Solvent-aqueous-surfactant

A paper contributed by J. E. Desnoyers, R. Beaudoin, C. Roux, and C. Perron described the use of microemulsions as a possible tool for the extraction of oil from tar sands. Using a technique called flow microcalorimetry recently developed at the University of Sherbrooke, these researchers studied the structure and stability of organic microphases in aqueous media. These microphases can be stabilized by surfactants and can dissolve large quantities of oil. In a similar vein, D. F. Gerson, J. E. Zajic, and M. D. Ouchi (University of Western Ontario) described the extraction of bitumen from Athabasca tar sands by a combined solvent-aqueous-surfactant system. 

The Relation of Surfactant Properties to the Extraction of Bitumen from Athabasca Tar Sand by a Solvent-Aqueous-Surfactant Process... 

The paddle mill was used to study the effect of surfactant type on a solvent-aqueous-surfactant extraction scheme for the recovery of bitumen from Athabasca tar sand. n the experiments of Figures 4,5 and 6, bitumen recovered from the surface phases was measured as a function of the mole fraction of ethylene oxide in the surfactant and as a function of the extraction step in which the surfactant was added. The results are reported as the % of the total bitumen present in the surface fraction. The amount of surfactant used was that required to give a final aqueous concentration of 0.02% (w/v), but in different sets of experiments the surfactant was added at various stages in the process. 

Fig. 10 relates the composite extraction index (see above) obtained in the low-shear aqueous test system for these Tween surfactants, and adhesion tensions measured against various solids. Adhesion tensions against platinum and bitumen saturated pyrophyllite are irregularly related to tar sand extraction, while the adhesion tension against a fresh pyrophyllite surface is linearly (inversely) related to tar sand extraction. This is the first linear correlation between a measurable property of a surfactant solution and tar sand extraction which we have been able to obtain, and there appears to be no such finding in the literature. Fig. 11 gives the relations between extraction of bitumen with the paddle mill, solvent-aqueous-surfactant extraction and adhesion tensions measured against platinum, bitumen saturated pyrophyllite and hydrated (48 hours in water) pyrophyllite. 

Figure 6. Solvent-aqueous-surfactant extraction of tar sand with Triton and Makon surfactants. Surfactant added to solvent (kerosene).

A linear correlation is obtained between bitumen extraction with the paddle mill and the adhesion tension against water saturated pyrophyllite. That the degree of water saturation of the pyrophyllite is important in explaining the difference between the 2 extraction processes indicates that it will be necessary to study each process in terms of the relevant adhesion tensions. These results demonstrate that adhesion tension is the most important parameter found to date in determining the degree of separation in the presence of surfactants. Measurements of adhesion tension between surfactant solutions and minerals similar to those found in tar sand may be of considerable value in studies of surfactant utility in both aqueous-surfactant, solvent-aqueous-surfactant and in situ extraction processes. In addition, if appropriate model situations can be developed, measurements of adhesion tension may be useful in upgrading bitumen-water-clay emulsions obtained by a variety of in situ and heavy oil recovery processes. 

Recent development of the use of reversed micelles (aqueous surfactant aggregates in organic solvents) to solubilize significant quantities of nonpolar materials within their polar cores can be exploited in the development of new concepts for the continuous selective concentration and recovery of heavy metal ions from dilute aqueous streams. The ability of reversed micelle solutions to extract proteins and amino acids selectively from aqueous media has been recently demonstrated the results indicate that strong electrostatic interactions are the primary basis for selectivity. The high charge-to-surface ratio of the valuable heavy metal ions suggests that they too should be extractable from dilute aqueous solutions. 

The residue is removed from the leaf surface by shaking the leaf punch sample in an aqueous surfactant solution. This allows for removal of test substance residue from the leaf surface. It does not remove residue absorbed on the plant matrix that extraction and maceration in organic solvents would release. Generally, the extraction with aqueous surfactant is performed using a mechanical shaker for a 10-min interval and is repeated to increase transfer efficiency. 

An investigation of different organic solvents, buffer, surfactants, and organorhodium compounds established that the catalytic reduction of tetralin using [ Rh(l,5-hexadiene)Cl 2] proceeds with high efficiency at high substrate-to-catalyst ratios. The reaction occurs at r. t. and 1 atm. pressure in a biphasic mixture of hexane and an aqueous buffer containing a low concentration of a surfactant which stabilizes the catalysts.314... 

Exploiting the properties of aqueous surfactant solutions in which the surfactants aggregate to form micelles consisting of apolar cores comprised of the hydrophobic tail groups stabilized by coronae formed by the hydrophilic surfactant heads (Fendler and Fendler, 1975 Bunton, 1991). The apolar core plays the role of the organic solvent, whereas the palisade layer can provide a medium of intermediate polarity. 

The reversed micelles had the specific advantage of providing a means for charge separation by continuously removing the product (PhSSPh) from the semiconductor, located in the water pool, to the organic solvent. However, due to water pool exchanges, the semiconductor particles could interact with each other, which limited the concentration of semiconductor tolerable by the system. A better insulation of inner compartment was provided by aqueous surfactant vesicles. 

By maximizing the contact area between extraction solvent and surfactant-solubilized hydrophobic oil contaminant through the use of state-of-the-art hollow fiber membrane columns, we hypothesize that hydrophobic oil contaminants can be separated from surfactant solutions without macroemulsification. For this research we were interested in the partitioning of the hydrophobic oil from the hydrophobic environment of the micelle via its aqueous concentration into a more preferred extracting solvent. 

A number of experimental techniques by measurements of physical properties (interfacial tension, surface tension, osmotic pressure, conductivity, density change) applicable in aqueous systems suffer frequently from insufficient sensitivity at low CMC values in hydrocarbon solvents. Some surfactants in hydrocarbon solvents do not give an identifiable CMC the conventional properties of the hydrocarbon solvent solutions of surfactant compounds can be interpreted as a continuous aggregation from which the apparent aggregation number can be calculated. Other, quite successful, techniques (light scattering, solubilization, fluorescence indicator) were applied to a number of CMCs, e.g., alkylammonium salts, carboxylates, sulfonates and sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)succinate (AOT) in hydrocarbon solvents, see Table 3.1 (Eicke, 1980 Kertes, 1977 Kertes and Gutman, 1976 Luisi and Straub, 1984 Preston, 1948). 

Dispersion polymerization differs from emulsion polymerization in that the reaction mixture, consisting of monomer, initiator, and solvent (aqueous or nonaque-ous), is usually homogeneous. As polymerization proceeds, polymer separates out and the reaction continues in a heterogeneous manner. A polymeric surfactant of the block or graft type (referred to as protective colloid ) is added to stabilize the particles once formed. 

Washes. Several types of solutions or liquids can be used to collect handwash samples, including various types of aqueous surfactant solutions, and neat isopropanol or ethanol. The physico-chemical properties of the pesticide should guide selection of the rinse solvent, especially the octanol-water partition coefficient... 

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