Sediments alkylphenol ethoxylates

Since the beginning of the 1980s, the presence of surfactants in solid matrices has slowly received more attention. The publication by Giger and coworkers in 1984 [2] on the anaerobic formation in sewage sludge of nonylphenol (NP) out of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) particularly stressed the importance of this environmental compartment. However, environmental data of surfactants in sediments and sludges remains scarcer than data on aqueous concentrations, undoubtedly because sediment samples are more difficult to handle. 

OCCURRENCE OF SURFACTANTS IN SURFACE WATERS AND FRESHWATER SEDIMENTS—I. ALKYLPHENOL ETHOXYLATES AND THEIR DEGRADATION PRODUCTS... 

Rice CP, Schmitz-Afonso I, Loyo-Rosales JE, Link E, Thoma R, Fay L, Altfater D, Camp MJ (2003) Alkylphenol and alkylphenol-ethoxylates in carp, water, and sediment from the Cuyahoga River, Ohio. Environ Sci Technol 37 3747-3754... 

In this chapter, all four types of sediment and sludge sample handling techniques for non-ionic surfactants will be discussed and compared. Most of the studies published on non-ionics focus on APEOs and their degradation products, viz. the alkylphenols, but some extraction methods for alcohol ethoxylates (AEOs) and coconut diethanol amides will also be discussed. 

The surfactant concentration has a great effect on the decrease in the dispersity degree of the emulsions. An abrupt decrease in the droplet size becomes appreciable with addition of even small surfactant amounts—0.25% of ethoxylated alkylphenol. This dispersity increase unequivocally leads to an increase in sedimentation stability. 

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