Use of aqueous two-phase PEG-salt systems for the removal of anionic surfactant from effluents

作者：Murari Gabriella Frade; Penido Jussara Alves; da Silva Heriveltom Morais; Lobo Baeta Bruno Eduardo; de Aquino Sergio Francisco; de Lemos Leandro Rodrigues; Rodrigues Guilherme Dias; Mageste Aparecida Barbosa^*

来源：Journal of Environmental Management, 2017, 198: 43-49.

DOI：10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.046

• Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate
• Polymer-surfactant interaction
• Partition
• Green chemistry

Linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) are synthetic anionic surfactants that are extensively used in many industries. As a result, large volumes of effluents containing high levels of these compounds are discharged into water bodies, causing risks to aquatic flora and fauna. Then, there is a need for environmentally safe and economically viable technologies for the removal of LAS from aqueous matrices. The present work evaluates the use of aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) composed of PEG and sulfate salts for this purpose, considering the effects of tie line length (TLL), molar mass of polymer, and type of cation-forming salt on the partitioning behavior of LAS. All the LAS partition coefficient (K-LAS) values were greater than unity, and the LAS extraction efficiencies (%E-LAS) were higher than 97%. The system consisting of PEG 1500 + (NH4)(2)SO4 + H2O provided the highest KLAs (1083.34) and %E-LAS (99.9%), indicating that the method provided good extraction of LAS to the top phase. This system was applied using a real effluent sample in laboratory-scale experiments as well as in bench-scale batch trials. The results obtained at the laboratory scale showed %E-LAS values greater than 98%, while the best K-LAS value obtained in the batch experiments was 8.50 ( +/- 1.75) (%E-LAS = 78.17%). These values demonstrated the potential of ATPS for the removal of LAS from industrial effluents.

• 出版日期2017-8-1