Compost, surfactants from

Figure 9.7 Proposed molecular structure for surfactant-like humic material extracted from compost. Adapted from Quagliotto etal. (2006).

The effectiveness of biosurfactants was demonstrated in soil-washing tests using two SOU samples contaminated with PAHs over several decades. Biosurfactants from urban waste compost (cHAL) enhanced PAH desorption from one soil 2-4-fold, relative to SDS. In addition, cHAL showed much less absorption than did SDS (12%-54% vs. 68%-95%). The results indicate that biosurfactants isolated from compost, instead of synthetic surfactants, can be used for soU remediation (Montoneri et af, 2009). 

The idea of obtaining surfactant-like material from compost has been explored by the group of Montoneri at the University of Torino [43-45]. This group based their studies on the fact that humic acids (HAs) and related compounds in alkaline solutions are capable of reducing the surface tension of water, forming micelles and solubilizing hydrophobic compounds [46]. Most of the applications for HA-like surfactants are currently... 

Quagliotto, P., Montoneri, E., Tambone, F. et al. (2006) Chemicals from wastes compost-derived humic acid-like matter as surfactant. Environ. Sci. Technol., 40, 1686-1692. 

Quadri, G., Chen, X., Jawitz, J. W. et al. (2008) Biobased surfactant-like molecules from organic wastes the effect of waste composition and composting process on surfactant properties and on the ability to solubilize tetrachloroethene (PCE). Environ. Sci. Technol., 42 (7), 2618-2623. 

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