Surfactant-enhanced mobilization of persistent organic pollutants: Potential for soil and sediment remediation and unintended consequences

Shiv Bolan; Lokesh P Padhye; Catherine N Mulligan; Emilio Ritore Alonso; Roger Saint-Fort; Tahereh Jasemizad; Chensi Wang; Tao Zhang; Jörg Rinklebe; Hailong Wang; Kadambot H M Siddique; M B Kirkham; Nanthi Bolan

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130189

Surfactant-enhanced mobilization of persistent organic pollutants: Potential for soil and sediment remediation and unintended consequences

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Feb 5;443(Pt A):130189. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130189. Epub 2022 Oct 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
³ Department of Bldg, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal H3G 1M8, Canada.
⁴ Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Sevilla, Camino de los Descubrimientos, s/n, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.
⁵ Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science & Technology, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB T3E6K6, Canada.
⁶ Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
⁷ University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water, and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil, and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany.
⁸ Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, People's Republic of China.
⁹ UWA institute of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA.
¹¹ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia; UWA institute of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia. Electronic address: Nanthi.Bolan@uwa.edu.au.

PMID: 36265382
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130189

Abstract

This review aims to provide an overview of the sources and reactions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and surfactants in soil and sediments, the surfactant-enhanced solubilisation of POPs, and the unintended consequences of surfactant-induced remediation of soil and sediments contaminated with POPs. POPs include chemical compounds that are recalcitrant to natural degradation through photolytic, chemical, and biological processes in the environment. POPs are potentially toxic compounds mainly used in pesticides, solvents, pharmaceuticals, or industrial applications and pose a significant and persistent risk to the ecosystem and human health. Surfactants can serve as detergents, wetting and foaming compounds, emulsifiers, or dispersants, and have been used extensively to promote the solubilization of POPs and their subsequent removal from environmental matrices, including solid wastes, soil, and sediments. However, improper use of surfactants for remediation of POPs may lead to unintended consequences that include toxicity of surfactants to soil microorganisms and plants, and leaching of POPs, thereby resulting in groundwater contamination.

Keywords: Bioremediation; Complexation; Mobilization; Persistent organic pollutants; Solubilization; Surfactants.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Ecosystem
Environmental Pollutants*
Humans
Persistent Organic Pollutants
Soil / chemistry
Soil Pollutants* / metabolism
Surface-Active Agents / chemistry

Substances

Soil
Surface-Active Agents
Persistent Organic Pollutants
Soil Pollutants
Environmental Pollutants