Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons simulation studies

In previous studies, the solubilization of hydrophobic organic contaminants using surfactants has been shown to increase the rate of contaminant desorption from soil to water (Deitsch and Smith 1995 Yeom et al. 1995 Tiehm et al. 1997). A 3,000 mg/L solution of Triton X-100 (CMC = 140 mg/L) increased the rate of desorption of laboratory-contaminated TCE from a peat soil (Deitsch and Smith 1995). However, the solubilization effect was secondary compared to the surfactant s effect on the desorption rate coefficient. Yeom et al (1995) developed a model that satisfactorily predicted the extent of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon solubilization from a coal tar-contaminated soil. Only at high surfactant dosages did the model fail to accurately predict the ability of different surfactants to solubilize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It was hypothesized that mass-transfer limitations encountered by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the soil caused the observed differences between the data and the model simulations. In another study (Tiehm et al. 1997), two nonionic surfactants, Arkopal N-300 and Saogenat T-300, increased the rate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon desorption from a field-contaminated soil. The primary mechanism for the enhanced desorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was attributed to surfactant solubilization of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 

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