs, including surfactant types, the synergistic effect of mixed micelles on PAH removal, the impact of surfactants on the PAH biodegradation process, factors affecting the SER process, and the mechanisms of surfactant-enhanced solubilisation of PAHs. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56933 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.037 Academic Press restricted |
| spellingShingle | Lamichhane, S. Bal Krishna, K. Sarukkalige, Priyantha Ranjan Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review |
| title | Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review |
| title_full | Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review |
| title_fullStr | Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review |
| title_short | Surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A review |
| title_sort | surfactant-enhanced remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a review |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/56933 |