Physicochemical properties environmental relevance

Surfactants and their biotransformation products enter surface waters primarily through discharges from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Depending on their physicochemical properties, surface-active substances may partition between the dissolved phase and the solid phase through adsorption onto suspended particles and sediments [1,2]. Several environmental studies have been dedicated to the assessment of the contribution of surfactant residues in effluents to the total load of surfactants in receiving waters. This contribution reviews the relevant literature describing the presence of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LASs) and in particular of their degradation products in surface waters and sediments (Table 6.3.1). 

As indicated previously, the final disposition of a chemical in the environment is dependent on the environmental conditions, characteristics of the media involved, and the various physicochemical properties of the contaminants. Table 6.6 provides a listing of properties describing the chemical, medium, and potential for translocation and transformation. This section focuses on chemical properties that are frequently used to assess the fate of a contaminant in air, water, soil, or biota. The goals of this section are to provide brief descriptions of relevant properties of a contaminant and to directly link specific ranges of these properties to predicted fate in the environment. 

The RF-GC methodology is technically very simple and it is combined with mathematical analysis for estimating various physicochemical parameters related to solid catalysts characterization in a simple experiment under conditions compatible with the operation of real catalysts. The experimentally determined kinetic quantities are not only consistent with the results of other techniques but they can also give important information about the mechanism of the relevant processes, the nature of the active sites, and the topography of the heterogeneous surfaces. The utilization of RF-GC methodologies can be extended to the study of the surface properties of various solids of technological and environmental interest. 

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